Wednesdays with Jesus

Among the innumerable gifts we are thankful for, I am particularly grateful for the privilege of assisting at Holy Mass. The Holy Eucharist is the unbloody re-enactment of Calvary, and it is THE best sacrifice we can ever offer to our Almighty Father because Jesus is the Unblemished Lamb. Therefore, more than any other prayer or act of worship, there is invaluable merits available to anyone who assists / attends Holy Mass each time. As in all spiritual things, it has been such a challenge for us to go to daily Mass; and the number of occasions we would go during the week just gradually dwindled until we could only get ourselves to Sunday Mass (except First Fridays and First Saturdays). A couple of weeks ago, however, by an act of God's grace, we were able to restart going everyday again! And I'm sure Our Lady's powerful intercession has had a lot to do with it.

Another very special gift we receive as Catholics, is the grace of Eucharistic Adoration. How truly humbled we should feel to be able to go and worship Jesus in the Eucharist where He, Himself, deigns to be truly present - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. This act of Eucharistic adoration is referred to as a "foretaste of Heaven" where, if we do get to experience beatific vision, we will be adoring our Lord with Our Lady and all the angels and saints!

In a previous blogpost I mentioned that Wednesdays are our free days from schooling where the day is normally reserved for extra-curricular activities, or any other errands / tasks that need to be completed. So far, Wednesdays are such a necessity for us (moreso for me!) because it provides a good break in the middle of a busy week - perfect for getting recharged and regaining my bearings; and for the kids, a chance to keep interest levels up via other activities. However it still felt like we could be making better use of our school-free Wednesdays.

We used to go to adoration on a regular basis for a while (every Saturday evenings when we are able to go as a family), but we took ourselves off the roster shortly before Max's birth - for obvious reasons, and we have not gone back on it just yet. The other night, however, we were talking about restoring our weekly holy hour, and suddenly we got a light bulb moment, surely an inspiration from the Holy Spirit: Wednesdays!!

Today was our first "Wednesday with Jesus" and it naturally took a lot of effort, but we got there, and we were very happy when we did. After their afternoon nap, the kids and I picked hubby up from his city office and from there we went straight to the Perpetual Adoration Chapel. We were a little late, so we didn't quite make ONE whole hour. We had dinner (packed from home) at the community room and then from there we proceeded to attend the 7:10 Wednesday night Mass in honour of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. It is our fervent hope that we can make this a practice every week.

Drawing from the past, we will undoubtedly be experiencing snags and bumps along the way; but for now we shall choose to be happy and enjoy the journey. How truly great it feels to be back: to daily Mass and to having reestablished our holy hour through our "Wednesdays with Jesus." In the midst of the endless challenges God allows us to go through, it is so great to find time to show some gratitude to our good Lord. And by the countless unmerited blessings He lavishes on us continuously, this is certainly the least we can do.

O memoriale mortis Domini
Panis vivus vitam praestans homini
Praesta meae menti de te vivere
Et te illi semper dulce sapere.

(excerpted from Adoro Te Devote by St Thomas Aquinas)

Benedictus Jesus in sanctissimo altaris Sacramento!