"Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament is Mary receiving in her capacity as universal dispenser of grace the full and absolute disposal of the Eucharist and of the graces which it comprises. For this Sacrament is the most efficacious means of salvation, the most excellent fruit of the redemption brought by Jesus Christ. Consequently it is for her to make Jesus known and loved in this Sacrament. It is for her to spread the Eucharist all over the world, to multiply churches and to plant them among infidel peoples, to defend the belief in the Eucharist against heretics and the impious. It is her work to prepare souls for Communion, to move them to visit frequently the Blessed Sacrament and watch constantly before it. Mary is the treasury of all the graces which the Eucharist contains, of all which lead to it, of all which flow from it."

Tesnière

"If the faithful meditate and contemplate in the proper way these august mysteries, they will receive a wonderful gift in nourishing their faith and lifting up and strengthening the energy of their spirit."

Pope Leo XIII

 

The 'yes' of Mary gave us the Holy Eucharist, as the body of Jesus was formed from the Immaculate Heart of His Mother, from whose flesh Jesus took the flesh He gives us in the Blessed Sacrament...

"The Virgin shall....give birth to a Son and they shall call Him Emmanuel, a name which means 'GOD IS WITH US'." This is our joy today! Jesus chose the name 'Emmanuel' BECAUSE OF HIS INFINITE DESIRE TO DWELL WITH US ALWAYS IN THIS MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT, as absolute proof of HIS EVERLASTING LOVE and CONSTANT AFFECTION for each of us.

Jesus calls you to be with Him today, waiting for you with great desire. "I have called you by name...because you are precious in My eyes and glorious, and because I LOVE YOU." All the love in all the world since the beginning of time is only a drop in the ocean in comparison to the love Jesus has for you alone in this Holy Eucharist, the continuation of His incarnation on earth, the fulfillment of His name: "Emmanuel, God is with us."

 

Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta.

“One and unique was Mary’s child, the only Son of his Father in heaven and the only Son of his mother on earth. Mary alone was virgin-mother, and it is her glory to have borne the Father’s only Son. But now she embraces that only Son of hers in all his members. She is not ashamed to be called the mother of all those in whom she recognizes that Christ her Son has been or is on the point of being formed…Like the Church of which she is the model, Mary is the mother of all who are born again to new life. She is the mother of him who is the Life by which all things live; when she bore him, she gave new birth in a sense to all who were to live by his life. Recognizing that by virtue of this mystery she is the mother of all Christians, Christ’s blessed mother also shows herself a mother to them by her care and loving kindness. She never grows hard toward her children, as though they were not her own. The womb that once gave birth is not dried up; it continues to bring forth the fruit of her tender compassion. Christ, the blessed fruit of that womb, left his mother still fraught with inexhaustible love, a love that once came forth from her but remains always within her, inundating her with his gifts.” Blessed Guerric of Igny

"The Blessed Virgin Mary is born to be Mother. The supreme consolation that Our Lady receives at the foot of the cross of her Son is the assurance that her vocation as Mother does not end with Christ’s death. The Lord commands the world, Behold your Mother.” The resurrection begins for Mary – and for us – with these words. The Blessed Virgin’s womb remains for ever fruitful. Mary leads us to Christ, but Christ leads us back to his Mother, for without Mary’s maternity, Jesus would become a mere abstraction to us. The Lord wills to “let his face shine upon” us through the face of the Mother of God. We serve a Mother who seems to grow more beautiful as new generations rise up and call her blessed."

 G.K. Chesterton

 

O God, the beginning and the end of all things, Who are always the same, and Whose years never fail, we now, at the close of another year, pray in thanksgiving and gratitude, and offer You our deepest thanks for the fatherly care with which You has watched over us during the past, for the many times You have protected us from the dangers of soul and body, and for the numberless blessings, both temporal and spiritual, which You have showered upon us. May it please You to accept the homage of our grateful hearts which we offer You in union with the infinite thanksgiving of Your divine Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you forever and ever. Amen.

 

Te Deum at the close of the Year and beginning of the New Year

 

We praise you, O God: we acclaim you as the Lord. Everlasting Father, all the world bows down before you. All the angels sing your praise, the hosts of heaven and all the angel powers, all the cherubim and seraphim call out to you in unending song: Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God of angel hosts! The heavens and the earth are filled with your majesty and glory. The glorious band of apostles, the noble company of prophets, the white-robed army who shed their blood for Christ, all sing your praises. And to the ends of the earth your holy Church proclaims her faith in you. Father, whose majesty is boundless, your true and only Son, who is to be adored, the Holy Spirit sent to be our advocate. You, O Christ, are the King of glory, Son of the eternal Father. When you took our nature to save mankind, you did not shrink from birth in the Virgin's womb. You overcame the power of death opening the Father's kingdom to all who believe in you. Enthroned at God's right hand in the glory of the Father, you will come in judgment according to your promise. You redeemed your people by your precious blood. Come, we implore you, to our aid. Grant us with the saints a place of glory everlasting. Lord, save your people and bless your inheritance. Rule them and uphold them for ever and ever. Day by day we praise you: we acclaim you now and to all eternity. In your goodness, Lord, keep us free from sin Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. May your mercy always be with us, Lord, for we have hoped in you. In you, Lord, we put our trust: we shall not he put to shame.

 

"God is glorious,God is pure light, the radiance of truth and love. He is good. He is true goodness, goodness par excellence. The angels surrounding him begin by simply proclaiming the joy of seeing God’s glory. Their song radiates the joy that fills them. In their words, it is as if we were hearing the sounds of heaven. There is no question of attempting to understand the meaning of it all, but simply the overflowing happiness of seeing the pure splendour of God’s truth and love. We want to let this joy reach out and touch us: truth exists, pure goodness exists, pure light exists. God is good, and he is the supreme power above all powers. All this should simply make us joyful tonight, together with the angels and the shepherds."
Benedict XVI

 

With every good wish and blessing of the Infant King born for us this night from the Dominican Rosary Apostolate in Ireland.