"I thirst with such a terrible thirst to be loved by you in the Most Blessed Sacrament," Jesus tells us through St. Margaret Mary.
"It is love for souls that keeps Me a prisoner in the Blessed Sacrament. I stay there that all may come and find the comfort they need in the tenderest of Hearts, the best of Fathers, the most faithful of friends, who will never abandon them," He tells us through Sr. Josepha.
Jesus is alive and present in our midst, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in "the breaking of the Bread" at the celebration of the Holy Mass, and then as He reposes in tabernacles or is exposed in adoration chapels throughout the world.
Our beloved Vicar of Christ on earth, Pope Benedict, tells us that he hopes the practice of Eucharistic adoration "will become ever more widespread." He goes on, "How much need modern humanity has to rediscover the source of its hope in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. I thank the Lord because many parishes, alongside the devout celebration of Mass, are educating the faithful in Eucharistic adoration. It is my hope that this practice...will become ever more widespread."
Husbands and wives consumate their Marriage vows by their nuptial embrace, becoming a one-flesh union.
All of us as Baptized Catholics are called to consumate our Baptismal vows though the reception of Jesus at Holy Communion. It is then that we as His bride, the church, become a one-flesh union with our Divine Bridegroom. This is what prepares us for our eternal destiny: "the Wedding Feast of the Lamb."
Why is it that we see a canopy over the alter at St. Peter's at the Vatican (as well as at other Churches)? Because the holy altar is considered the "wedding bed" on which our Divine Bridegroom gives of Himself totally for His beloved bride. When the priest in "persona Christi" holds up the host and says, "This is my body, given for you...This is my blood, given for you," it is at this moment that we are re-living Jesus's total gift of himself for us at the Last Supper and at Calvary. And, then, we, His bride, come up to receive Him.
In a holy and healthy marriage, would any bride, after receiving her bridegroom, not want to rest with him in their nuptial embrace of love? And this image is meant to be a concrete sign, though limited as it is, of the nuptial union to which we're all called with our Eucharistic Bridegroom.
Should we who are espoused to Christ through Baptism, not want to rest in our nuptial union with Him after we have receive Him in Holy communion?
And, then, at other times, is it not important for husband and wife to spend quality time together, sharing heart to heart, in order to get to know and love one another deeply and personally. Otherwise, the relationship will be lacking. In the same way, we are called to spend time with Jesus, outside of receiving Him in Holy Communion, in order that the communion will be all the more real and personal.
+Oh Mary, Spotless Bride, teach us how to open ourselves to receive Jesus - our Divine Eucharistic Bridegroom - ever-more purely and wholeheartedly+
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