Get close to Jesus in the Eucharist

by Barb Ernster –

After pondering the question of the most important part of the Fatima message, Sister Lucia stated that it was “at the beginning, at the Cabeço.”  It was there that the Angel of Peace led the three little shepherds to an intense reality of the presence of God and to worship and adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Lucia often recommended to anxious priests and laypeople who wrote to her, to get close to the tabernacle and pray. “It is here you will find light, strength and grace to sustain you and that you can pass on to others,” she told her nephew, Father José dos Santos Valinho, in 1971, during the turmoil of the Second Vatican Council.

Each era has its own set of problems. It seems, though, lately, that world leaders are rattling their sabers for war again. Extended heat and drought in various areas are raising concerns about crop failure and worse—famine. Fires, floods, earthquakes and other calamities are always threatening. The economy is downright scary.

Many people are murmuring to each other that they feel the need to prepare for tough times and not be concerned with worldly things. What I find so amazing, is how many of them express the sentiment that unless they are getting to the Eucharist regularly, whether in daily Mass or adoration, they do not feel peace. They do not feel strong. They easily feel anxious and vulnerable about the world. But as soon as they get back to the Eucharist, these feelings leave them and they feel peace.

Has this been your experience?  If so, maybe consider it a good thing!

Jesus is calling us to a really, really close relationship with Him. He’s inviting us into an inner sanctum where we will keep our eyes so firmly on Him that we will not be able to depend on anything else.

The Fatima message invites us to grow in this deep, intimate relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist, especially by way of Mary’s Immaculate Heart. In 1929, Sister Lucia had a vision of the Most Holy Trinity. The Father was above the Cross, the Holy Spirit—a dove—was there, too. At the center of the vision was Jesus crucified on the Cross, His blood dripping from the wounds in His head and side onto a host and chalice. The words Grace and Mercy flowed down like water from the side. Mary stood beneath the cross holding her heart covered in thorns and flames.

Lucia was doing a Holy Hour when the vision occurred; lying prostrate and repeating the prayer of adoration and reparation taught by the Angel at Fatima: “O most Holy Trinity, I adore Thee … I offer Thee the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ…”

She said she received insights into the mystery of the Holy Trinity that she was not allowed to write down. However, the vision revealed in part what happens at every Mass in the light of faith. The Father and Holy Spirit are present during the re-presentation of Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary. Grace and mercy flow from the Heart of Jesus to all of humanity through the sacrifice of the Mass. Mary is standing beneath the cross, just as she was on Calvary, extending her Heart in union with Christ’s – as intercessor and Mediatrix of all graces.

This is the source of our power! If we are to have any chance withstanding the wickedness and evil of our times, we need to be filled with the power of our Eucharistic Lord. If we are to even be sustained in faith, we must go to the source of it—the Body and Blood of Jesus. Jesus told us, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” (Jn 6:53) 

When we cannot get to a daily Mass, perhaps spend some time before the tabernacle as St. Francisco did so often. Ven. Fulton Sheen did a Holy Hour every day and said this was where he got his power to preach and to withstand the storms that came at his priesthood and faith. “The Holy Hour,” he said, “is not a devotion; it is a sharing in the work of redemption.” 

Sheen explained, our Blessed Lord used the words “hour” and “day” in the Gospel of John. The “day” belongs to God; the “hour” belongs to evil. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Our Lord contrasted two “hours” – one was the evil hour in which Judas betrayed Him: “This is your hour.” And the other was the hour He asked His disciples to spend with Him during His agony: “Could you not watch one hour with Me?”  In other words, He asked for an hour of reparation to combat the hour of evil.

This is truly a time to get close to Jesus in the Eucharist. He wants us to grow more and more in His likeness, so that we become like Him. It is the only place on earth where we can find truth, light, clarity, peace, love and joy, despite all that threatens to overwhelm us today. 

Like this content? Help us spread the message of Fatima.

Search

Sister Lucia was a Martyr to Daily Duty

If there is anything we can learn from Venerable Sister Lucia, it is heroic patience and perseverance, which she embraced fully as each day unfolded – one to the next – until her death at age 97 on Feb. 13, 2005. As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of her holy passing, Lucia is a good reminder of how to become a saint through what she called “the long, hard road of martyrdom that has to do with daily living.”

Read More »

Blue Army on the March

As we gathered under the towering presence of the Washington Monument, the excitement of the Pro-Life Marchers was palpable. For many in our country it seemed that the great pro-life victory achieved by the overturning of Roe vs Wade in 2022 marked the end of the Pro-Life movement on the national stage. But nothing could be further from the truth. Our drive to transform the culture of death into a truly pro-life generation and to end the victimization of the most innocent in our society has only increased, as political support and a great awareness of the sanctity of life continues to spread. Listening to the Vice President of the United States address the captivated crowd we could feel the winds of change stirring above our nation’s capital.

Read More »

The Holy Year Has Arrived! The Jubilee of Hope and the Centennial of the First Saturday Devotion

We welcome 2025 in a special way. The Holy Father has declared a Holy Jubilee Year dedicated to the virtue and message of hope. At the same time, we also commemorate the 100th anniversary of the apparitions in Pontevedra, Spain where Our Lady gave us the First Saturdays devotion. It is no coincidence that the Holy Year and this great anniversary come together in this special year. The message of Fatima was first presented to us by an angel who laid the foundation of this spirituality by calling for pardon through the adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Eight years later, the last surviving seer, Sr. Lucia, was given the formula for obtaining mercy and hastening the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart promised at Fatima. Eucharistic devotion is at the forefront of this devotion. How appropriate that this unique convergence comes only one year after the great year of the Eucharistic Revival. 

Read More »

Our Lady’s Smile

The innumerable pilgrimages by my father’s cousin sparked a desire in me to travel as a pilgrim. Fatima would be my first encounter with an overseas pilgrimage. It was a dream come true!

My father’s cousin had been there seven times. Always, always he lavished us with gifts upon his return. On one occasion he brought each of my siblings a statuette of Our Lady of Fatima. We treasured them dearly!

Read More »

When Christmas Preparations Truly Matter

It all began the day after Thanksgiving, on Black Friday. Navigating the sales and offers for material goods, many of which will be discarded the next day I was buried in the confusion of the season which hadn’t even started yet. The police were on high alert as the potential for violent clashes at retail outlets across the country was high.

Read More »

Stay Up to Date!

Name(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.