Do this in Memory of Me: Mortify Your Senses

By: Laura Catherine Worhacz

“One who aspires to union with God will use mortification as the mystical ladder of Jacob (cf. Genesis 28:12). This is the sign of true progress in the journey towards God. It can even be said that one can go to God only through the cross of Calvary. It is the sharp, two-edged sword (cf. Revelation 1:16) mentioned in the Book of Revelation. The journey to life passes through death. To know the state of a soul, this is what must be examined. If its detachment is great, this soul is great; if not, then it is still plodding on the ground and in the mud. Why is mortification the measure of our progress towards God? Because we must set ourselves aside to be united to God.”

St. Peter Julian Eymard
(Letter to the Sister Servants for Lent, Paris February 22, 1863)

​Dearest Eucharistic Family,

Ash Wednesday will be upon us in a few days. Looking at our lives through the eyes of Heaven, what do we see? Through the grace of the Eucharist, what is revealed to us?
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Our individual sacrifices are varied in many ways. Perhaps we can look up together, to the head of the Mystical Body of Christ, to better see the feeble parts within. Beginning with ourselves, prayer is necessary; fidelity and self-denial are required to love in Christ. 

“So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.” (Matthew 18:35)
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We learn to love like Jesus by loving Jesus. During Lent, it has been a practice since before the 1500s to pray the Stations of The Cross. By this, we immerse ourselves into the Passion of Christ.

Mortification has been strongly in my prayer since it seems to be the way to lose ourselves and find God. The mystery of The Scourging at the Pillar is always very intense to pray on my rosaries. Mortifying our senses to perfection can be derived from this meditation and union with Christ. Only our Divine Savior could have endured the pain from the whips; it is beyond our comprehension. The strikes to the flesh, the pain Jesus endured in His Passion, help us to dissipate all we hold onto to find what will be with us for all eternity, love.

I recall the first time I watched the movie, The Passion of the Christ… I went through a box of tissues, and there was an emptying of self that seeped in my soul. The only hunger at that moment was filled by the desire to bind the wounds of Christ and cling to our Blessed Mother.

We can live in love for one another by the grace of the Eucharist, embracing the reality of the love that has been poured out for each of us so intimately. Lent is a special gift to us; it is a season of hope. It reminds me of our time in adoration, in that sometimes we cannot see what is happening, yet there is a mystical blessing affirming God’s love for us.
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Quiet time will help us go deep within to identify with the pains of forgiveness we need to give and receive. Although we may not repair every part of our lives that have suffered, we can find peace and trust in knowing God always brings about a greater good. 

“We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
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Meditating in the presence of the Eucharist will draw us into the life that is to come in all of its fullness. Whenever I come out of prayer time, there is an awareness of grace, a desire to give. A fresh breath of air to take in to help me respond to situations with Jesus. Our Mother is with us in every virtue we try to grow in. Mary is in the shadows of Christ’s love for us, with St. Joseph in the Sacrament, they lived.  May we find charity, almsgiving, and fasting as a special gift to Jesus this Lenten season.

To live in the realm of our spiritual realities, voluntary self-sacrifice will enable us to live in conformity to the love of Jesus Christ. Mortifying our senses will help us to see past ourselves into the heart of another, thus enabling the Eucharistic Heart to pulsate Our Heavenly Father’s love. The Holy Spirit who lives in the inner cenacle of our souls will grant us the power to find the fortitude of mortification. Love has Risen!
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Laura Catherine Worhacz

Laura Catherine Worhacz is a Lay Associate of the Blessed Sacrament and author of Consecration to Jesus Through Our Lady of The Blessed Sacrament. She is also the Director of Mothers of The Blessed Sacrament. She lives in Trinity, FL with her husband and their two daughters.