Peanuts Classic

I still love Peanuts and Charlie Brown......I was watching the classic Charlie Brown Christmas with my grandsons recently and when my favorite part came I was filled with so much joy and comfort. It is where the characters are on the stage and Linus says  "I'll tell you what Christmas is about Charlie Brown.....(the lights are dimmed to just a spot light on Linus) "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all people....For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

I love Linus' little voice....he is so confident and sure....he is ssssooo correct.  There isn't a more comforting, hopeful, joyful feeling than when I hear those words.

If I Love Jesus

As I progress through Advent and every day of my life asking Jesus to draw me closer to Him....this, from St. Peter Julian Eymard is one of my favorite inspirations.

Yaquina Lighthouse in the Fog 14" x 14" Throw Pillow for Sale by Sharon Elliott

fineartamerica.com

Yaquina Lighthouse in fog during the early morning hours, gives way by noonish to beautiful sunlit days on the Oregon Coast, near Newport Oregon. 

One of the most beautiful lighthouses in America, the Yaquina Head Light is a magnet for photographers and tourists, who can see it from U.S. 101, the Pacific Coast Highway. The magnificent rock outcropping on which the light station stands is a magnet of a more literal variety. At its core is a rich vein of magnetized iron that raises cain with the compasses of ships passing nearby. Most vessels sailing up and down the Oregon coast give this light a wide berth. Not just because their compasses dance, but because numerous ships have come to grief along this stretch of coast, many within sight of the lighthouse.
Yaquina Light was completed in 1873, and at the top of it's 93 foot high tower is an extraordinary twelve-foot-high first-order Fresnel lens that cast a light-beam that can be seen miles out to sea. The Fresnel lens is situated at a height of 162 feet above sea level, and flashes intervals of red then white light. To extend the reach of its warning, the station broadcasts a radio beacon.

Proverbs 17:17

As I was driving through the country areas near Orofino Idaho.....really wanting to find a field of a wild flower that blooms in the spring....the name of the flower escapes me at this moment........anyway, I walked up to this fence to get a closer view and these two horses and some others came from across the field to greet me. These two stood out....who says they don't have emotions.....
https://www.etsy.com/listing/86568724/proverbs-1717?ref=shop_home_active_16

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Proverbs 17:17 by AllToolsPrayerful on Etsy

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Verse Prints....Simple Gift

Simple words of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Let us be Silent......in our hearts and minds.....that we can hear God speak to us. Taking time each day for Adoration or just quiet meditation is one of my favorite things to do. This image of the fog defused light of the sun, spoke these words to me. Fog and snow create a felling of quiet within our souls. 
https://www.etsy.com/listing/89483108/whisper-of-god?ref=shop_home_active_9

Whisper of God by AllToolsPrayerful on Etsy

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Yellowstone Winter - Mammoth Area

I want to go snow shoeing so bad....I am trying to encourage the Weather God's with some posts......hint,hint,hint

Yellowstone - A must see in the Winter

Yellowstone in the grip of winter
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/mammoth-ice-sharon-elliott.html

Mammoth Ice by Sharon Elliott

fineartamerica.com

Yellowstone in the Winter - Quiet and Peaceful

This image is from one of my favorite times in Yellowstone.  What an awesome place....it is so peaceful and quiet in the winter.
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/predators-sharon-elliott.html

Predators by Sharon Elliott

fineartamerica.com

Luke 2: 11-12

One of my new pieces on SEImagesonline
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/luke-2-11-12-sharon-elliott.html?viewall=true

Luke 2 11 - 12 by Sharon Elliott

fineartamerica.com

Awareness Poem

Awareness Poem
https://www.etsy.com/listing/86567872/awareness-poem?ref=shop_home_active_20

Awareness Poem by AllToolsPrayerful on Etsy

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He is the Way, the Truth, and the Light

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/he-is-risen-sharon-elliott.html

He Is Risen by Sharon Elliott

fineartamerica.com

Handmade Christmas cards from my photography. Average card size is 5x7 they come in packs of 10 and each box is $15.00. Made from my photographs and framed in a Matte type card or my images printed on cardstock. Pictures reveal the message inside. Nine styles to choose from, some whimsical, some more religious in context. This card title, Manger Scene. This design is available in White or Cream color Cardstock. There is one box of each color available at this time. Cards also available on my Fine Art America website: SEImagesonline.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/86565816/christmas-card-packs?ref=shop_home_active_9

