Mary and the Eucharist

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Blessings on this Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus (Corpus Christi)! Mary His Mother was His First Tabernacle. Let us worship Him in a special way, today, through Mary our Mother, and learn from Her, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to worship in Spirit and in Truth. As our Mother, may Mary ever intercede with her Son before the Father that we may all be one in Him.

**Pope Paul VI on Mary and the Eucharist
**
It was Pope Paul VI who declared Mary the Mother of the Church at the close of the Second Vatican Council, who visited her shrine at Fatima in 1967 and continuously exhorted Catholics to pray her Rosary. He also published the great Encyclical on the Holy Eucharist, “Mysterium Fidei”. On the last page of that Encyclical he wrote this beautiful tribute to our Blessed Mother showing the unbroken link that has to exist between her and Christ who is physically present in the Eucharist: He wrote: “May the Most Blessed Virgin Mary from whom Christ Our Lord took the flesh which under the species of bread and wine ‘in contained, offered and consumed,’ may all the saints of God, especially those who burned with a more ardent devotion to the Divine Eucharist, intercede before the Father of mercies so that from this same faith in and devotion toward the Eucharist may result and flourish a perfect unity of communion among all Christians.”

This Pope, who made such strenuous effort in bringing about Christian community and union among all Christian sects, placed his trust and confidence for this union in Mary Immaculate and the Sacrament of unity, the Eucharist. This is but one quote from one Pope. One would be hard pressed to find a single Pope who would, at the same time, be dedicated to our Lady and have little or no devotion to the Eucharist and vice versa. Mary and the Eucharist are intricately linked in the mind of the highest authority of the Catholic Church, the Papacy.

In the prayer life of the Church we see this close connection. In the Litany of Loreto our Lady is called the Ark of the covenant. Now the Ark of the covenant in the Old Testament was where God took up his abode. Mary is the Ark of the new covenant which is no less than the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity who took up His abode in Mary’s womb for nine months. She was thus the first tabernacle of our Lord.

Perhaps the inseparable bond between Mary and the Eucharist is no better seen than in the lives of the Saints. These heroic men and women, who lived the Christ-life to the fullest and were perfectly attuned to the action of the Holy Spirit, were without exception devoted to the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother. One particular Saint comes to mind because of his outstanding devotion to the Eucharist. In fact he founded a special Order to promote Eucharistic Adoration. St. Peter Julian Eymard, before he founded his Order, belonged to a Society that was especially dedicated to Mary in her Immaculate Conception. It was towards the end of his life that he asked his spiritual sons and daughters to address Mary and venerate her under the title of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. Thus Mary would be intricately linked with our Lord’s Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. She who first conceived Jesus by faith in her heart gave Him the immaculate dwelling place where His humanity developed. And now she is nurturing our faith so that we can grow in our love and devotion to that mystery of faith, the Eucharist. Commenting on this role of our Lady in our own personal sanctification, St. Peter said: “The more you allow Mary to work within you through your Communions, the more will Christ be glorified.”

Another outstanding incident in the lives of the Saints is that famous dream which St. John Bosco had in 1862. He saw a prophetic naval battle symbolizing the conflict the Church would have in our day with the forces of evil. As the bark of Peter was being buffeted on all sides by enemy ships in a tremendous naval battle, two immense stone columns rose from the sea. And the bard of Peter anchored itself safely between these two columns. Atop one of these columns was the statue of Mary, and inscribed below it were the words, “Help of Christians.” Atop the other column was a large host with the inscription below it, “Salvation of Believers.” As the bark of Peter anchored itself to these two columns, the ships that were assaulting it were either destroyed or lost their ability to assault the bark of Peter. At the base of one of these columns were two numerals, 19 and two dashes which would indicate that this great victory of the forces of Christ would be realized sometime in the 20th Century through devotion to Mary Immaculate and our Lord present in the Eucharist.

 

[USMC_Convert]

Amen!

 

[patricius79]

Like JPII says in Redemptoris Mater, there is a profound connection between Marian veneration and the Eucharist. Only through our Mother can we receive Jesus worthily.

 

[MariaChristi]

Like JPII says in Redemptoris Mater, there is a profound connection between Marian veneration and the Eucharist. Only through our Mother can we receive Jesus worthily.

Dear USMC_Convert and brother Pat,

Thank you both for your replies. I was given a book recently that contained a reference from Venerable Fulton Sheen in which he indicated how Mary and the Church are intertwined because, he said, “as we discontinue our devotion to the Blessed Mother there is always a decline in the love of the Church.”

The author goes on to write: “Such an observation certainly resonates for 21st century Catholics in the US who are witnessing a massive decline in love of the Church.”

Mary Mother of the Church, pray for us.
Jesus, we trust in You!

 

[Cathoholic]

MariaChristi. You said . . . .

I was given a book recently that contained a reference from Venerable Fulton Sheen in which he indicated how Mary and the Church are intertwined because, he said, “as we discontinue our devotion to the Blessed Mother there is always a decline in the love of the Church.”

And this observation of the proportional decline in love for the Church and The Blessed Virgin Mary makes sense (to me at least).

Why?

Because Our Blessed Mother is a type (“typus”) of “The Church”.

If they don’t love our Blessed Mother, they are not going to love “The Church” either. (Unfortunately for them) And vice versa.

God bless and keep up the great work.

Cathoholic

CCC 967 By her complete adherence to the Father’s will, to his Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity. Thus she is a “preeminent and . . . wholly unique member of the Church”; indeed, she is the “exemplary realization” (typus) 510 of the Church.

 

[MariaChristi]

MariaChristi. You said . . . .

I was given a book recently that contained a reference from Venerable Fulton Sheen in which he indicated how Mary and the Church are intertwined because, he said, “as we discontinue our devotion to the Blessed Mother there is always a decline in the love of the Church.”

Thanks for your reply, Cathoholic,

It made perfect sense to me, as well. I was surprised to read the words had come from Archbishop Sheen, for he was writing and speaking earlier than the decline we are witnessing today. The book, by the way, is Why the Rosary, Why Now? edited by Gretchen Crowe.

According to Archbishop Sheen, praying with our Blessed Mother is the solution and it can be the doorway through which we are led to love of Mary and subsequently to love of the Church. And this doorway is one that is open to all.