This is a picture of the alcove of the Tabernacle at the Shrine. It is beautifully surrounded by a painting of angels giving due worship and adoration to the King of Kings, who resides in there. Just to the right of it, is a statue of the Blessed Mother, whom we talked about yesterday. It is only fitting that Mary and the Eucharist are featured so close together. Today's readings are about Jesus as "the living bread that come down from heaven." (John 6:51) Yesterday we celebrated Mary going to heaven in her Assumption. Both Jesus coming down from heaven into the consecrated host and Mary going to heaven are tremendous gifts to the human family from God the Father.
There is a tremendous connection between Mary and the Eucharist. Saint John Paul II in 2003 in his Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia (Church from the Eucharist) wrote:
"Mary is present, with the Church and as the Mother of the Church, at each of our celebrations of the Eucharist. If the Church and the Eucharist are inseparably united, the same ought to be said of Mary and the Eucharist" (n. 57).
The Holy Father pointed out three specific ways there is a connection between the two.
1) The Eucharist in an invitation to obedience in faith, and there is no one better than Mary to help us acquire this disposition. Mary had to take a leap of faith when the angel told her of her pending giving of birth (Luke 1:30). She also told the people at the wedding at Cana "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:5) (They were doubting that Our Blessed Lord could provide wine, but she told them to have faith.) It takes a measure of faith to believe in the Real Presence and Mary can help us with that better than anyone.
2) The Eucharist is a sacrifice, a re-presentation of the Passion, and Mary was more intimately tied to the Passion than anyone. From the beginning of Our Lord's life, when Mary offered him at the Temple (Luke 2:22) , to being at the foot of the Cross (John 19:19), to being a recipient of Our Lord in Communion at the first Eucharistic celebrations of the apostles, Mary lived a life of sacrificial desire and offering, and she can help us more than anyone to unite ourselves with the Sacrifice of the Mass. On Calvary, Our Lord told John "Behold, your mother!" (John 19:27) . Since the Mass is a representation of Calvary, you can say He says the same thing to us at every Mass.
3) The Eucharist means "thanksgiving" and the perfect prayer of thanksgiving is Mary's Magnificat; she can help us with this disposition better than anyone. The Magnificat refers to that hymn of praise Mary proclaimed at the Visitation (Luke 1:46-55). It is said every evening by the Church. The most relevant line from that beautiful hymn, in my eyes at least, is "He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty." What better thing could He fill us with than His Own Body and Blood?
Devotion to Mary, then, will naturally lead one to the Eucharist. Going to Mass, and participating in the sacrificial offering that is the Eucharist, can only lead one to appreciate Mary more and more. If anyone says that he or she has a love for one, but not the other, I ask that you be open to the Lord to develop your faith more deeply, or perhaps the faith you have is not authentic and you need to start over down a better path.
Where is our friend Saint Joseph in all this? Well, Joseph had his own moment of faith when an angel appeared to him and told him to take Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:20), as we have discussed. Later on in his life, an angel appeared to him again and told him to take his family and flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13). This involved both faith and sacrifice. He was with Mary at the Presentation when she made her offering of Jesus (Luke 2:22) . Joseph, we can say, shared in the same sacrificial and faith dispositions as the Blessed Mother. Therefore, he can be a role model and an intercessor to help us have a greater love and devotion for the Eucharist, the Bread of Life.
Saints, the ones who live closest to the Lord, sometimes come up with the most profound of sayings that can only come from a life deep in reflection and prayer, and close union with Him. Here is a great quote from a Saint that speaks of Joseph and his relationship with the Eucharist. I will end with these words.
"At Nazareth Joseph's days were filled with work which necessarily took him away at times from his Infant God. During these hours Mary replaced him, but when evening brought him home again, he would pass the entire night in adoration, never tiring, only too happy for the chance to contemplate the hidden riches of Jesus' divinity. For he pierced the rough garments the Child wore, until his faith touched the Sacred Heart. In profound adoration he united himself to the special grace of each one of the events in the life of Jesus. He adored our Lord in His hidden life and in His Passion and Death; he adored in advance the Eucharistic Christ in His tabernacles: there was nothing that our Lord could hide from Saint Joseph. Among the graces which Jesus gave to His foster-father -- and He flooded him with the graces attached to every one of His mysteries -- is that special to an adorer of the Blessed Sacrament. That is the one we must ask of St. Joseph. Have confidence, strong confidence in him. Take him as the patron and the model of your life of adoration."
- St. Peter Julian Eymard
Joseph, diligent protector of Christ, pray for us.
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