The Catholic Defender: Powerful Novena To Jesus In The Most Holy Eucharist

Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist, I thank You for the gift of Your most precious Body and Blood present in the form of bread and wine. This precious and priceless food You have made available, out of Your abundant and deep love for me. I thank You once more for the gift of Your most precious Body and Blood, available to quench my eternal hunger and thirst.

Lord Jesus Christ, I acknowledge your real and full presence in the Most Holy Eucharist. I worship and adore You my God and my king in the Most Holy Eucharist.

Lord Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist, help me to have great and deep longing, respect and reverence for You. I pray with all my heart that all men will come to respect, worship and adore You in the Holy Eucharist. I pray for a change of heart and a deep conversion of all those who despise, reject, mock and refuse to believe and appreciate your presence in the Holy Eucharist. Lord Jesus Christ,

I apologize for all the times I have received Your Body and Blood in a sinful state without considering the great pains I cause You. I console You for the countless abuses and desecrations done to your Precious Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist in various ways and forms. Lord Jesus, I console Your wounded heart present in the Holy Eucharist with all sincerity and love, and I beg You to forgive my sins and those of the world which we have committed and are still grievously committing against You. Forgive me for the times I have been at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass without receiving You, or seeing the need or making efforts to receive you in the Holy Eucharist. Give me the grace to love you more and more and to be devoted to you in the Most Holy Eucharist. Plant oh lord Jesus Christ a deep longing for you in my heart and soul, and let me always find my rest in you.

Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, I consecrate my body, soul and spirit to you without reserving or withholding them. In the same way You gave Yourself freely in the Holy Eucharist, I give you myself and everything that has to do with me; my entire will, pleasures, ambitions, plans, marriage, family, work, wealth, children, destiny and all my life. Please accept my offering to you this day and seal it with the powerful sacrifice of Your most precious Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist. May I live for you alone from today henceforth and may I seek only your will, glory and happiness in all that I do. Amen.

We pray for America, for our constitution, for those suffering addictions and those in bondage. For those who need Deliverence. We Pray for the Catholic Church, for Pope Francis and all the Clergy.

Eucharistic Miracle of Brussels Belgium 1370

In the Cathedral of Brussels there are many artistic testimonies to a Eucharistic miracle verified in 1370. Desecrators stole Hosts and struck at them with knives as a way of showing their rebellion. From these particles came a flow of living blood.

This miracle was celebrated up until some decades ago. There are many reliquaries of different eras that were used to contain the miraculous Hosts of the miracle of the Blessed Sacrament. They have been kept to this day in the museum close to the cathedral in an ancient chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.

There are tapestries of the 18th century which represent the miraculous event. he five stained glass windows that grace the side nave of the cathedral take us through stages of the Eucharistic miracle. They were installed at various times from 1436 to 1870. The Kings of Belgium, Leopold I and Leopold II, presented the first windows on the lower level. The others were gifts from various noble families of the country. The first ten windows represent the story as it came to Brussels in the middle of the 15th century.

The ancient document reads : “In 1369 a rich merchant from Enghien who hated the Catholic religion, had some consecrated Hosts stolen. He worked with a young man from Louvain (on windows 1-3). The merchant was assassinated mysteriously a few days later. His widow, surmising it was a punishment from Heaven, got rid of the Hosts by giving them to friends of her husband. These friends were filled with hatred of things Catholic.

“On Good Friday 1370, the friends met and began to slash the Hosts with knives, and the Hosts began to bleed! The desecrators were badly frightened and entrusted the Hosts to an important Catholic merchant.“ This merchant revealed the whole story to the curate of the Church of Notre Dame. The curate took possession of the Hosts and the desecrators were condemned to death by the Duke of Brabant. The Hosts were taken in procession to the cathedral of St. Gudula”. The Eucharistic miracle remains an important part of the traditions of Brussels and is something of a national symbol.

Day 7 – St. Catherine of Siena Novena

In troubled times she strenuously upheld the rights of his beloved spouse, the church.