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Christmas Card Packs by AllToolsPrayerful on Etsy

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Chaplet of Saint Francis of Assisi

New Chaplet on AllToolsPrayerful
https://www.etsy.com/listing/210375835/chaplet-of-saint-francis-of-assisi?ref=shop_home_active_1

Chaplet of Saint Francis of Assisi by AllToolsPrayerful on Etsy

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This Chaplet is made from Earth-tone Marble beads, 8 mm in diameter. Smaller, 6 mm beads separate the groups of 3 beads, and seed beads are used to separate all groupings. The Crucifix of this Chaplet is Pope Francis Crucifix and the Saint Francis medal is engraved on the back with "Pray for us". This Chaplet is designed for not only prayer time but could be used as a bookmark also. This Chaplet comes with a pamphlet for instructions on how to pray the Chaplet.

Prayer of Saint Francis

Just sold again....8th time. Thank you to the art collector in Maine, I hope you have many peaceful times praying with Saint Francis and viewing the Oregon Coast.
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/prayer-of-st-francis-of-assisi-sharon-elliott.html
This Prayer Attributed to St Francis of Assisi, is one of my favorite prayers.
Lord make me and instrument of your peace.....is a phrase that resonates in me the work of Christ we all need to do in a troubled world.
As I traveled down the Oregon coast in the early morning hours before the fog burns off, I see many peaceful quiet scenes that gives me time to sit and comtemplate how I can be the light of Christ today

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Chaplet of St. Jude

 

These Chaplets and prayer cards are created for the Chaplet and Prayer of St. Jude. Each prayer ends with 3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary and 3 Glory Be to the Father prayers for which these Chaplets are designed. Prayer cards are included with the Chaplets.
These Chaplets are created from Marble in earth-tone colors, Jacob's Tears (a plant), and from Green Agate beads. Three sets of 3 beads completes the prayer to St. Jude with 3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary, and 3 Glory Be to the Father prayers. The back of the medals contains the Holy Spirit Dove. Prayer Card is included with the Chaplets.

St. Jude, known as Thaddaeus, was a brother of St. James the Less, and a relative of our Savior. Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Lybia. According to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem in the year 62, and assisted at the election of his brother, St. Simeon as Bishop of Jerusalem. He is the author of an epistle to the Churches of the East. particularly the Jewish converts, directed against the heresies of the Simonians, Nicolaites, and Gnostics. This Apostle is said to have suffered martyrdom in Armenia, which was then subject to Persia.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/209521623/chaplet-of-st-jude?ref=shop_home_active_3

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Chaplet of St. Jude by AllToolsPrayerful on Etsy

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These Chaplets and prayer cards are created for the Prayer of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This prayer ends with 3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary and 3 Glory Be to the Father prayers for which these Chaplets are designed. Prayer cards are included with the Chaplets.
The purple Chaplet is made from 8mm Czech Crystal Amethyst beads and have Italian Crucifix and Saint Medal on each end. The back of the Medal has the image of The Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The Red Chaplet is made from 8mm Coral Cube, diagonal cut beads, with Green Seed beads to separate the cubes, and a medal separator between each of the set of three prayers.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the patronal feast of the Carmelites. The Order of Carmelites takes its name from Mount Carmel, which was the first place dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and where a chapel was erected in her honor before her Assumption into heaven.

July 16 is also the feast of the Scapular of Mount Carmen. On that day in 1251, pious tradition says, the Blessed Virgin appeared to St Simon Stock, General of the Carmelites at Cambridge, England, showed him the scapular and promised supernatural favors and her special protection to his Order and to all persons who would wear her scapular.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/209519985/our-lady-of-mount-carmel-chaplet?ref=shop_home_active_4

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Our Lady of Mount Carmel Chaplet by AllToolsPrayerful on Etsy

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New items I finished this weekend, find two other saints on AllToolsPrayerful......more coming in upcoming weeks.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/209498974/st-bernadetteour-lady-of-lourdes?ref=shop_home_active_5

Seven Joys of Mary Crown Rosary

The Seven Decade Crown Rosary dates back to 1422, and prays the 7 Joys of our Blessed Mother. 

