"The more we empty ourselves, the more room we give God to fill us." ~ Blessed Mother Teresa
ARRIVING AND EMPTYING IN THE HOUSE OF GOD
Immediately upon entering the church, while genuflecting by the pew to honor God and submit to His authority, the Lord commands you to be emptied of everything. As the Lord speaks you give your consent and then feel a powerful forward movement as the Hand of the Lord calls forth what feels like a soft, gentle waterfall pouring from your entire being, head to foot.
This is how we are to begin celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We are to empty ourselves in anticipation of our union with God at the re-presentation of our Redemption, as our Savior empties Himself of everything for us.
LIVE THE MASS
"The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, faith tells us, is a re-presentation of Calvary. It is the Cross continued until the end of time. But as we've been saying, this Apostles' Creed is not just to be believed, it is to be lived. We are to live Calvary, which means live the Mass. We assist at Mass physically once a day. Faith tells us there is in the Mass the selfsame, identical Son of Mary on the altar and He just as truly and totally offers Himself to His Heavenly Father on the altar as He did on Calvary. (Both prepositions fit.) There is a real human being on the altar with a real human will. The double consecration is meant to signify Christ's sincerity in wanting, were He able to do so, to die, and die, and die again. But HE can no longer die, but we sure can. And we are supposed to. Either we keep dying to ourselves day after day after day or the deep meaning of Calvary has only minimally touched our soul". 1
~ Servant of God, Father John A. Hardon, S.J., Retreat on the Credo: Faith in the Passion of Christ
SACRIFICIAL LOVE
Sacrificial love is the most powerful force in the universe. Sacrificial love is so strong that the bonds formed by it cannot ever be broken, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. Empty yourself, sacrificially, and allow sacrificial love to bind your soul to God forever.
Empty yourself so that God can use you as His instrument, as a tremendous channel of love and grace for the massive conversion of sinners.
"One must learn how to obey before he can command." ~ Saint John Bosco
DAILY DYING TO SELF INDICATES A PROFOUND UNDERSTANDING OF CHRIST'S SACRIFICE AND OF OUR REDEMPTION
Throughout the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Jesus shows you how He empties Himself of everything for us.
You see Him shed tears of Blood in the Garden and sweat Blood. His Precious Blood flies in every direction as He is scourged at the Pillar while sowing the seeds of faith, and streams down His Holy Face and all the way around His Sacred Head from the crowning with thorns.
The Sacred Blood of our Redeemer continues to flow from every pour and wound in His Body as He struggles to remain living and carry the Cross to Calvary so He can be crucified there for our sake.Jesus, You say to Him without speaking a word, I love You. Thank You for loving us all so much.
Every step of the way, with every indignation, insult, strike of someone's fist, projection of spit, physical injury, and look of disdain, He continuously empties Himself of His own preferences and desires.
Jesus saw all these things not as costs to himself but as gains for us, as precious opportunities to spend lavishly and empty Himself for our eternal salvation.
Our Lord used every action of self mastery, love, compassion, and mercy to purchase our redemption.
Now every day as He has done in the past and will continue to do until the end of time, Jesus feeds, sustains, pays, and loves us with Himself, with His own Sacred Flesh and Precious Blood. We are unified with God in the Blessed Sacrament, the Sacrament of Love. Beautiful things are created from our union day after day after day after day.
May we mirror His generosity.
"Jesus, help me empty myself of everything that is an obstacle to Your dwelling within me and to Your working in me and through me. I give myself entirely to You, and promise to love and honor You all the days of my life."
THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
"All the good works in the world are not equal to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because they are the works of men; but the Mass is the work of God. Martyrdom is nothing in comparison for it is but the
sacrifice of man to God; but the Mass is the sacrifice of God for man." ~ Saint John Vianney
During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, Jesus continues to empty Himself of everything for us.
You see Him preaching, teaching, reaching out to others, caring, forgiving, loving, and working at certain moments during His lifetime.
As the altar is prepared for the consecration, Jesus shows you how He emptied Himself at the Last Supper.
He is so in love with us all.
Our Savior tells you that He continuously emptied Himself for us throughout His entire life, and even did so before He was born.
Jesus emptied Himself for us from the moment of His conception.
Satan does the opposite, because he serves himself instead of God. The devil works unceasingly to convince us to kill following the moment of conception.
SPIRITUAL OPPOSITES
Jesus teaches us to empty ourselves for the welfare of other people. When we serve the Lord on His terms and value and defend the lives of others and care for them properly, everyone benefits.
The devil encourages us to serve ourselves, especially at the moment of others' conception (and commit abortion).
The devil teaches us to fill ourselves up and do anything and everything to obtain our way, including lying, cheating, stealing, breaking our vows, altering our thinking, constantly soliciting, destroying, and killing. When we insist on serving ourselves on our own terms and neglect others, we and countless other people are harmed.
