Eucharistic Enthusiasm

A friend is leading a pilgrimage in France and preached at the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre:

we’re supposed to make him in the Eucharist the biggest difference in our life, as our true priority, as the “source and summit” of our existence, the fulcrum of our week and day. In response to irreverence, he wants us to treat him with deep piety, adoring him outside of Mass, making genuflections and profound bows with devotion and love. In contrast to those who treat him with coldness, we’re called to treat him with passion, to be more enthusiastic about him than the most fanatical follower of a sports team is about his hometown squad, and to show it through the way we sing with gusto, pray the Mass, welcoming others with warmth and love. In response to the scorn or contempt with which most treat him, we’re called to treat him with grateful appreciation, even endless thanksgiving. And in contrast to sacrilege, we’re called to receive him as a holy temple fit for his presence, among other things. The devotion to the Sacred Heart is meant to transform us, to help us adore and receive Jesus in the Eucharist with precedence, piety, passion, praise and purity — in short, by treating him as he deserves.

You can listen to the 15-minute homily here.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto thine!