A novice in the Franciscan Order who, previously accustomed to express his devotion to the Blessed Virgin by adorning her statue with a wreath of fresh flowers, was prevented from continuing this practice in the novitiate. In distress, he considered leaving the Order. But the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and instructed him to recite a rosary of seven decades in honor of her seven joys; thus, he might weave a "crown" more pleasing to her than flowers on her statue.
It is now general practice in the Franciscan Order to recite the "The Crown of the Seven Joys", it is known in this Order as the Franciscan Crown - or Seraphic Rosary. 

Pray the Rosary

"The immense good which this noble devotion
(the Rosary) has done to the 

world is well known. How many, by its means, have been delivered from sin! How many led to live a holy life! How many to a good death, and are now saved!"

                                         -St. Alphonsus Liguori

Pray unceasingly to our Blessed Mother for her intercession; for she loves us with unimaginable love. How can we say we have no time. She always has time for us, she always leads us to Her Son our Lord and Savior.

Happy Friday everyone

Today's Featured artist is Spyder Webb, who faithfully posts on Google+ Community page each day sharing his Reiki series.  The following link with take you to his Fine Art America website.
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/orbs-tiny-daily-reiki-067-spiritpainter.html

Pray the Rosary - Not Just for Catholics - Sunday's Mysteries

Sunday got pretty busy and I missed the Mystery for the Rosary.....it is Glorious Mysteries.  The contemplation of Chris' face cannot stop at the image of the Crucified One.  He is the Risen One!'  The Rosary has always expressed this knowledge born of faith and invited the believer to pass beyond the darkness of the Passion in order to gaze upon Christ's glory in the resurrection and Ascension.  Mary herself would be raised to that same glory in the Assumption.  (Prayed on Wednesdays and Sundays).  


I love this set of Mysteries.....I get an occasion to thank our Blessed Mother for all that she has done for me and pray for her continued intersession to draw me closer to her Divine Son.

Saturday's Mysteries - Joyful Mysteries

Once again we return to the Joyful Mysteries.   These Mysteries are marked by the joy radiating from the event of the Incarnation.  this is clear from the very first mystery, the Annunciation, where Gabriel's greeting to the Virgin of Nazareth is linked to an invitation to messianic joy: "Rejoice, Mary."  The whole of salvation....had led up to this greeting.
(Prayed on Mondays and Saturdays, and optional on Sundays during Advent and Christmas Season)

Source: From the Apostolic Letter   The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, Pope John Paul II   Oct. 16, 2002

Simple gift ideas on AllToolsPrayerful

October is the month of the Rosary

"Just as two friends, frequently in each other's
company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them..."
                                -Blessed Bartolo Longo

Praying the Rosary - Not just for Catholics Friday's Mysteries

Friday's Mystery goes once again to the Sorrowful Mysteries:  The Gospels give great prominence to the Sorrowful Mysteries of Christ. From the beginning, Christian piety, especially during the Lenten devotion of the Way of the Cross, has focused on the individual moments of the Passion, realizing God's love and the source of our salvation.  (Prayed on Tuesdays and Fridays and optional on Sundays during Lent).

Source: From the Apostolic Letter The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, Pope John Paul II   Oct. 16, 2002

Praying the Rosary.....Not just for Catholics Thursdays Mysteries: Luminous Mysteries

Thursday’s Mysteries: Luminous Mysteries

1^st Luminous Mystery: Baptism of Jesus     Fruit of the Mystery : Openness to the Holy Spirit    Matthew 3:16-17

And when Jesus was baptized…the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on Him, and a voice from heaven saying “this is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

2^nd Luminous Mystery:  Wedding at Cana     Fruit of the Mystery        To Jesus Through Mary     John 2:5-7

His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”  Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them to the brim

3^rd Mystery: Proclaiming the Kingdom     Fruit of the Mystery: Repentance and Trust in God   Matthew 10:7-8

“And preach you go saying,  “The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons, you received without pay, give without pay.”

4^th Mystery: Transfiguration      Fruit of the Mystery Desire for Holiness    Luke 9:29, 35

And as He was praying, the appearance of His countenance was altered and His raiment became dazzling white.  And a voice came out of the cloud saying, “This is My Son, My chosen; listen to Him!”

5^th Mystery: Institution of the Eucharist     Fruit of the Mystery:  Adoration    Luke 22:19-20

And He took bread, and when He had given thanks He broke it and gave it to them saying,  “This is My body which is given for you”…..And likewise the cup after supper, saying “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”

Praying the Rosary......Not just for Catholics: Wednesday's Mysteries

Wednesday’s Mysteries:  Glorious Mysteries

1^st Mystery: The Resurrection     Mark 16:6

You need not be amazed! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, the one who was crucified.  He has been raised up; He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.”

