Do This in Memory of Me: Lovingly Surrender for Christmas

By: Laura Worhacz

“You know my wishes for you are always the same: let us truly love our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us love him royally in his beloved Sacrament; let us serve him with joy and happiness, like the Angels and Saints in Heaven. Let us find everything good, everything fine which comes to us from his fatherly hand. Let us lovingly surrender to him our worries for the future, forgiveness for the past, and walk under the beautiful sun of his grace.” -  Saint Peter Julian Eymard (The Life and Letters of Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Vol.4)

Dearest Eucharistic Family,

Looking for the perfect gift for Christmas?

Most of you know Raymond, my husband, had liver transplant surgery this past November 16th in NYC. We have left our home in Tampa for an indefinite amount of time so Raymond can be close to his medical team. The first year after this extensive surgery is a critical time, and Ray needs to be watched very closely. Clinging to the Eucharist has kept my family secure in God’s love during this alteration in our lives. Lovingly surrendering our own wants to the pathway of Heaven found in our hearts, will keep us close to the Angels and Saints, to the goodness of Our Father. God desires a return of our love. The perfect Christmas gift may be spending more time with our Lord, falling in Love with Jesus more each day.

Change is something often feared and handed over to anxieties. As we lovingly surrender by living in the grace of the moment through the Eucharist, the will of God births into our existence. Our freedom demands our choices; this includes our dispositions. Acts of our own will are important for us to recognize. Sacramental grace lives through us. We can cast out darkness by turning on the light. Have you woken up sad? Transform the sadness by calling upon the Lord, “Jesus cast out the sadness in my soul. Turn all to Your glory. Help me give thanks.”

The Liturgical seasons afford us opportunities to love Jesus more, especially in His beloved Sacrament of the Eucharist. Thanking Him for dying so that goodness may be found in our lives, focusing on our own faults, purifying our own souls, and shining a light on what God may want from us, is a Christmas gift to be cherished. By this dying to our own selves we become a gift to God and others, and only in the Eucharist can we find the grace to live in Heaven while on earth.

Saint Peter Julian Eymard, after a long retreat in Rome, close to his own death, opened his heart to the fullness of the reality of becoming a total Gift of Self. He lovingly surrendered all for the service of the adorable Sacrament of the Altar. In our faith we find the hope of our eternal dwelling place. Jesus lovingly surrendered; His birth brought light to the world. Jesus lovingly surrendered; His passion demonstrated the truth in existence of His love. Jesus lovingly surrendered; His death gifted us with an eternal place of GRACE. In the Blessed Sacrament let us find the perfect gift, the gift of self by lovingly surrendering for Christmas.
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Christmas Blessings!
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