Father, honor her merits and hear her prayers for each of us. Help us to pass unscathed through the corruption of this world.

Help us always to see in the Vicar of Christ an anchor in the storms of life and a beacon of light to the harbor of your love, in this dark night of your times and men’s souls.

Grant also to each of us our special petition. We ask this through Jesus, your Son, in the bond of the Holy Spirit.

Saint Catherine of Siena, pray for us.

Say 1: Our Father…

Say 1: Hail Mary…

Say 1: Glory Be…

Feast of Saint Mark, evangelist

Reading 1 1 Pt 5:5b-14 Beloved: Clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for:

God opposes the proudbut bestows favor on the humble.

So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.

Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.

Be sober and vigilant.

Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.

The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ Jesus will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little.

To him be dominion forever. Amen. I write you this briefly through Silvanus, whom I consider a faithful brother, exhorting you and testifying that this is the true grace of God.

Remain firm in it. The chosen one at Babylon sends you greeting, as does Mark, my son. Greet one another with a loving kiss. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17 R. (2) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord. or: R. Alleluia. The favors of the LORD I will sing forever; through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness. For you have said, "My kindness is established forever"; in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness. R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord. or: R. Alleluia. The heavens proclaim your wonders, O LORD, and your faithfulness, in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies can rank with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the sons of God? R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord. or: R. Alleluia. Blessed the people who know the joyful shout; in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk. At your name they rejoice all the day, and through your justice they are exalted. R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord. or: R. Alleluia.

Alleluia 1 Cor 1:23a-24b R. Alleluia, alleluia. We proclaim Christ crucified: he is the power of God and the wisdom of God. R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 16:15-20 Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.

These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages.

They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.

They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

Then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs. Saint of the Day: St. Mark

St. Mark the Evangelist is recognized as a friend of St. Peter and one of the four Evangelist Gospel writers, he was born of Jewish parents (Aristopolos his father and Mary his mother, migrated to Palestine shortly after the birth of St. Mark) about 13 A.D.. By 33 A.D St. Mark would have been about 20 years old. His family originally from Libya, just west of Egypt, found a place in Cana Palestine about the time of Jesus public Ministry. Acts 12:11-12 gives the story of St. Peter coming to the house of Mary, the Mother of John (Mark's surname) as they were praying. We see the family of St. Mark present during the time of the Apostles. St. Peter was married to a relative of St. Mark's father (Aristopolos) and with Mark's father's death, St. Peter took Mark into his own household. St. Mark became a believer and was baptized by St. Peter who referred to Mark as his son (1 Peter 5:13). St. Mark was given a good education through St. Peter, Mark's Mother, Mary would be an ardent follower of Jesus Christ and supported Jesus in his travels. St. Mark was one of the attendants serving the marriage event at Cana where Jesus performed his first public miracle changing the water into wine (John 2:1-11). In the ancient world, traditionally, the Apostles used the language of the time, cousins were close relatives and considered brothers and sisters. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has four brothers (James, Joses, Jude, and Simon) who were actually cousins (Mark 6:4). Interestingly, three of these brothers are identified by St. John as the son's of Alphaeus. Here is an interesting back ground on Jesus close relatives: "According to St. Mark the Evangelist is recognized as a friend of St. Peter and one of the four Evangelist Gospel writers, he was born of Jewish parents (Aristopolos his father and Mary his mother, migrated to Palestine shortly after the birth of St. Mark) about 13 A.D.. By 33 A.D St. Mark would have been about 20 years old. His family originally from Libya, just west of Egypt, found a place in Cana Palestine about the time of Jesus public Ministry. Acts 12:11-12 gives the story of St. Peter coming to the house of Mary, the Mother of John (Mark's surname) as they were praying. We see the family of St. Mark present during the time of the Apostles. St. Peter was married to a relative of St. Mark's father (Aristopolos) and with Mark's father's death, St. Peter took Mark into his own household. St. Mark became a believer and was baptized by St. Peter who referred to Mark as his son (1 Peter 5:13). St. Mark was given a good education through St. Peter, Mark's Mother, Mary would be an ardent follower of Jesus Christ and supported Jesus in his travels. St. Mark was one of the attendants serving the marriage event at Cana where Jesus performed his first public miracle changing the water into wine (John 2:1-11).

