Saturday, June 01, 2013

Holy Hour with the Pope tomorrow!

From The Word Among Us (wau.org):
 
On Sunday, June 2, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, Pope Francis is presiding over a special worldwide Eucharistic Adoration. It will take place at 5:00 PM, Rome time (11:00 AM Eastern time). Dioceses and parishes all over the world will join in simultaneously, or, depending on the time zone, with a Holy Hour at a more convenient time that day.
 
To learn more about this special Year of Faith event and to find a Holy Hour near you, visit www.annusfidei.va (click on “Events” and then “Adoration in the World”). Of course, you can join in by doing your own hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

Prayer Intentions. As you pray, keep in mind Pope Francis’ special prayer intentions for the month of June:
  • That a culture of dialogue, listening, and mutual respect may prevail among peoples.
  •  That where secularization is strongest, Christian communities may effectively promote a new evangelization.

And Pray with Faith! Remember the gospel passage where Philip invites Nathanael to come meet Jesus with him? He tells his friend: “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” When Nathanael scoffs and asks, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip replies simply, “Come and see.” Nathanael does just that, and within the first few moments of his conversation with Jesus, he declares, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:45-46,49).

What happened to Nathanael can happen to us! When we “come and see” Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, he will convince us that he is the Son of God, that he is our Savior, and that he is our Lord. The same Jesus who changed Nathanael can change our lives as we spend time in his presence.

But it won’t happen as if by magic. Of course, God will bless us if we just show up and sit passively before him, but there is so much more available to us than a general blessing from God. We open ourselves to receive it when we use our intellect in prayer, holding fast to the truths of Christ’s presence and telling ourselves to expect Jesus to touch us and teach us. Jesus promised that “all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life” (John 6:40). That active belief is what will bring us into contact with Jesus. It will open the floodgates of his blessing and his love for us.

So when you go to visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, ask him to reveal himself to you. Listen for his still, small voice in your heart. After all, prayer is conversation with God—conversation with a God who loves to talk with us and to embrace us with his love.

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