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THE EUCHARIST OUR TREASURE
The Eucharist is the centre and source of grace:
therefore, it must be the very keystone of the legionary scheme. The most
ardent activity will accomplish nothing of value if it forgets for a moment
that its main object is to establish the reign of the Eucharist in all
hearts. For thereby is fulfilled the purpose for which Jesus came into the
world. That purpose was to communicate himself to souls so that he might
make them one with him. The means of that communication is chiefly the holy
Eucharist. "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats
of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the
life of the world is my flesh." (Jn 6:51-52)
The Eucharist is the infinite good. For in that sacrament is Jesus
himself, as much present as he was in his home at Nazareth or in the Upper
Room at Jerusalem. The holy Eucharist is no mere symbol of him, or
instrument of his power, but is Jesus Christ himself substantially. So that
she, who had conceived him and nurtured him, "found again in the adorable
host the blessed fruit of her womb, and renewed in her life of union with
his Sacramental presence the happy days of Bethlehem and Nazareth." (St.
Peter Julian Eymard)
Many who think Jesus little better than an inspired man are found to
yield him reverence and imitation. If they thought him to be more, they
would render him more. What, therefore, should proceed from the household of
the faith? How inexcusable are those Catholics who believe, but do not
practice that belief. That Jesus whom others admire, Catholics possess -
ever living in the Eucharist. They have free access to him and can, and
should, receive him even daily as the food of their souls.
Considering these things, one sees how sad it is that
such a splendid heritage should be neglected; that persons having the faith
of the Eucharist should nevertheless permit sin and thoughtlessness to
deprive them of this vital need of their souls, which Our Lord had in mind
for them from the first moment of his  earthly existence. Even as a new-born
babe in Bethlehem (which means the House of Bread), he lay on that straw of
which he was the Divine Wheat: destined to be made into the heavenly bread
which would make men one with him and with each other in his Mystical Body.
Mary is the mother of that Mystical Body. As she once anxiously
attended to the wants of her Christ-child, so now she yearns to feed that
Mystical Body, of which she is, no less, the Mother. How her heart is
anguished at seeing that her babe, in his Mystical Body, is hungry - even
starving - by reason of the fact that few are nourished as they should be
with the Bread Divine, while many do not receive it at all. Let those, who
aim to be associated to Mary in her maternal care of souls, share her
maternal anguish, and strive, in union with her, to allay that hunger of the
Body of Christ. Every avenue of legionary action must be availed of to
awaken knowledge and love of the Blessed Sacrament and to dissipate the sin
and indifference which keep men from it. Each Holy Communion brought about
is truly an immeasurable gain. Through the individual soul, it nourishes the
entire Mystical Body of Christ, and causes it to advance in wisdom and
growth and grace with God and men. (Lk 2:52)
"This union of the Mother and the Son in the work of redemption
reaches its climax on Calvary, where Christ "offered himself as the perfect
sacrifice to God" (Heb 9:14) and where Mary stood by the cross. (cf. Jn
19:25) "suffering grievously with her only-begotten Son. There she united
herself with a maternal heart to his sacrifice, and lovingly consented to
the immolation of this victim which she herself had brought forth" and also
was offering to the Eternal Father. To perpetuate down the centuries the
Sacrifice of the Cross, the divine Saviour instituted the Eucharistic
Sacrifice, the memorial of his death and resurrection, and entrusted it to
his spouse the Church, which, especially on Sundays, calls the faithful
together to celebrate the Passover of the Lord until he comes again. This
the Church does in union with the saints in heaven and in particular with
the Blessed Virgin, whose burning charity and unshakeable faith she
imitates."
(MCul 20)
Handbook of the Legion of Mary
"We see how the Eucharist, sacrifice and
sacrament, sums up in the abundance of its richness all that the Cross
offered to God and procured for men. It is the Blood of Calvary and the dew
of heaven at one and the same time: the Blood that cries for mercy, and the
vivifying dew that raises up the drooping plant. It is the price paid for
us, and the blessing brought to us. It is life and the price of life. The
Cross was not worth more, nor the Supper, nor the two together, and all of
it endures, and all of it is fraught with the hopes of humanity. For these
reasons the Mass is well called the Mystery of Faith; not only because the
whole Christian dogma - which is the dogma of our ruin in Adam and of our
restoration in Jesus Christ - is summed up in it, but also and chiefly,
because the drama, the heroic action by which was accomplished that sublime
uplifting of humanity and superabundant compensation for our former losses,
continues in our midst by means of it. And it is not a repetition by way of
a mere symbol, but actually realizes in our midst what was accomplished by
Christ Himself." (De la Taille: The Mystery of Faith)
Handbook of the Legion of Mary
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