We are to empty ourselves every day of our lives in imitation of Christ and Blessed Mother. We are given more precious opportunities to do so than any of us could ever count. So many of them we don't even recognize. These opportunities happen anywhere and everywhere, and at least one can be found in every situation.
How much we are helped by knowing and understanding this, so we can see things as they really are and act accordingly. Trials become treasures. Suffering becomes sacrifice. We become closer to God and more willing instruments in His Hands.
Self denial, sacrifice, mortification, self mastery: these are all tremendous treasures of inestimable value. They are not only beneficial to us, they also benefit other precious, immortal souls through all time.
During the Crucifixion, Jesus continues to empty Himself of everything so that in the end and by His death, the salvation of the human race can be consummated.
Jesus shows you how this is also the mission of every Christian, which comes to fruition throughout our lives and ends when we are called into eternal life.
PROFOUNDLY CATHOLIC TEACHING
Why is Jesus sharing this lesson with you today?
He wants to use you as a tremendous channel of graces for the massive conversion of sinners, a co-conspirator in the salvation and sanctification of every single soul through all time.
We must continue emptying ourselves in order to leave room for God to work through us optimally, completely, with no obstructions, and most perfectly on His terms. The Lord knows what every single one of us needs. Our Creator wants what is best for us, and we can trust in Him.
"Holiness is a disposition of the heart that makes us humble and little in the arms of God, aware of our weakness, and confident -- in the most audacious way -- in His Fatherly goodness." ~ Saint Therese of the Infant Jesus
A VERY SPECIAL PATHWAY WHERE HEAVEN MEETS EARTH
We travel along a very important path through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and also during every moment of our lives. This way is called the Way of Sacrificial Love, commonly known as the Way of the Cross.
There is also another very special pathway present during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.Do you know it? Have you seen it.
This pathway may be seen in the center isle, and it is a continuation of the Way of the Cross that leads to the altar. This Second Way takes us to heaven.
During the Consecration on this All Soul's Day as heaven joins earth, you are shown a person dear to you who was called by God to enter eternal life.
You see this person walking up the center isle toward the altar, toward God, and toward heaven.
Perhaps you are also given a glimpse of the moment in time when you, too, will have completed a lifetime of emptying yourself and are called to your eternal reward. At the end of this path you find a warm welcome and a new future that begins in the waiting, loving, compassionate, and merciful arms of Jesus.
"You come to me and unite Yourself intimately to me under the form of nourishment. Your Blood now runs in mine, Your Soul, Incarnate God, compenetrates mine, giving courage and support. What miracles! Who would have ever imagined such!" ~ Saint Maximilian Kolbe
UNIFYING YOUR EMPTINESS WITH HIS IN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
As you kneel to receive our Lord reverently and with great love during Holy Communion, you open your
heart completely and find it empty, ready to be filled with the Lord and
everything you need to accomplish the mission of love God determined
would be yours from all eternity."He is The Bread sown in the virgin, leavened in the Flesh, molded in His Passion, baked in the furnace of the Sepulchre, placed in the Churches, and set upon the Altars, which daily supplies Heavenly Food to the faithful." ~ Saint Peter Chrysologus (400-450)
As your emptiness is joined with the emptiness of Christ and consummated during Divine Union with Jesus in the Sacrament of Love, even more sacrificial love is created.
More and more and more love is generated, each and every time we receive the Real Presence of Jesus during Holy Communion in the state of grace.
What is created from our union with Jesus depends upon our belief, how much we trust in God, and the extent to which we are willing to love sacrificially and empty ourselves so that God may enter, completely, and love each one of us extravagantly and lavishly, in so many ways.
EMPTIED OF ALL TO RECEIVE ALL
God wants to love us extravagantly, lavishly, uniquely, and individually, directly and also through other people.
The Lord also wants to love others extravagantly, lavishly, and uniquely, both individually and collectively, directly and also through us.
"If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say to this mountain, Be transported hence there, and it shall transport itself; and nothing shall be impossible to you" (Matthew 17:20).
A CLOSING PRAYER
Dear Savior, You came into the world to do many things. But most fundamentally You came to teach us. You told us I am your teacher. There is no more difficult doctrine You are teaching than how You want Your followers to understand and live the ten commandments. Dear Savior, give us the light to see and the strength to do what you want those who love you to see and to prove by doing. Lord, we love You. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 1
~ Servant of God, Father John A. Hardon, S.J., The Ten Commandments and the New Law
__________________
1. Copyright © 1998 by Inter Mirifica. Used with permission.
"Trust all things to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary,
Help of Christians,
and you will see what miracles are."
~ Saint John
Bosco
© Joseph Karl Publishing /Michele Bondi Bottesi
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