The Eucharist: Wellspring of Divine Life in our Fraternity

 

“The spirit of the Seraphic Order has always been and is today strongly impregnated with a vivid faith in, and a warm devotion for Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist.”  From The Seraphic Highway by Fulgence Meyer, OFM.

In his Catechism on Communion, St. John Vianney writes:  “To sustain the soul in the pilgrimage of life, God looked over creation, and found nothing that was worthy of it.  He then turned to Himself, and resolved to give Himself.  O my soul, how great thou art, since nothing less than God can satisfy thee!  The food of the soul is the Body and Blood of God! ”

In following the example of St. Francis and his ardent love and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist is at the very heart of the Tertiary’s way of life.   It is to the Eucharistic Lord whom we go in prayer to beg for strength to humbly submit to His holy will.  It is Him whom we strive to know through formation to imitate in our call to perfection.  It is through the heavenly gifts that emanates from the Most Sublime Sacrament that we can be of service to others in our works of evangelization.

These three pillars, prayer, formation and evangelization, essential for the life of our community, are held together in their proper place by the Eucharist.  Our prayer, our formation and our works of evangelization all find their source and are offered to our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.

Following the example of St. Francis of Assisi, who made Christ the center and inspiration of his life, and to foster devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament, our fraternity commits to visit our Eucharistic Lord on a daily basis.   It is through this time of quiet prayer that we grow in our love of Jesus and neighbor in perfect charity.