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THE 7 SECRETS OF THE EUCHARIST by Vinny Flynn (based on his 'must read' book by the same name)
A TREASURE FOR ALL TIMES
(book was printed in 2006)
AFTER LISTENING TO THIS TALK,
YOU WILL FIND THAT YOUR LIFE WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT:
EACH ONE OF YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE EUCHARIST
IN THE SAME WAY
AGAIN;
YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO GO TO MASS IN THE SAME WAY;
YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO RECEIVE THE BLESSED SACRAMENT IN
THE SAME WAY. IT
WILL ALL BE DIFFERENT FOR YOU !
Discover amazing truths you never knew about the Eucharist. Rich in content and full of surprises, this powerful talk reveals hidden treasures which will change your life and bring you closer to Jesus the very next time you receive Holy Communion. Perfect for a variety of parish programs.
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About the Speaker: Vinny Flynn
Vinny Flynn is the founder of Mercysong Ministries and is known to many as the man who sings the Divine Mercy Chaplet on EWTN. Along with his wife Donna, he has been serving the Church in active ministry for over thirty years through teaching, writing, retreats, speaking, counseling, and music. This talk is based on his new book from Ignatius Press, 7 Secrets of the Eucharist, and is the fruit of a lifetime of research and prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Described as "a real gem" and "must reading for any Catholic" by Cardinal George Pell, Vinny's book is available directly from Mercysong.com. http://www.mercysong.com/
More about Seven Secrets of the Eucharist
This is the first Mary Foundation talk based on a book. Pope John Paul II referred to the Holy Eucharist as "the greatest treasure of the Church," and yet most practicing Catholics have received very little in-depth or inspirational theological insight about this critical aspect of our spiritual lives since our school days.
Mr Flynn's "secrets" are actually a series of surprising principles, insights, and "hidden" truths, presented together for the first time in one exciting talk. All seven secrets are based on truths found in the Bible, the writings of the Saints, the Catechism, and recent teachings of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict. These truths have always been embraced by the saints, Church Fathers, theologians, and mystics, but have never before been presented together, and rarely in such a meaningful and accessible way.
This talk also includes two "bonus secrets" about Our Lady's relationship to the Eucharist which are not found in Vinny Flynn's book.Vinny Flynn will show you how reception of the Eucharist can be a life-changing experience the very next time you receive Holy Communion.
Paula Magliocco of
Pewaukee, Wis., is a busy mother of three and a Catholic elementary-school
teacher. Yet, in spite of her hectic life, she finds time to make a spiritual
communion, not just once, but several times throughout the day. Why? Because
it’s easy, takes only a moment, and offers benefits beyond compare.
“Receiving the Eucharist
is really the joy of my life, so when I cannot receive sacramentally, I know
that the next best way for union with Christ is a spiritual communion,” she
said. “Jesus is always ready and waiting to unite his heart with ours; and all
we need to do is turn to him in prayer, and he is there with his arms wide open
and the graces flowing.”
A spiritual communion is
different from an actual or sacramental communion, in which we receive the Real
Presence in the consecrated Host and Precious Blood. A spiritual communion is a
devotion that we can initiate on our own, either inside or outside of holy
Mass. We can make a spiritual communion at any time and in any place, as long
as we approach the devotion with “renewed faith, reverence, humility and in
complete trust in the goodness of the divine Redeemer” and are “united to him
in the spirit of the most ardent charity,” according to Pope Pius XII’s
encyclical Mediator Dei (The Sacred Liturgy). In spiritual communion, we
embrace Our Lord as if we had actually received him in the Eucharist.
Redemptorist Father Jim
White, who runs the Redemptorist Retreat Center in Oconomowoc, Wis., suggests a
four-step method of spiritual communion, one that he himself practices in the
footsteps of St. Alphonsus Liguori as a retreat master. First, make an act of
faith. This can be one using the formal prayer taught by the Church (see
sidebar) or an extemporaneous one. The main point is to express to Our Lord our
firm belief in his goodness and mercy and in his real presence in the Blessed
Sacrament. Next, make an act of love, again either using the formal prayer of
the Church or an extemporaneous one. The act should express our love for Jesus.
Then, we express our desire to receive him. Finally, we invite Jesus to come
into our hearts spiritually. St. Alphonsus recommended that we even open our
mouths as if receiving actual communion.
“This puts us in the
state of mind of being in union with Jesus,” Father White explained. “It’s very
simple, it only takes a moment, and we can do it during our work, our studies
or anything else we may be doing.”
Spiritual communion
gives us a greater awareness of God’s overall presence in our lives and
increases our faith in the Real Presence. So, the more we spiritually
communicate, the more united we become with Christ. The Church recommends
making spiritual communions as often as possible, even if we’re able to
participate in Mass that day. It also is advisable to make at least three
spiritual communions during Mass: at the beginning, at the consecration and at
the end.
Joe Yank attends Mass
nearly every day before work at an electrical supply company and prays the
Rosary on his drive to work. This, he says, helps to unite him not only with
Christ, but also with his Blessed Mother. On the drive home to Hubertus, Wis.,
from work, he makes a spiritual communion so as to frame his day both actually
and spiritually around the Eucharist. Doing so helps to draw him more deeply into
the mystery and reality of the Blessed Sacrament.
