On the Blessed Sacrament

The Blessed Sacrament is the greatest treasure of the Catholic Church. Because God loved us as he did, He remained with us for all eternity in the form of bread and wine. True food for the soul. As Catholics we are encouraged to spend time with in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament in the form of adoration. Shouldn't we be like the Mary character in the Gospel and spend time contemplating Christ?

In a time of New Year resolutions, perhaps we can all make the effor to visit the Blessed Sacrament at least once a week to spend a few minutes in the presence of Christ himself. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says,

1418 Because Christ himself is present in the sacrament of the altar, he is to be honored with the worship of adoration. "To visit the Blessed Sacrament is . . . a proof of gratitude, an expression of love, and a duty of adoration toward Christ our Lord" (Paul VI, MF 66).

Here are some quotes from some of my favorite writers.

"Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth:the Blessed Sacrament.There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth." ~J.R.R. Tolkien

"We adore Thee most holy Lord Jesus Christ, here in all Thy Churches, which are in the whole world, because by Thy holy cross, Thou hast redeemed the world."
~St. Francis of Assisi

Each time we look upon Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, He raises us up into deeper union with Himself, opens up the floodgates of His merciful love to the whole world, and brings us closer to the day of His final victory "where every knee will bend and proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord". "The reign of God is already in your midst." The coming of Jesus to us in the Eucharist is assurance of His promise of final victory: "BEHOLD, I COME TO MAKE ALL THINGS NEW." ~Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

"In a world where there is so much noise, so much bewilderment, there is a need for silent adoration of Jesus concealed in the Host. Be assiduous in the prayer of adoration and teach it to the faithful. It is a source of comfort and light, particularly to those who are suffering." - Pope Benedict XVI

"The Church and the world have a great need of Eucharistic worship."~Pope John
Paul II

"When the Sisters are exhausted, up to their eyes in work; when all seems to go awry, they spend an hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. This practice has never failed to bear fruit: they experience peace and strength," ~Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Jesus is the Way

"Jesus is the way that leads to the true life, the life that never ends. It is often a steep and narrow way but, if one allows oneself to be attracted by Him, it is always stupendous, like a mountain path: the higher one climbs the easier it becomes to gaze down upon new panoramas, ever more beautiful and vast. The journey is tiring but we are not alone. ... What is important is not to lose our way, not to miss the path, otherwise we risk falling into an abyss or getting lost in the woods."

- From the Holy Father's 12/20 Audience with the Italian Catholic Action

God's Will- Free Will- Predestination

A question about the title of this post was asked at our first meeting. I made reference to this in an earlier post. At the request of a reader, I am posting an answer to this question:

If God knows what we are going to do, then how is that not predestination and what does it do to our free will?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says the following about free will:

1731 Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility. By free will one shapes one's own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude.

So then... we are each given the privilege to shape our own life. And out of complete love for his creation, God does not impede in the process of it. So what is God's will? I believe that God has a dream dreamt long before our earthly existence for each one of us. It is a dream of being who God is in the world. And so, every heartbeat of our existence and every decision we make should go toward this end. In the Confessions, Saint Augustine writes, "Our hearts were made for you [God], and they are restless until they find their rest in you." Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologica writes, "So, what is the purpose of the universe? God freely created the universe to manifest His goodness as far as possible..."

God's knowledge of our future events does not mean that God has predestined us. Omniscience and predestination are two quite different concepts. God is omniscient because as God, God knows everything in the past, present and future all at once in the presence. But just because God knows what our decisions are going to be, it does not mean that God has planned it that way or that he is responsible for our actions. Consider this analogy. A weatherman can predict the rain, but the weatherman is not responsible for making it rain. Knowledge does not necessarily imply responsibility for the cause.

Do predestination and free will meet? No. We are predestined in so far to love and be loveable, BUT, we have the responsibility and choice to live in that manner or not-- equally important is how we live it out.

I hope this post helps answer or clarify any questions that are lingering about this issue. Comments are welcome and appreciated.