Know also that you will probably gain more by praying fifteen minutes before the Blessed Sacrament than by all the other spiritual exercises of the day. True, Our Lord hears our prayers anywhere, for He has made the promise, ‘Ask, and you shall receive,’ but He has revealed to His servants that those who visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament will obtain a more abundant measure of grace.
There is a practice that is most powerful in keeping us united with God. That practice is the constant recollection of His presence.
He who trusts himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things.
Our Lord’s words teach us that though we labour among the many distractions of this world, we should have but one goal. For we are but travellers on a journey without as yet a fixed abode; we are on our way, not yet in our native land; we are in a state of longing, not yet of enjoyment. But let us continue on our way, and continue without sloth or respite, so that we may ultimately arrive at our destination.
Martha and Mary were sisters, related not only by blood but also by religious aspirations. They stayed close to our Lord and both served him harmoniously when he was among them. Martha welcomed him as travellers are welcomed. But in her case, the maidservant received her Lord, the invalid her Saviour, the creature her Creator, to serve him bodily food while she was to be fed by the Spirit. For the Lord willed to put on the form of a slave, and under this form to be fed by his own servants, out of condescension and not out of need.
But you, Martha, if I may say so, are blessed for your good service, and for your labours you seek the reward of peace. Now you are much occupied in nourishing the body, admittedly a holy one. But when you come to the heavenly homeland will you find a traveller to welcome, someone hungry to feed, or thirsty to whom you may give drink, someone ill whom you could visit, or quarrelling whom you could reconcile, or dead whom you could bury?
No, there will be none of these tasks there. What you will find there is what Mary chose. There we shall not feed others, we ourselves shall be fed. Thus what Mary chose in this life will be realised there in all its fullness; she was gathering fragments from that rich banquet, the Word of God. Do you wish to know what we will have there? The Lord himself tells us when he says of his servants, Amen, I say to you, he will make them recline and passing he will serve them.
Jesus, we all have places in our hearts and in our histories that have been hurting for a long time. Some wounds might be self-inflicted, but the wounds caused by others tend to cut most deeply. At the same time, there is also a sacred place in each of us where we can be alone with You and the whole Trinity. The most powerful healing can begin by bringing those painful places into relationship with You, Who love us infinitely. And right now, You are herewith us in all Your power and glory in the Eucharist. Nothing is lacking in Your Presence with us. It can be hard to open tender places in our hearts. You respect us and You honor our experience through Your offer of healing. We are here together and here with the communion of Saints, and we lean on each other for support as we seek to open our hearts to you. We want to be gentle with ourselves and allow the Holy Spirit to descend with all the gentleness of the dewfall onto our thirsty hearts. We pray for courage now as we hold all the hurting places in our hearts before Your loving gaze.
[Note: The following meditation can help to prepare your heart to receive the Lord’s healing power, or you can go straight into the Litany]
Close your eyes (if you are comfortable doing so) Take a deep breath. Breathe in the Holy Spirit…Come, Holy Spirit Breathe out negativity Breathe in the Holy Spirit…Come, Holy Spirit Breathe out all that is not of Him Notice your heartbeat Each heartbeat is a gift God wants you He made you. He knit you together with love, with His own hands in your mother’s womb You are a masterpiece of His loving creativity He has chosen you He sees you He gazes on you with love He delights in you
Now I want to invite you on a journey of healing and reconciliation. Jesus wants to lift you up to see your whole life through His eyes of healing and hope.
Try to zoom out, letting yourself be lifted up away from the details He wants to lift you up so you can see your whole life from your conception in your mother’s womb to this very moment. He is lovingly drawing near to you with the Father. There is only love. Together He looks on your whole life with you. He looks on you and your whole life with love. Through your whole life there is a golden thread of goodness. You are made in His image. Even where there are deep sorrows, the Holy Spirit weaves a golden thread of goodness. As you look together on your life You may see some darker moments, clouded moments, harder moments. Some of those moments might be too hard to enter into right now and that is ok. There are some sins and failures. There are times of weakness. There are times you were hurt. He wants to bring healing to your whole life: healing for your hurts, healing for your failures. He has only compassion for you, loving care. He honors you and wants to protect you. Try to open your heart to Jesus’s healing love. If any of these heart movements are difficult, that’s ok. You can still let Jesus draw close.
