A masterpiece of divine power, the Eucharist is also the masterpiece of divine love. And the nature of love is never to say, “It is enough.” The good Jesus has loved us from all eternity, even before the beginning of the world. He loved us in creating us; He loved us in becoming man, in being born in a manger, in dying on the Cross. Yet He wished to go still further. He sought a way to give Himself again – to give Himself unceasingly, to give Himself always to those He loves and from whom He desires love in return. This is why He gave us the Eucharist.
The Eucharist is the supreme gift of love, because it is the total gift of self – and a gift renewed at every moment, day and night. It is Jesus, ever in adoration before His Father, making up for our poor prayers; always interceding for us; always offering Himself in sacrifice for our salvation. It is also Jesus living continually with us, thinking of us even when we forget Him, always ready to help us, to strengthen us, and to console us.
“O Jesus, the measure of Your love for us has been to love us without measure. How ungrateful my heart would be if I did not love You with all my soul!”
The Eucharist is not only a sacrament that gives us grace; it is also a sacrifice. A sacrifice is an offering made to God. In ancient times, men offered animals in sacrifice to God. Our Lord Jesus Christ judged that His Father was not sufficiently honored by these human sacrifices. To honor the supreme majesty as it deserves, He willed to offer a victim chosen above all others, of infinite value. For this reason, He offered Himself by instituting the sacrifice of the Mass.
The sacrifice of the Mass is the representation and continuation of the sacrifice of Calvary. The only difference is that, on the Cross, Jesus Christ truly died and shed His blood, whereas in the Mass He offers Himself to His Father in an unbloody manner.
The Mass is the most solemn act of Catholic worship and the most powerful of prayers. United with the priest and with Our Lord Jesus Christ, we should, when attending it, have four principal intentions:
Frances d’Amboise, Duchess of Brittany – whom the Church in France venerates as a saint – showed from her earliest childhood a burning desire to receive the Body of Jesus Christ. She would often weep during Mass, her eyes fixed on the sacred Host. Her sorrow grew even greater on the days when the duchess, her mother, and the ladies of the court approached the Holy Table.
One day, the duchess asked her the cause of such sadness.
“How,” cried the child, “can you expect me not to weep, when I see my lord the duke, yourself, and the whole court enriched with the treasures of Heaven by receiving God – while I, because of my age, am deprived of this great good?”
Deeply moved to tears, the good duchess promised Frances that she would do everything possible to obtain for her the grace of receiving Communion on the next feast of All Saints. She went to see the pious Dominican, Yves de Pontsal. He questioned the young princess, marveled at the strength of her faith and the fervor of her devotion, and finally granted her the long-desired permission.
On All Saints’ Day in 1432, Frances appeared in church, clothed in her lovely ermine mantle bearing the arms of Brittany. She made her First Communion with such devotion that all who were present were deeply touched.
She was not yet five years old.