Fruit of the Mystery: Faith

2^nd Mystery:  The Ascension    Mark 16:19

The, after speaking to them, the Lord Jesus was taken up into Heaven and took His seat at God’s right hand.

Fruit of the Mystery: Hope

3^rd Mystery: Descent of the Holy Spirit     Acts 2:4

All were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to express themselves in foreign tongues and make bold proclamation as the Spirit prompted them

Fruit of the Mystery:  Love of God

4^th Mystery The Assumption     Judith 15:9-10

You are the glory of Jerusalem…you are the splendid boast of our people…God is pleased with what you have wrought.  May you be blessed by the Lord Almighty forever and ever.

Fruit of the Mystery: Grace of a Happy Death

5^th Mystery: The Coronation    Revelation 12:1

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

Fruit of the Mystery: Trust in Mary’s Intercession

Praying the Rosary: Not Just for Catholics.....Tuesday's Mysteries

Tuesday is the Sorrowful Mysteries and when I pray them, I not only think of the immense suffering that Jesus endured for our sins, but I also think of Mother Mary seeing all of this going on......Her Son, being killed by the people He loved most. 

Tuesday, praying the Rosary:  Sorrowful Mysteries

1st Mystery: Agony in the Garden     Luke 22:44-45
In His anguish He prayed with all the greater intensity, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.  Then He rose from prayer and came to His disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted with grief.  Fruit of the Mystery: Sorrow for Sin
Every time we sin....we break down our relationship with our Lord, and disappoint Him. Are we sorry?
2nd Mystery: Scouraging at the Pillar  John 19:1
Pilate's next move was to take Jesus and have Him scourged. 
Fruit of the Mystery: Purity
Are our thoughts and deeds pure in heart?

3rd Mystery: Crowning with Thorns     Matthew 27:28-29
They stripped off His clothes and wrapped Him in a scarlet military cloak.  Weaving a crown out of thorns they fixed it on His head, and stuck a reed in His right hand
Fruit of the Mystery: Courage
Do we have the Courage to go forward, trusting and knowing Our Heavenly Father is with us?

4th Mystery: Carrying of the Cross     John 19:17
Carrying the Cross by Himself, He went out to what is called the Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha).
Fruit of the Mystery: Patience
Do we have the Patience to wait for Our Father's direction and guidance in our lives?

5th Mystery: The Crucifixion   Luke 23:46
Jesus uttered a loud cry and said, "Father into Your hands I commend My spirit."  After He said this, He expired.
Fruit of the Mystery: Perseverance.
Do we surrender to God and Persevere in the face of any trial or situation before us? 

Pray the Rosary.....Not Just for Catholics

Praying the Rosary is praying the scriptures. It is an opportunity to spend time meditating on our Lord and His Mother one of our greatest intercessors.

Monday's Prayers:  The Joyful Mysteries

1st Mystery: The Annunciation where the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she has been chosen to be the mother of the Son of God    Luke 1;28. Fruit of the Mystery: Humility

2nd Mystery: The Visitation: Mary goes to her cousin Elizabeth's and helps her aging cousin during Elizabeth's last months of gestation, carrying John the Baptist. Luke 1:41-42   Fruit of the Mystery Love of Neighbor

3rd Mystery: The Birth of Jesus: Our Savior is born, and His Mother wraps Him is swaddling clothes, and lays Him in a Manger. Luke 2:7   Fruit of the Mystery     Poverty in Spitit

4th Mystery:  The Presentation:  Mary and Joseph take Jesus to the Temple, the custom of Jewish community to have their children consecrated to the Lord. Where Simion says " now you can let your servent go as I have seen the salvation of man. "  Luke 2:22-23   Fruit of the Mystery    Obedience

5th Mystery:  Finding the Child Jesus in the Temple:  On the third day they came upon Him in the Temple sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  Luke 2:46  Fruit of the Mystery     Joy in Finding Jesus.........we should have great joy that Jesus is in our lives.

Each day this week I will post a new set of Mysteries

October is Rosary Month

This prayer is one that I shared with my Kindergarten class in our discussion about our Blessed Mother, the Rosary, and what a novena is......their eyes were wide open learning about Jesus' Mother.

