 The other day I asked my son, “Do you know how much I love you?” He answered the same way he always does, “A lot,” he said. This time though, wanting a little more, I asked, “How do you know?” His answer was simple, perplexing, and profound…. “You breathe.” He said this without pausing, without thinking about it; it was just a matter of fact. Puzzled, I said, “I breathe? “… “Yes, mom,” he said, “you just ARE.”
What a profound truth. We are made by love, for love… Love is who we are. We long to be seen, known, and accepted. To love is to encounter, to experience, to receive the other. This is why rejection is such a painful experience… We are meant to be received, but sin makes us ashamed. It makes us hide. But when we hide the parts we believe are unacceptable and unlovable, we make it impossible for others to receive who we truly are. Where do we find a remedy for this illness? We find it in the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts. Deep within the heart of the one WHO IS, we find the truth of who we ARE.
Truth tells us we are known…
Truth tells us we are loved…
We must hide there, rest there, wait there… until we experience love.
And then, once we open our hearts and receive His love, we let it overflow.
Then, as we encounter others and receive them, they will experience God’s love through us.
In Him… Just breathe… Receive.
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 The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has decreed that starting on the Feast of Corpus Christi (June 19, 2022) and continuing for the next three years, the Catholic community in our country will be immersed in a National Eucharistic Revival. This revival is meant to re-kindle a living, loving and active relationship with Christ Eucharistic. Throughout our different dioceses and parishes, we are called into active discernment and participation in the life of the Church through Communion, Adoration, and all that it means to be Eucharistic, a life of thanksgiving. The Eucharist is the main treasure of our Catholic faith, and Communion is the banquet we shall attend, where we meet Christ personally, physically, and spiritually. To those who have followed our Eucharistic meditations over the years, we invite you to go deeper into your relationship with the Eucharistic Christ and explore all that it means to live thanksgiving in the light of Christ. You have probably come to know some of the writings of Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Elisheba’s patron Saint and Apostle of the Eucharist. There is not much I can say that would better present our Eucharistic treasure and joy than to use his words, so I leave you in Saint Peter Julian Eymard’s capable hands.
As we go into this revival, let us always remember how we are called to live, in His goodness, and realize what our due is. We must acknowledge the great gift we have been bestowed. Let us recognize Him in the Eucharist and embrace Him with all that we are.
Let us pray: Lord, You are the Lord of all, yet you humble Yourself to become the Bread of Life, food for our journey home, nourishment for a rich life in You. Help us, Lord, to recognize You in the Eucharist. We pray for those of us that do not know You, do not seek You, and do not acknowledge You. Help us become aware of and thankful for Your great gift to us in the Eucharist. May you be glorified and adored in all the tabernacles of the word. Amen.
 One of my favorite psalms that raises my heart to the heavens each time it is prayed in the morning Liturgy of the hours is Psalm 81: “I freed your shoulder from the burden; your hands were freed from the load. You called in distress and I saved you.” An invisible force of God’s love is manifested in these words; they have spirit and life in a magnified way. We can meditate with them for a moment to find the inner cenacle of our existence connected to our Eucharistic Lord and comfort in His redemption for us in this psalm of salvation. As we enter into ordinary time, we hear about false gods in the scriptures; indeed, these cannot free us from the burden. The Cross is a gift for the Christian. As we are transcended and identify more with the Crucified One, Jesus Christ, we experience love beyond this world. It does become visible for those who believe. It is visible love ignited in a soul that wants to return and bring to life the love they have found, the freedom they have been given. “I answered, concealed in the storm cloud...” (Psalm 81) Saint Peter Julian Eymard, a profoundly contemplative soul, discovered that the way to live in perfection through his humanity is to become a gift of self. Can we look to the other in every breath of life and relationship? The night before our Lord Jesus Christ handed himself over to death, he revealed to us how to glorify Our Heavenly Father. Jesus knelt down and washed his disciples’ feet (John 13:5). The Holy Spirit, the invisible grace, offers us joy in our work. Jesus washed the disciples’ feet with joy, passion, and love. Jesus teaches us to love one another. To be “freed” from ourselves and live in the Incarnation of God’s promise, love, and the blessings of the Holy Spirit. God wants us to be exalted! Yes, through life’s passions, hardships, and pains, we cling to the Kingdom of Heaven. The Bishop of St. Petersburg, Bishop Gregory Parkes, is having surgery as I type; he will have part of his leg amputated to save him from a recurring infection in his foot. This has been a heavy burden on our diocese and the Universal Church. It is incomprehensible to think of waking up without part of your body. A dearest sister in Christ is living in the reality that her nine-year-old son’s cancer has returned forcefully into his body. My daughter’s co-worker died in a car accident this past week. Challenging to grasp this level of mystery of suffering. Yet we believe! “Let there be no foreign god among you, no worship of an alien god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt. Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it.” (Psalm 81) As we open our mouths to receive the Blessed Sacrament, may we find true freedom in our lives, a place to be strengthened in God’s grace to rise out of this life and live in the Spirit of God’s magnificent love. May we be attentive to others to help shoulder their Cross with our love. Let us be a visible sign in our world of God’s love, “I freed your shoulder from the burden; your hands were freed from the load. You called in distress and I saved you.” (Psalm 81) May our Eucharistic love make Jesus present in our midst. We are convinced that Jesus’ saving grace will help us persevere through the challenges of our times. In the words of Saint Peter Julian Eymard:
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AuthorsWe are Ivonne J. Hernandez, Rick Hernandez and Laura Worhacz, Lay Associates of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, and brothers and sisters in Christ. 
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