In the ancient world, traditionally, the Apostles used the language of the time, cousins were close relatives and considered brothers and sisters. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has four brothers (James, Joses, Jude, and Simon) who were actually cousins (Mark 6:4). Interestingly, three of these brothers are identified by St. John as the son's of Alphaeus. Here is an interesting back ground on Jesus close relatives: "According to St. Mark the Evangelist is recognized as a friend of St. Peter and one of the four Evangelist Gospel writers, he was born of Jewish parents (Aristopolos his father and Mary his mother, migrated to Palestine shortly after the birth of St. Mark) about 13 A.D.. By 33 A.D St. Mark would have been about 20 years old. His family originally from Libya, just west of Egypt, found a place in Cana Palestine about the time of Jesus public Ministry. Acts 12:11-12 gives the story of St. Peter coming to the house of Mary, the Mother of John (Mark's surname) as they were praying. We see the family of St. Mark present during the time of the Apostles. St. Peter was married to a relative of St. Mark's father (Aristopolos) and with Mark's father's death, St. Peter took Mark into his own household. St. Mark became a believer and was baptized by St. Peter who referred to Mark as his son (1 Peter 5:13). St. Mark was given a good education through St. Peter, Mark's Mother, Mary would be an ardent follower of Jesus Christ and supported Jesus in his travels. St. Mark was one of the attendants serving the marriage event at Cana where Jesus performed his first public miracle changing the water into wine (John 2:1-11). St. Mark was possibly a family member, a cousin of Barnabas (Col 4:10, Phlm 1:24) and together with St. Paul traveled on many missionary journeys promoting the young Catholic Faith. 2 Timothy 4:11 and Colossians 4:10 St. Paul writes how valuable St. Mark was to him during his imprisonments. Much like Onesiphorus was great help while St. Paul was in Rome (2 Timothy 1:16-19). Mark's Gospel was the first to be written which was a great source for Matthew and Luke. Probably because of St. Mark's original upbringing, he would be the founder of the Church in Egypt and Alexandria about 50 A.D. just after the Council of Jerusalem (49 A.D.) St. Peter would be setting up the Church in Babylon (modern day Iraq) before going to Rome. St. Peter installed St. Mark as the first Bishop of Alexandria. Mark's symbol as a Gospel Writer is a lion with wings. Mark 1:3 begins the story of St. John the Baptist "a voice crying in the wilderness, like the roaring lion." Jesus is the "Lion of Judah" the focus of St. Mark's preaching. St. Eusebius writes that Mark was succeeded by Annianus as the second bishop of Alexandria. Ss. Joachim and Anna had two children, the Blessed Virgin Mary and her older sister, whom Emmerich calls Maria of Heli. She tells us that Heli was another name for Joachim. The husband of Maria of Heli was Cleophas, the nephew of Saint Joseph. And the person called Mary of Cleophas was the daughter of Cleophas and Maria Heli.

