June 11, 2026
Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation
We will meditate to-morrow on our second duty towards the Eucharist, which is to love it; and we will consider: 1st, how Jesus in the Eucharist merits all our love; 2d, how we ought to show our love to Him. We will then make the resolution: 1st, often, in the midst of our occupations, to offer aspirations of love towards Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament; 2d, to offer Him all our actions in a spirit of gratitude and of love. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the words of the Church: “Who would not love Him who has so loved us!”
Meditation for the Morning
Let us approach the holy tabernacle in spirit, animated by the feelings which Moses experienced when he approached the burning bush (Ex. iii. 3); or with the desire of a man who, feeling cold, draws near to a great fire in order to warm himself. The holy Eucharist is a furnace of love; let us warm ourselves at its flame (IV. Imit. iv. 3).
FIRST POINT
How Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament Merits all our Love
Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament merits the whole of our love by all kinds of titles. He merits it: 1st, as God, because the plenitude of the Divinity substantially inhabits this mystery, and is as worthy of being adored therein as it is in heaven itself, where the angels and saints are consumed with an eternal love for it, which never grows cold or becomes relaxed. He merits the whole of our love, 2d, as God-Man, since, by means of this title, He unites to the ineffable amiability of God the Creator all the perfections and amiability which can belong to a creature. He merits all our love, 3d, on account of His Eucharistic being. O miracle of love! Not only does Jesus Christ abase Himself even more here than He did in the crib and on Calvary, since even His humanity disappears, but He multiplies Himself in thousands of places at one and the same time; He puts Himself within the reach of all and gives Himself to all who are willing to receive Him; He, moreover, shows Himself in certain respects more amiable than even in heaven. For in heaven He does not derogate in any degree from the dignity of His position: He is in His proper place, at the highest summit of glory; but in the tabernacle He descends to earth for love of us, and confines Himself within the smallest limits. In heaven He communicates Himself only to the saints, whose hearts are filled only with love for Him; here, He gives Himself even to sinners who do not love Him; He admits them to His audience, He gives them His flesh to eat, His blood to drink, all His sacred person to enjoy, if they desire to receive Him. In heaven He is surrounded by the praises of the whole heavenly court; here He is a butt to irreverence, coldness, profanations, and outrages. In heaven He is a King upon His throne; here He is a victim who immolates Himself for sinners, for His revolted subjects; a Mediator who supplicates, who asks for mercy, who interposes Himself between our crimes and divine justice. O God of the Eucharist! how amiable Thou art! how infinitely dost Thou merit our love! Oh, that we had millions of hearts to offer to Thee in gratitude! How ungrateful I am so often to have had so cold a heart towards Thee! Henceforth I will determine to love Thee, and to love Thee always more and more every succeeding day.
SECOND POINT
How to Testify our Love to Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament
1st. Love desires to be recognized by love. We must, therefore, have a heart full of love for the holy Eucharist. And what could we love, my God, if we did not love Thee? Are we worthy to have a heart if we do not spend it wholly in loving Thee? If Thou wert to be found in but one place in the whole world, and if we could go but once to see Thee during our whole life, with what love should we not draw near to Thy sacred Person! But because we have Thee always near us, because at every hour of the day and night we can enjoy Thee, O shame! O ingratitude! we familiarize ourselves with Thee, we are no longer so touched by Thy love, and by dint of being loved we become ungrateful. It is indeed time to have done with such unworthy conduct, and, like St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. Magdalene of Pazzi, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Teresa, and so many other noble hearts, to be filled with nothing but love for the Eucharist. 2d. The love of it ought to make us cherish and value all the moments which we are able to spend in adoration in our churches; above all, it ought to make us love holy communion and the thanksgiving which follows upon it, as being a delicious foretaste of heaven. 3d. Lastly, a memory full of love towards the holy Eucharist ought to follow us outside the church and accompany us everywhere. Our heart ought to remain ceaselessly in the holy ciborium with the sacred hosts, occupied in adoring, in loving, and in blessing the God whom love keeps hidden therein; constantly, in the midst of our occupations, we ought to keep Him company by fervent aspirations and the offering of all that we are.
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.