Please repeat after me:
Jesus, I believe in you. Jesus, I believe in your Real Presence in the Eucharist. Jesus, I believe you are here with me. Jesus, I believe you are in my heart. Jesus, I believe in your love for me. Jesus, I believe your love is greater than every sin. Jesus, I believe your love is greater than all evil. Jesus, I believe your love can free me from my sin. Let’s practice the response several times: Jesus, heal my heart with Your love For the times I’ve felt abandoned… For the times I’ve been betrayed… For the times I’ve been rejected… For the times I’ve been forgotten… For the times I’ve been disappointed… For the times I’ve been let down by the Church… For the times I’ve been lonely… For the times I’ve been desperate… For the times I’ve been lost… For the times I’ve been dejected… For the times I’ve been used… For the times I’ve been neglected… For the times I’ve been starved for love… For the times I’ve been deprived of affirmation… For the times I’ve lost my way… For the times I’ve gone astray… For the times I’ve made the wrong choice…
the response is: Jesus, come close to me.
Whenever I feel unseen… Whenever I feel ignored… Whenever I feel unimportant… Whenever I feel useless… Whenever I feel alone… Whenever I feel abandoned… Whenever I feel like it would be better if I didn’t exist… Whenever I feel misunderstood… Whenever I feel used… Whenever I feel forgotten… Whenever I feel angry… Whenever I feel anxious… Whenever I feel depressed… Whenever I feel envious… Whenever I feel lustful… Whenever I feel afraid…
the response is: Please forgive me, Jesus
For the times I’ve used others… For the times I’ve failed to see… For the times I’ve hardened my heart to a person in need… For the times I’ve failed to do the right thing… For the times I’ve given in to peer pressure… For the times I’ve lied when someone needed me to tell the truth… For the times I’ve looked away when someone needed my help… For the times I’ve closed my ears to the cries of the helpless… For the times I’ve chosen comfort over courage… For the times I’ve turned my back on someone who was hurting… For the times I’ve ignored my feelings… For the times I’ve silenced the cry of my heart… For the times I haven’t been Your mercy for others… For the times I’ve invalidated my own feelings… For the times I’ve believed the lies of others… For the times I’ve repeated the lies of others… For the times I’ve suppressed righteous anger… For the times I’ve given up in despair… For the times I’ve failed to share You with someone who needed You… For the times I’ve wrongly hid my faith from others… For the times I’ve misrepresented You in my words and actions… For the times I’ve caused scandal by my words or actions… For the times I’ve brought hatred instead of love… For the times I’ve brought division instead of peace… For the times I’ve brought gossip instead of charity… For the times I’ve torn down when I could have built up…
the response is: Jesus, help me to believe
When I doubt the power of Your love… When I doubt Your love for me… When I struggle to trust… When I doubt that I am worthy of love… When I doubt that I have a place in anyone’s heart… When I wonder if I am enough… When I doubt I have what it takes… When I feel helpless… When I feel useless… When I doubt that I have anything to offer… When I doubt that I can make a change… When I doubt that my efforts matter… When I feel hopeless… When I want to give up on my neighbor… When I want to give up on my enemy… When I want to give up on the Church… When I want to give up on myself… When I want to give up on You, Jesus…
Jesus I need you. Jesus I trust in you. Jesus I love you.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, Make my heart like unto yours.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Good Shepherd who rescues the lost. You are the Divine Physician who heals the sick. You are the Savior Who washes away our sin in your Blood. You are the Beloved Son who shares your sonship with us along with the love of the Father. We know that even if we do not feel it, you will continue this work of healing in our hearts. We trust that you love us and desire our wholeness and flourishing. Fill each of our hearts as we worship you and receive You in all your love in this Holy Eucharist. We make this prayer in your Name, Jesus Christ our Lord.