Our Lady Of The Holy Rosary  Novena Prayer - To be said before the Rosary My dearest Mother Mary, behold me, your child, in prayer at your feet. Accept this Holy Rosary, which I offer you in accordance with your requests at Fatima, as a proof of my tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offenses committed against your Immaculate Heart, and for this special favor which I earnestly request in my Rosary Novena:  I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son. If you will pray for me, I cannot be refused. I know, dearest Mother, that you want me to seek God's holy Will concerning my request. If what I ask for should not be granted, pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul. I offer you this spiritual "Bouquet of Roses" because I love you. I put all my confidence in you, since your prayers before God are most powerful. For the greater glory of God and for the sake of Jesus, your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer. Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.

Let us all be like wide eyed children and pray to our Blessed Mother who loves us and intercedes for us to her Son. 

This image was taken near where my ancestors settled and built a community in central Idaho. I visit this place annually on Memorial Day. I love the feel of Spring, when everything is new here. This wild bloom was enhanced by textures from 2LilOwls textures. Visit SEImagesonline, a Fine Art America website for more images in a wide variety of categories.

Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Sunday’s Feast Day

I am always excited and overcome with happiness and love when the Holy Spirit comes to visit at an unexpected moment.  And so I can only imagine how it must have felt for Saint Helena when she discovered the True Cross that our Lord was crucified on.

The crosses of the thieves and Jesus had been taken away and hidden after the crucifixion.  The place of burial, the Sepulcher, and the site of the crucifixion on Mount Calvary, had been mounded over and hidden by the Jews and Romans.

It was in 326 that Saint Helena received divine inspiration and returned to Jerusalem to find the True Cross.  A Jewish man, Judas, led Saint Helena to the place where the crosses had been hidden, only to find that the inscription at the top of the cross Jesus had been crucified on had been removed. Not knowing which of the three crosses was the True Cross, this is when attempts were made to find out which of these was the True Cross. How awesome it must have been when the woman near death touched the cross, and was healed, and again when the dead man was brought to the three crosses and when laid upon the True Cross, was restored to life.

One other interesting piece of this story is when the cross was carried back to the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, by Emperor Heraclius, he was unable to enter the church on Mount Calvary. He was dressed in fine robes.  When he put on penitential garments at the advice of Patriarch Zacharias of Jerusalem, he was able to carry the cross through the threshold of the church, thus, restoring the True Cross back to Jerusalem

Sunday’s Feast was a celebration of, first the finding of the True Cross by Saint Helena mother of the emperor Constantine.  It also celebrates the dedication of the churches built at the Holy Sepulcher and on Mount Calvary, and finally the restoration of the True Cross back to Jerusalem.

The Cross was and is no longer a symbol of shame, but has become a symbol of our salvation. I always try to put myself in the scene when studying scripture or when reading about events such as this from Jesus time. I imagine myself as someone there, but just watching the events. What a true witness of life through Christ we have in these events. 

Where is this????? Can you guess????

Where was this image taken?????  Can you guess????  I am curious to see where my readers are from and how fast this location is recognized and defined.  I hope to tie this discussion to my Google+ Community, with the same name, ArtandSpirit....and see if I can copy and paste some images from my readers/group members, in a discussion area named "Where is it?"   If that doesn't work then we will just have this discussion going on there in the google+ community.

Here is the Google + Community link:   https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/105635183192792397527?cfem=1  

Post your guesses......Where is it?????

                              Beautiful Kootenai Lake and the Rockies at sunset

                                at Ainsworth Resort, British Columbia Canada

I love the Rocky Mountains....I am in awe of them. They are massive and eternal.  They have always been here, and I am just a speck of time in their existence. Although this image was taken at sunset, my really favorite time of day is the morning when the day is brand new and the air is fresh. There is a quiet that prevades that helps me to an inner quiet where I can encounter the Holy Spirit. It is my favorite time to photograph and pray.   

This is one of my newest images added to my website SEImagesonline  

 http://3-sharon-elliott.artistwebsites.com/       I love this quote from St. Peter Julian Eymard, below is more information about this man.  I am part of a group that holds Perpetual Adoration at my Parish.....I love it. This man was instrumental in promoting this practice.

The Blessed Sacrament Congregation was founded by St Peter Julian Eymard (1811–1868) as a new religious community dedicated to the ‘blessed sacrament’ or eucharist.

Eymard (pronounced ‘Ay-mard’) was a French priest who had ministered in the diocese of Grenoble before joining the Society of Mary (Marist Fathers) in 1839. By 1844 he was provincial in charge of Marist communities in France and overseas.

