Praying for Clarity

Mt 12:38-42

Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
He said to them in reply,
“An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,
but no sign will be given it
except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth
three days and three nights.
At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah;
and there is something greater than Jonah here.
At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generationand condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and there is something greater than Solomon here.”

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"There is Something Greater than Solomon here."


(in the picture: Saint Ignatius of Loyola in vestments of the Tridentine Rite)

I am currently praying for clarity. Some people have known how God has given me the grace to love the Eucharist immensely. And this is so much so that I'm praying for the grace to offer my life just for This Presence of our Lord to be given proper adoration, honor and worship in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

But people seem not to realize the value of worshipping God's presence in the Eucharist. As a case in point, many people seem to just pass by the Sacred Tabernacle on their way to the sacristy, without even genuflecting or bowing reverently. Jesus is inside that tabernacle!

In addition, I am honestly trying to adjust to seeing people partake of the Sacred Host by hand, something that is too much for me, very well knowing what sins my hands are guilty of. It is a personal choice for me to partake of the Host by tongue, and for me it is no longer a matter of health concern (a medical student I may be) but a matter of faith. If only I could even kneel!

This seems to echo my post for yesterday, which focuses on this phrase: Domine, non sum dignus... My Lord, I am not worthy. This is why I really fell in love with the Tridentine Rite: it manifests the adoration and the worship that the Holy Eucharist deserves. I believe that God speaks better in silence, and how beautiful if the Holy Eucharist were celebrated while being filled with that holy silence.

Today's Gospel echoes the message about God's presence in the Eucharist. In this day and age when people seem to rely on human understanding of Scripture to derive a sense of fullness and holiness (very evident in the services of Evangelical churches), we seem to forget an altogether more powerful Presence of God, in the Eucharist. People today may be searching for a sign that would enable them to lead holier lives, but few people realize that it is the Sacred Host that will help make it possible. Received worthily and in a state of grace, the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord will strengthen us. No temptation can ever surmount it.

Let us pray that through the Eucharist, the people of today's Catholic Church may truly rediscover the Holy Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and give Him the Worship and Adoration that He deserves.

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Saint Ignatius of Loyola, priest of the Tridentine Rite, pray for us.

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photo credits: http://www.artisttrust.org/sites/trust.civicactions.net/files/images/05.Rue.JonahintheWhaleW.jpg, http://www.digital-images.net/Images/NS_Paint/St_Ignatius_3538.jpg