First Friday Adoration--Aug 4th at St Joseph Church; 12:00 Noon-4:00 PM. Divine Mercy at 3:00 PM, Litany of the Precious Blood and Rosary. Devotion of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Men’s Adoration--Friday, Aug 4th, at St Joseph Church; 8:00-9:00 PM
Daily Adoration--at St Joseph Church, following the 7:15 AM mass, for one hour.
First Saturday Devotion to Mary-- Aug 5th at Mary Queen of Peace. Rosary at 3:00 PM. Reconciliation. Mass at 4:00 PM. Our Lady promised “to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation" to all those who fulfilled the first five Saturday Devotions in five consecutive months.
THE REAL PRESENCE OF CHRIST (Catechism of the Catholic Church for Adults, pp. 251-252).
By the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ is present in the proclamation of God’s Word, in the Eucharistic assembly, in the
person of the priest, but above all and in a wholly unique manner in the Eucharist. “This presence is called ‘real’—by which is not intended to exclude the other types of presence as if they could not be ‘real’ too, but because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and en-tirely present” (CCC, no. 1374, citing Pope Paul VI, Mystery of Faith , no. 39).
Since the Middle Ages, the change of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ has been called “transubstantiation.” This means that the substance of the bread and wine is changed into the substance of the Body and Blood of Christ. The appearances of bread and wine remain (color, shape, weight, chemical composition), but the
underlying reality—that is, the substance—is now the Body and Blood of Christ. The Real Presence of Jesus Christ
endures in the consecrated elements even after the Mass is ended. Once Communion has been distributed, any
remaining hosts are placed in the tabernacle. If any of the Precious Blood remains, it is reverently consumed. The hosts are reserved to provide Communion for the sick, Viaticum (Communion for the dying), and to allow the faithful to
worship Christ in the reserved Sacrament and to pray in his presence. As a sign of adoration, Latin Catholics genuflect to the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the tabernacle or genuflect or kneel when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for prayer. Eastern Catholics show their reverence by a profound bow rather than a genuflection: “It is for this reason the tabernacle should be located in an especially worthy place in the Church and should be constructed in such a way that it emphasizes and manifests the truth of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament” (CCC, no. 1379). With the passage of time, reverent reflection led the Church to enrich its Eucharistic devotion. Faith that Jesus is truly present in the Sacrament led believers to worship Christ dwelling with us permanently in the Sacrament. Wherever the Sacrament is, there is Christ, who is our Lord and our God. Such worship is expressed in many ways: in genuflection, in adoration of the Eucharist, and in the many forms of Eucharistic devotion that faith has nourished.
The Eucharistic Liturgy contains the entire treasure of the Church since it makes present the Paschal Mystery, the central event of salvation. Eucharistic adoration and devotion flow from and lead to the Eucharistic Liturgy, the Mass.
My God, I adore your greatness, I know your tenderness. Your majesty humbles me, your love calls me, attracts me, inspires my confidence. You are the God of Mount Sinai, also of the manger, Calvary, and the Eucharist. In you there is no past, nor future, that is why you have always had me present in your heart. Leave in heaven all your greatness and splendor. I will see them someday, hoping in your mercy. For now, come within my reach as Bread from heaven. Come as little as you were sleeping in the arms of Mary, or as you were at work in Nazareth, because thus you seem to me closer than when you fashioned the world. Come, Jesus. Filled with gratitude for you, I adore you. Mary, make me love your Son Jesus as the Principle behind all things, not with a fear that paralyzes and discourages, but with a love that knows no limits. Blessed Concepcion Cabrera de Armida
Magnificat, December 2022, Vol. 24, No. 10, page 248
“No human motive should lead us to pray: neither routine, nor the habit of doing as others do, nor a thirst for spiritual consolations. No, we should go to prayer to render homage to God. It is not, however, a common-place visit of
propriety, nor a conversation without any precise object; we want to obtain from Him some definite spiritual good, such as the progress in the uprooting of some vice, in the acquisition of some virtue. We have, therefore, a purpose upon which we are bent, and all our considerations, affections, petitions, and resolutions should combine for its attainment. God is there, surrounding us and penetrating us; but we were not, perhaps, thinking of this. We must, therefore, withdraw our powers from the things of the earth, gather them together, and fix them upon God; thus it is we place ourselves in His presence. Naturally, we approach Him by saluting Him with a profound and humble act of adoration. In presence of so much greatness and
holiness, the soul perceives herself to be little and miserable; she humbles herself, purifies herself by an act of sorrow; apologizes for daring to approach a being of so lofty a majesty. Powerless to pray as she should, she represents her incapacity to God, and begs the Holy Ghost to help her to pray well.” —Rev. Dom Vitalis Lehodey, p. 91 209-210 An excerpt from The Ways of Mental Prayer
The Holiness of God and Adoration In order to draw on these resources of infinite wisdom and power, available in the Eucharist, we must believe. In the words of the Adoro Te, we can say: "I believe everything that the Son of God has said, and nothing can be truer than this word of the Truth. Only the Godhead was hidden on the cross, but here the humanity is hidden as well. Yet I
believe and acknowledge them both." Those who can thus speak to Christ in the Eucharist will learn from experience what the Church means when she tells us that the Real Presence is a Sacrament. It is the same Savior who assumed our human nature to die for us on Calvary and who now dispenses through that same humanity, now glorified, the blessings of salvation.