The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-20

 they profess and practice. Oh, how the thought of having Jesus Christ. true God and true Man, really and substantially present upon our altars, with His body and blood, soul and divinity, to be adored, worshipped and received into our hearts; oh, how this thought, I say, transforms life. and makes religion the only thing worth havingl
 Profound Mystery.
 ''Ths is a great miracle that we are called upon to believe-a mystery too pro- found for reasons grasp. Think of God who concealed His divinity under the veil of human nature, loving us so much as to veil both humanity and divirity under the commonest and humblest of elements-bread and wine.
 "As Catholics We know that by the self same words-'This is My body; this is My blood'-pronounced during the consecra- ton of the mass, by the priest to whom Christ said, Do this for a commemoration of Me the entire substance of the bread and wine disappears. and the substance of Jesus Christ, the God-Man, takes their place.
 Tt is this belief, I say. that means everything to Catholics. It strengthens our faith, it gives us hope and as for love, why, it fills our hearts and souls to overhowing with the most intense love for Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We build magnificent basilias and stately churches, and line our tabernacles with silk and cloth of gold and precious stones, to afford a worthy throne for the God of love dwelling upon our altars. No wonder. then that all our public and pri- vate devotions all the treasures of grace, all the germs of sanctity, all our hopes in time and eternity, are eentered in the most holy sacrament of the eucharist, are founded in the personal dwelling of our God upon our altars.
 "This being so, what fund of personal interests is involved in our relations with the holy eucharist. What sanctifylng personal influences should 1t not exercise upon our lives. What sacred personal duties does 1t not exact of us Alas, how ever, there are some Catholics who fail to appreciate all this, and accordingly fail to experience the personal influence of their Eucharistic Savior"
 Father Costello then showed how the doctrine of the real presence should af- | feet the actions and lives of Catholics.
 Your very first act on entering the church, he said, should be a glance l of love toward the tabernacle. Is 1t all 1 ways such?~Or there is your genuflection; 1 do you always make it properly, pro- foundly, with due recollection, and in humble adoration of your Savior into whose living presence you have come? 1 And when Catholics assist at mass the eyes of their faith should be intent upon the commemoration of Christs passion and death, and His renewal of the work of redemption. For, as the eucharistlc l sacrifice of the new law, that Is what the mass really means, who will deny that it is a wonderful aid to personal holiness, not only to keep in mind that it is Jesus Christ really present that of- fers and is offered in holy mass. but also to assist at this adorable sacrifice with great outward devotion and interior piety
 Feast of Love.
 Another proof of the personal in fluence on our lives of this doctrine, and a fairly good test of our love for God, is to see whether we visit tn e blessed sacrament or not. Jesus Christ is always there in the quiet recess of the tabernacle, the prisoner of love- teasing not to declare in the excess of His love, My delights are to be with the children of men. Come unto Me, all you who labor and are burdened and I will refresh you What virtue, then is there in a visit to our sacramental Lord. It is in our power to step into the church and speak to our savior heart to heart. He is there in the tabernacle precisely what He was in life, the friend of sinners, the consoler of the afflicted the savior of souls. Ii that cannot or will not see the great personal advantage to be gained b, visiting Him in His own house, and asking His blessing on our work. and imploring the grace of forgiveness foi our sins.
 But there is one other deeply per sonal influence which this doctrine ot 1 the real presence brings into our lives It is the most intimate of all our re lations with the holy eucharist, tn,