Throughout his life, Eymard had a strong attraction to the eucharist. As a priest, he opposed the backward thinking of his day which suggested that communion was a reward for the virtuous, not to be received often or by anyone ‘unworthy’.

‘You take communion to become holy, not because you already are,’ he preached.

Eymard became familiar with the practice of sustained eucharistic worship during a visit to Paris in 1849, when he met with members of the Association of Nocturnal Adorers who had established exposition and perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at the Basilica of Our Lady of Victories.

After praying at the Basilica of Fourvière on 21 January 1851, Eymard moved to establish a Marist community dedicated to eucharistic adoration. His superiors disapproved, transferring him to the Marist College at La Seyne-sur-Mer. Eventually, Eymard resolved to leave the Society of Mary to begin his new religious congregation with the diocesan priest Raymond de Cuers.

On 13 May 1856, the Paris bishops consented to Eymard’s plans for a ‘Society of the Blessed Sacrament’. After many trials, Eymard and de Cuers established public exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in Paris on 6 January 1857 in a run-down building at 114 rue d’Enfer (which literally meant ‘street of hell’).

When Pope Pius XI granted a Decree of Approbation in 1863, the Congregation had twenty-eight members, among them the famous sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840–1917). Their mission was not confined to exposition and perpetual adoration. It included a ministry to priests, and to the poor and working classes, and particularly to the destitute children or ‘ragpickers’ who were living in the ghettoes of Paris.

Eymard also established an association of lay people called the Aggregation of the Blessed Sacrament, and he collaborated with Marguerite Guillot to found a eucharistic congregation for women now known as the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament.

In declining health, Eymard lived to see his own Congregation begin its expansion outside France in the mid 1860s. His mystical life deepened during his final years, as he came to recognise what he called the ‘gift of self’ which involved an act of total self-surrender based on the model of Christ.

Peter Julian Eymard was canonised a saint on 9 December 1962 and is known today as the ‘apostle of the eucharist’. His feast day is celebrated each year on 2 August.

From: blessedsacrament.com     Blessed Sacrament Congregation   Province of the Holy Spirit

Encountering Christ:

We all have our moments when the love of Christ is felt and brought to the surface of our conscious through an encounter with another person, or an event in our day or life.  That overwhelming feeling of love, comfort, and assurance that all is well in your spirit.

This happens so often when doing God’s work through our ministries, in our work, and family life.  It requires a silence and awareness of God’s presence and activity.   

I hope that you will share some of your profound experiences of Encounters with Christ in discussion.

Some of my profound times of encounter are when I am doing one of my ministries.   I take Eucharist to Catholics in one of the hospitals in my home town. I always sit in the Chapel before I start to visit patients and pray that Our Lord will empty me of myself, so that He can work…so that His children hear what He wants to say to them…not what I think. Sometimes I still manage to get in the way, and don’t do His will due to a varied weakness of my own. Usually it is because I don’t want to disturb someone.

On the 4^th floor of this hospital (my favorite floor) there is a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It sets on a pedestal, just the right height that I can look up ever so slightly into Jesus piercing eyes, so full of love.  I feel that He is truly alive in that gaze, and that those eyes could blink any second. There is so much love there, that I can’t image anyone not being able to feel it if they stop and become silent.  On one particular day when I came out of the stairwell there was a woman there on her cell phone talking and I didn’t want to disturb her so I went on feeling that I missed my brief moment with Jesus, but thought, I will come back when I complete my visits on this floor.  When I came back, she was still there and was upset, making me feel that I didn’t want to disturb her again, so I went into the stairwell and was proceeding to the next floor when  I was stopped in my tracks.  The Holy Spirit said to me “Go back and speak to that woman”. When I turned to go back, not knowing what I was to say, I saw her leaving through the window in the door. I went and stood in front of the statue feeling that I had just let Jesus down.  He wanted her stop and be with Him for a moment, and my only duty was to suggest this to her.  On another occasion I didn’t go into a room where I felt a family needed privacy, and when I got to the 4^th floor and stood before Jesus, He said “I want you to go back to that room….take me there”. I did as I was asked not wanting to repeat my previous blunder, and it turned out to be one of those very profound encounters with Christ. The entire family was there by that time, and very much welcomed me to their prayer time. They all had Holy Communion. I had taken Jesus to them just as He had asked....they wanted that very much.