“I do like to go to
daily holy Mass every morning, so I can receive holy Communion sacramentally to
start my day. This is a very real help to me, especially when I know I am faced
with many difficulties awaiting me at the office,” he said. “But as far as
spiritual communions on my drive home, I like to say the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
For me, it’s the perfect spiritual communion meditation. ‘Heavenly Father, I
offer you the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of your dearly beloved Son, our
Lord Jesus Christ …’ This helps draw my day into perspective. “
Spiritual communion is
valuable, not only for its unity with Jesus and ability to increase our faith
in the Eucharist, but for other reasons as well. Whenever we make a spiritual
communion, we please God and receive an abundance of his graces. St. Alphonsus
taught that the Church grants a partial indulgence of 300 days with every act
of spiritual communion and a plenary indulgence once monthly when made under
the usual conditions. The Enchiridion on Indulgences defines an indulgence as,
“the remission before God of the temporal punishment due for sins already
forgiven as far as their guilt is concerned.” Indulgences are granted only when
the person has a proper disposition and under certain conditions prescribed by
the Church. A partial indulgence removes part of the temporal punishment due
for sin. A plenary indulgence removes all of the temporal punishment due for
sin and, according to the enchiridion, must be accompanied by confession,
Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the intention of the Pope. The person also
must be in the state of grace.
Saints throughout the
ages have witnessed to the value of spiritual communion (see their prayers
below). In a vision, Our Lord explained it to St. Catherine of Siena by showing
her two chalices: one made of gold, the other of silver. He told her that her
sacramental Communions were preserved in the gold chalice and that her
spiritual communions were in the silver chalice. He told Blessed Jane of the
Cross that each time she communicated spiritually, she received graces of the
same kind as those received in sacramental Communion.
Blessed Pope John Paul
II was a great advocate of spiritual communion. He wrote in his encyclical Ecclesia
de Eucharitia (The Eucharist in its Relationship to the Church), “Precisely
for this reason, it is good to cultivate in our hearts a constant desire for
the sacrament of the Eucharist. This was the origin of the practice of
‘spiritual communion,’ which has happily been established in the Church for
centuries and recommended by saints who were masters of the spiritual life. St.
Teresa of Jesus wrote: ‘When you do not receive communion and you do not attend
Mass, you can make a spiritual communion, which is a most beneficial practice;
by it the love of God will be greatly impressed on you.’”
It can be especially
fruitful to make a spiritual communion when we are before Our Lord in
Eucharistic adoration, whether he is reverenced in the monstrance or protected
within the tabernacle.
In McSherrystown, Pa.,
Pam Singleton, a Spanish teacher and mother of five, discovered the
grace-filled bonus of making spiritual communions in a prayer booklet left in
the pew at her parish: “I love it whenever I’m at adoration and I think to pray
the spiritual communion prayer. Not only is it powerful, but it gives me great
comfort and calm to feel tightly united with Jesus during adoration.”
Marge Fenelon writes from Cudahy, Wisconsin.
Spiritual
Communion Prayers
We certainly can make a
spiritual communion extemporaneously, but formulated prayers
can be very
helpful, especially when our concentration is being tried by the busyness of
life. Here are some suggestions:
Send
Your Angel to Holy Mass
O, holy angel at my side,
go to the church for me.
Kneel in my place at
holy Mass,
where I desire to be.
At Offertory in my
stead,
take all I am and own,
and place it as a
sacrifice
upon the altar throne.
At holy consecration’s
bell,
adore with seraph’s
love,
my Jesus, hidden in the
Host,
come down from heaven
above.
And when the priest
Communion takes,
O, bring my Lord to me,
that his sweet heart may
rest on mine,
and I his temple be.
Then pray for those I
dearly love,
and those who cause me
grief,
Jesus’ love may cleanse
all hearts
and suffering souls
relieve.
Pray that this sacrifice
divine,
may mankind’s sin’s
efface,
then bring me Jesus’
blessing home,
the pledge of every
grace. Amen.
— Author unknown
Act
of Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that
you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all things, and
I desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you
sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace you as if you
have already come and unite myself wholly to you. Never permit me to be
separated from you. Amen. — St. Alphonsus Liguori
Act
of Love
I believe thou art
present in the Blessed Sacrament, O Jesus. I love thee and desire thee. Come
into my heart; I embrace thee. O never leave me. I beseech thee, O Lord Jesus,
may the burning and most sweet power of thy love absorb my mind, that I may die
through love of thy love, who wast graciously pleased to die through love of my
love. Amen. — St. Francis of Assisi
Brief
Acts of Spiritual Communion
May the burning and must
sweet power of thy love, O Lord Jesus Christ, I beseech thee, absorb my mind,
that I may die through love of thy love, who wast graciously pleased to die
through love of my love. Amen. — St. Francis of Assisi
“O love not loved! O
love not known!” — St. M. Magdalene of Pazzi
THE 7 SECRETS OF THE EUCHARIST - video published on 16 Nov 2021
