Adoration and apostolic activity

Today is the Feast of St Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868), a French saint not as well known in this country as he deserves to be.  He promoted Eucharistic Adoration tirelessly.  After being ordained as a diocesan priest he entered the Marist Order in 1837.  He rose to the position of Provincial of in 1844. Interestingly for us Seculars, his new responsibilities included being in charge of the Third Order of Mary, a lay group dedicated to Marist spirituality and to the promotion of the Christian family.  As visitor-general, Eymard travelled throughout France to inspect the various Marist communities. He became familiar with the practice of sustained eucharistic worship during a visit to Paris in 1849, when he met with members of the Association of Nocturnal Adorers who had established exposition and perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at the Basilica of Our Lady of Victories. Eymard moved to establish a Marist community dedicated to eucharistic adoration. However, his desire to establish a separate fraternity promoting adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was not seen as part of the charism of the Marists, and eventually he left the Society of Mary to begin a new religious congregation (the Society of the Blessed Sacrament) with the diocesan priest Raymond de Cuers.  By coincidence I am just reading about Hermann Cohen OCD and his own involvement with Nocturnal Adoration in Paris soon after his conversion, which meant that he met both St Peter Julian and Raymond de Cuers, both of whom became his friends.  Hermann found inspiration for his immense apostolic activity both in France and in England – where he raised up Carmel for the first time since the Reformation – in adoration.           

Intercessions:

Cancer: Brian Davis, Marie, Bernard (and wife Angela caring for him), Jacqui, Sue B, Theresa K, Fr Jon

Siena, Elara – sick children

Wojtek – massive heart attack leaving him incapacitated

David OCDS – housebound; Martin Gilham – unable to attend community meetings

Sophia – blind infant

Joy Smith OCDS – seriously ill

Grace – troubling ailments, job difficulties, family (deceased mother and health of father)