Feb. 12, 2013 Tuesday: Divine Mercy Novena Week 2
What's your idea of a relaxing trip? Barely 2 hours of sleep, light clothing drenched in freezing rain, and an uphill climb do not sound like a pleasure trip. Well, about 4-weeks ago, that’s how my fellow pilgrims and I began our pilgrimage to Rome. After meeting our guide at the Rome airport, we didn’t think to get our winter jackets, umbrellas, or gloves out of our luggage. When we arrived at our first stop, it was too late to get our winter gear, because the luggage was tightly packed in the underbelly of the bus. Shivering in the wet winter weather, ten of us sloshed our way to the Cathedral of Orvieto. The discomfort at the beginning of our trip is not that different from our everyday life experiences. Each day all of us face unexpected challenges, inconveniences, and even suffering; many times we can't change the circumstances. Who here has not faced unexpected illness or death of a family member that put our life on a hold. All of us have had a “rainy day” when it has poured and won’t let up.
That is why we all have a desire to go somewhere where we can rest. We desire rest because we often find ourselves restless; restlessness we feel should tell us that there is hunger and thirst in our soul.
When the ten pilgrims stepped inside the special chapel inside the Cathedral of Orvieto, we found that rest. It was away from the chilly rain, but more importantly the chapel displays a linen cloth which holds a miracle. In 1263 a priest from Germany was on pilgrimage to Rome. While he was a good and pious priest he was having doubts of faith at the time concerning the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
As he was celebrating mass, just as he had begun to speak the words of the Consecration, blood started to drip from the consecrated Host over his hands and onto the altar and the corporal. This miracle was investigated by Pope Urban and now that linen cloth is on display right behind the altar where we celebrated our first mass on our pilgrimage.
St. Faustina, the apostle of Divine Mercy wrote in her diary, “One thing alone sustains me, and that is Holy Communion. From it I draw my strength; in it is all my comfort... Jesus concealed in the Host is everything to me. Here, I seek consolation in time of anguish. I would not know how to give glory to God if I did not have the Eucharist in my heart”. (Diary 1037)
The ten pilgrims learned again why Jesus gives his very self in the Eucharist. In this pilgrimage of life when we face challenge and suffering, He alone provides comfort, strength, and rest. That is why the scripture says, “All you who are thirsty, come to the water!” It is blood from his side that quenches the thirst of our soul as we journey through life.
That is why we all have a desire to go somewhere where we can rest. We desire rest because we often find ourselves restless; restlessness we feel should tell us that there is hunger and thirst in our soul.
When the ten pilgrims stepped inside the special chapel inside the Cathedral of Orvieto, we found that rest. It was away from the chilly rain, but more importantly the chapel displays a linen cloth which holds a miracle. In 1263 a priest from Germany was on pilgrimage to Rome. While he was a good and pious priest he was having doubts of faith at the time concerning the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
As he was celebrating mass, just as he had begun to speak the words of the Consecration, blood started to drip from the consecrated Host over his hands and onto the altar and the corporal. This miracle was investigated by Pope Urban and now that linen cloth is on display right behind the altar where we celebrated our first mass on our pilgrimage.
St. Faustina, the apostle of Divine Mercy wrote in her diary, “One thing alone sustains me, and that is Holy Communion. From it I draw my strength; in it is all my comfort... Jesus concealed in the Host is everything to me. Here, I seek consolation in time of anguish. I would not know how to give glory to God if I did not have the Eucharist in my heart”. (Diary 1037)
The ten pilgrims learned again why Jesus gives his very self in the Eucharist. In this pilgrimage of life when we face challenge and suffering, He alone provides comfort, strength, and rest. That is why the scripture says, “All you who are thirsty, come to the water!” It is blood from his side that quenches the thirst of our soul as we journey through life.
