Monday, July 03, 2006

"Abiding in Christ" fragments from 'Divine Intimacy' by Fr Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD
PRESENCE OF GOD - O Jesus, teach me not only how to live with You, but how to live in you, to abide in You.
MEDITATION
2. If we wish to "abide" in Christ throughout the day - having been nourished by Him in Holy Communion - we must, first of all, keep our heart recollected. If as soon as we leave the Church we forget that we have received the Lord and we submerge ourselves in "other business and occupations and worldy hindrances" says St. Teresa of Avila (Way, 34), we will never be able to remain united to Christ. Further, the Saint would tell us that by acting in such way we seem "to be making all possible haste to prevent the Lord from taking possession of the house which is His own" (ibid). The state of grace suffices, it is true, to keep us spiritually united to Christ, but how much more fruitful this union would be for us, if we tried to live it actually!. Therefore, even in the midst of our daily occupations, let us try to remain under the influence of Jesus, of His love, and His unceasing action in our soul. We should return often, at least in spirit, to the tabernacle to keep ourselves in contact with the Eucharist. If our duties oblige us to go out, let every church we pass or see from a distance, be a sweet reminder of the Lord we have received that day or will receive on the following day; let it be the occasion for a quick but fervent impulse of our heart toward Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, or a rapid return to the sanctuary of our soul, there to renew our interior contact with the Lord. We should try to make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament every day, in such a way that it will be a real heart-to-heart visit with Jesus. If we truly hunger after Him we should feel an urgent need of keeping ourselves under the influence of the Eucharist; we should make use of all possible means to profit as much as we can from the grace of union with Christ, which has been offered to us in Holy Communion. By doing this, our sacramental Communion will be prolonged throughout the day by means of a continual spiritual Communion with Jesus. Then we will be really living by Him, for as he said, "He that eateth Me, the same also shall live Me" (Jn 6, 58).

COLLOQUY
....If by chance, I commit some fault, I shall humble myself, and then take the opposite virtue from Your Heart, offering it to the eternal Father in expiation for my failure. All this I intend to do, O Eucharistic Jesus, to unite myself to You in every action of the day" (cf. St. Margaret Mary).