Eucharistic Martyrs

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Pope Francis recently beatified Simeon Cardon and five of his companions for their willingness to lay down their lives to protect Jesus truly present in the Eucharist. On May 13, 1799, following the capture of Naples, a band of French soldiers returning northward came upon the Monastery of Casamari.  Welcomed by the prior Simeon Cardon, the soldiers desecrated the church in hatred of the Catholic faith, broke open the Tabernacle and scattered the consecrated hosts on the floor. Most of the monks fled out of fear, but Cardon and five others had true courage. Courage is the strength to sacrifice what is lesser for the sake of what is greater. Cardon and his friends went straight into the danger, moved by their love for Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and tried to recover the hosts. However, when the six monks were discovered, they were immediately shot and killed. After the departure of the soldiers, the martyrs were buried in the Church by the surviving monks.

We say that God is the most important thing in our life. Do we really believe that Jesus present in the Eucharist is even more precious than our physical life?

Jesus, give me the kind of love these martyrs had for you in the Eucharist. Give me also the prudence to always know what is greatest, that being you O Lord, and what is lesser, that being me O Lord and all the earthly things I hold dear and give me the courage to always sacrifice what is lesser to receive what is greater – Your true presence in the Eucharist.  

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What are the Benefits of Receiving Jesus in the Eucharist at Mass?

Holy Communion separates us from sin. The body of Christ we receive in Holy Communion is "given up for us," and the blood we drink "shed for the many for the forgiveness of sins." For this reason the Eucharist cannot unite us to Christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sins and preserving us from future sins (CCC 1393)

Here the Catechism is referring to venial sin and not mortal sin. Mortal sin indicates that it has caused spiritual death – we have lost God’s life within us which can only be restored through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

For a sin to be mortal three conditions must together be met:

A.  The act is gravely sinful – which means we have broken one of the Ten Commandments;

B.  and this act was done with full-knowledge

C. and deliberate consent.

However, receiving the Eucharist cleanses us from past sins and strengthens us against future sins. St Ambrose writes: For as often as we eat this bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the death of the Lord. If we proclaim the Lord's death, we proclaim the forgiveness of sins. If, as often as his blood is poured out, it is poured for the forgiveness of sins, I should always receive it, so that it may always forgive my sins. Because I always sin, I should always have a remedy.

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Going to Mass and receiving the Eucharist is the greatest way to thank God.

The sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross is an infinite and perfect sacrifice of Thanksgiving to God the Father. His sacrifice is made present in the Mass so that we may unite our thanksgiving to Jesus. Our weak and small thanksgiving is joined to that of Jesus taking on infinite value. Therefore, there is no greater way to give thanks to God than by going to Mass.

The Eucharist is a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Father, a blessing by which the Church expresses her gratitude to God for all his benefits, for all that he has accomplished through creation, redemption, and sanctification. Eucharist means first of all "thanksgiving." CCC 1360

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The Mass is a prayer of infinite power because it is the infinite act of intercession made by Jesus on the Cross. If you know people we are in spiritual or material need – then go and join your prayer to the infinite prayer of Jesus for them. The greatest power you can apply to a loved one for conversion, for physical, mental or emotional healing or for whatever need they have is to go and offer the Mass for them.  

In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. The lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new value. Christ's sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be united with his offering. CCC 1368

So go to Mass and when the gifts are placed on the Altar, place all the loved ones and all their needs on the Alter. Then offer yourself unconditionally to God as a gift and sacrifice united to that of Christ and offer it for all those in need… especially for me dear friends.

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Finally – God is the only One who can satisfy our desire for infinite, perfect and everlasting happiness. God offers Himself to us in the Eucharist. If we want to be happy – then in the end we will only find it in Jesus.

In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really and substantially contained. (374)

Diary of Faustina 1385 After Communion today, Jesus told me how much He desires to come to human hearts. I desire to unite Myself with human souls; My great delight is to unite Myself with souls Know, My daughter, that when I come to a human heart in Holy Communion, My hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to the soul. But souls do not even pay any attention to Me; they leave Me to Myself and busy themselves with other things. Oh, how sad I am that souls do not recognize Love! They treat Me as a dead object.