If you've experienced dryness and lack of enthusiasm when receiving the Eucharist, this gem may help to remind you of His goodness and mercy:
Once, when Gertrude heard the bell which called her to Communion and the chant had already commenced, as she felt that she was not sufficiently prepared, she said to our Lord: "Behold, Lord, Thou art coming to me. Why hast Thou not granted me the grace of devotion, so that I might present myself before Thee with a better preparation?" He replied: "A bridegroom admires the personal beauty of his bride more than her ornaments. In like manner I prefer the virtue of humility to the grace of devotion."Once, when many of the religious had abstained from Communion, Gertrude returned thanks to God, saying, "I thank Thee, O Lord, that Thou hast invited me to Thy sacred Banquet." To which our Lord replied, with words full of sweetness and tenderness: "Know that I have desired thee with My whole heart." "Alas, Lord," she exclaimed, "what glory can accrue to Thy Divinity when I touch this Sacrament with my unworthy lips?" He replied: "Even as the love which we have for a friend makes us take pleasure in hearing him speak, so also the charity which I have for My elect makes Me sometimes find satisfaction in that in which they find none."
Once, as the Saint ardently desired to see the sacred Host as the priest communicated the people, but could not do so on account of the crowd, she heard our Lord saying to her: "A sweet secret shall be between us, which is unknown to those who absent themselves from Me. Thou, if thou wouldst enjoy it, approach. Thou shalt not see, but taste and prove the sweetness of this hidden manna."
The Revelations Of Saint Gertrude
Monsignor Wm. J. Doheny, C.S.C.
(From The Witness Ministries)
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