FROM mother Adela's heart
"The
Year of the EUcharist"
© Only for
personal use
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
With the Apostolic Letter "Mane Nobiscum Domine", given this past
October 7th, His Holiness Pope John Paul II began the Year of the
Eucharist which will be celebrated in the entire Church from October
2004 to October 2005.
Stay with us! With this urgent invitation which the disciples, on
their road to Emmaus, had asked of the Stranger who had joined them
on their journey, the Holy Father begins this Apostolic Letter. By
doing so, he wants to guide us so that, this year, we dedicate
ourselves to contemplate the great mystery of Christ truly present
in the gift of the Holy Eucharist. Those disciples were on their
way, heavily burdened with grief and discouragement from all the
latest events that had happened in Jerusalem a few days back. It
seemed as if darkness was surrounding them, and their hope was
weakening. In the middle of this darkness, the Stranger, who is in
their midst, explains to them with an ardent zeal the Scriptures,
burning their hearts and driving away all their interior darkness,
to such a degree that Saint Luke tells us “then their eyes were
opened” (Luke 24:31).
Doesn’t it seem that this passage from the Gospel of Saint Luke
reflects the reality in which many of us today, disciples of Christ,
find ourselves? Don’t we go on during our daily lives, talking about
the spiritual, moral, and social darkness in which our modern
civilization is immersed? Doesn’t it sadden us to see the sufferings
of so many brothers and sisters caught by surprise by the
destructive forces of nature? Don’t we watch the daily news which
shows us the increase of the violence of terrorism, of injustices,
of immorality, of poverty, and of the devaluation of life and the
human person? We could continue on and on, mentioning the many “dark
shadows” which threaten our humanity today: such as the instability
of the family, the fundamental values of every society, world peace,
the lives of children, of the sick, and of the elderly. Could it be
possible to not feel fear of God in the presence of a militant scorn
against God, His name, His commandments, His Church, His love, and
the disastrous consequences of a world which pretends to live
without God?
Nevertheless, in the midst of the dark shadows which emerge on the
horizon of humanity, the Holy Father has wanted to lift very high
the Presence of the Eucharistic Christ, Light and Life of the world.
The Word, who was made flesh and came to the world to save it, to
redeem it, and to enlighten it in the midst of its darkness, is
truly, substantially present in the Eucharist.
In the midst of today’s chaos in the world, the One who is Lord of
History, who is the core and center, not only of the history of the
Church, but also of the history of humanity, presents Himself before
our eyes. He raises up in front of our eyes, which are loaded with
darkness, the sublime and luminous gift of Christ in the Eucharist
to give us His light, a light which shines in the darkness, and the
darkness did not overcome it (cf. John. 1:5).
What an immense gift, brothers and sisters! A Year of the Eucharist,
a year of grace and light, a year of mercy particularly marked with
“the indulgence granted by the Holy Father to some acts of devotion
and love to the Blessed Sacrament”—a year to contemplate, in the
midst of today’s world’s unsteadiness, the One who is the same,
today, and always.
During this particular year, I invite all of you, that inside the
school of the Heart of Mary, we may be able to learn how to
contemplate the ardent face of our Savior, to make amends for all
the offenses made to the love of His Heart, to reflect deeply on His
Word, and to listen attentively to His voice. And thus, to be able
to prepare ourselves in such a way that we allow the power of the
Eucharist to transform us and enlighten us to such a degree that we
will be capable of going into the darkness of the world and be able
to take them the burning fire of the love of the Eucharistic Heart
of Christ.
May we learn, in the Heart of Mary, to be truly “Eucharistic” men
and women. May we be able to safeguard in the tabernacle of our
hearts the Living Presence of Christ, which we receive in the
Eucharist, in order to be clear channels of His presence in the
world. May we, during this year, be willing to be enlightened by the
presence of the Eucharist, in order to be able to enlighten, with
strength and dynamism, all of mankind. “You are the light of the
world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew. 5:14).
May the Eucharistic Heart Reign!
Mother Adela Galindo, SCTJM
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