Tradition tells us that the Holy Grail was taken to Rome initially with St. Peter. According to tradition, the Cenacle (Acts 1:13) , the room where the Last Supper took place , and the Holy Cup were the property of the family of St. Mark the Evangelist. Mark served as interpreter for St. Peter in Rome and because of his unique relationship with Peter, Mark gave him the Holy Grail. It was sometime between 68 - 74 A.D. when St. Mark would receive Martyrdom by the Pagans of Serapis who followed the false gods of Serepion Abbis Greek Egyptian who tied a rope to his neck attaching him to a horse's tail which dragged him through Alexandria's district Bokalia for nearly two whole days until he was torn to pieces. Mark's symbol as a Gospel Writer is a lion with wings. Mark 1:3 begins the story of St. John the Baptist "a voice crying in the wilderness, like the roaring lion." Jesus is the "Lion of Judah" the focus of St. Mark's preaching. St. Eusebius writes that Mark was succeeded by Annianus as the second bishop of Alexandria. The Universal Catholic Church recognizes St. Mark's feast day on April 25. Saint Mark the Evangelist is the patron saint of notaries and lawyers. Mark was the disciple of Saint Peter the Apostle and went on a Christian mission with Saint Paul and his cousin Saint Barnabas. He is the author of Mark’s Gospel, which is one of the four gospels in the New Testament. (Col 4:10, Phlm 1:24) and together with St. Paul traveled on many missionary journeys promoting the young Catholic Faith. 2 Timothy 4:11 and Colossians 4:10 St. Paul writes how valuable St. Mark was to him during his imprisonments. Much like Onesiphorus was great help while St. Paul was in Rome (2 Timothy 1:16-19). Mark's Gospel was the first to be written which was a great source for Matthew and Luke. Probably because of St. Mark's original upbringing, he would be the founder of the Church in Egypt and Alexandria about 50 A.D. just after the Council of Jerusalem (49 A.D.) St. Peter would be setting up the Church in Babylon (modern day Iraq) before going to Rome. St. Peter installed St. Mark as the first Bishop of Alexandria. Mark's symbol as a Gospel Writer is a lion with wings. Mark 1:3 begins the story of St. John the Baptist "a voice crying in the wilderness, like the roaring lion." Jesus is the "Lion of Judah" the focus of St. Mark's preaching. Ss. Joachim and Anna had two children, the Blessed Virgin Mary and her older sister, whom Emmerich calls Maria of Heli. She tells us that Heli was another name for Joachim. The husband of Maria of Heli was Cleophas, the nephew of Saint Joseph. And the person called Mary of Cleophas was the daughter of Cleophas and Maria Heli.

So at the foot of the Cross were: 1. Blessed Virgin Mary, 2. Maria of Heli, who is the older sister of the Virgin Mary and the wife of Cleophas 3. Mary of Cleophas, who is the niece of the Virgin Mary, and the daughter of Maria of Heli and Cleophas. 4. Mary Magdalene, Mary of Cleophas married Alphaeus, and their children included three Apostles: Jude Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and James the Less. Joses is not included by St. John here because he was not an Apostle. This information was certainly know by St. Mark, this is why tradition is important when understanding Biblical text. Matthew the Apostle and Gospel writer was the son of Alphaeus and his first wife (name not known). According to Emmerich, Cleophas was one of Joachim’s chief shepherds. After marrying Maria Heli, they had a daughter, Mary of Cleophas. Although Mary of Cleophas was the niece of Mary, she was nevertheless a few years older than her, because she was the first child of Maria of Heli, who was about 19 years older than Mary. They also had a son, Eliacim, who had been a disciple of John the Baptist. According to St. CatherineEmmerich, the two disciples that Luke describes as meeting Jesus on the road to Emmaus, were Luke and a different Cleophas. This explains why Luke has so many details about that incident, that the other Gospel writers lack; he was there.

As for this other Cleophas, St. Catherine Emmerich identifies him as “a grandson of Mary Cleophas’ paternal uncle” (Life of Jesus Christ, p. 378). So that would make him the grandson of the brother of the Cleophas who married the sister of the Virgin Mary. This information is recounted in the books, The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and The Life of Jesus Christ and Biblical Revelation, all written based on the visions given to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich by God."

The bible often refers to the followers of Jesus as brothers. Mark's Gospel was recognized through the authority of St. Peter.

It was sometime between 68 - 74 A.D. when St. Mark would receive Martyrdom by the Pagans of Serapis who followed the false gods of Serepion Abbis Greek Egyptian who tied a rope to his neck attaching him to a horse's tail which dragged him through Alexandria's district Bokalia for nearly two whole days until he was torn to pieces. O Glorious St. Mark through the grace of God, our Father, you became a great Evangelist, preaching the Good News of Christ. May you help us to know Him well so that we may faithfully live our lives as followers of Christ. Amen.