I dreamt I awoke in a luminous place The King incandescent on Seraphim chair He said, “I am grateful you’vechanneled my grace My Kingdom for you is prepared…
“For when I was famished, you prepped me a plate When parched, you then poured me a glass Unknown, you gave welcome e’en when it was late All tattered, you bought me new slacks When lacking in health, you gave all for my healing And reeling in jail, you reached out”
I asked Him, while basking in love without measure “Sir, wherein and wherefore for you did I care? Just when did I see you, in work or in leisure? And whithersoever’d I serve you?”
“Yes, first I’d be grateful to know…
“When did I see You unfed; undernourished?”
With flourishing smile, He said…
“You fed me with gift cards to famishing fam’lies With snackbars for panhandlers straight from your car And cases of canned goods you’d cart to those pantries With funding you’d send near and far”
“And when did I see You unquenched or unwatered?”
With unfalt’ring joy, the Kingmentioned…
“My thirst you subverted with milk for your young Lemonade for your spouse while he cleaned out the stables With tea for those veterans, those heroes unsung And warm-ups while waiting on tables”
“And when did I see You unhailed or unknown?”
With cheer from His throne, He regaled…
“When aiding the migrants, the pre-born, the trafficked And desperate refugees spared from near death Supporting hurt vets, you disabled my sadness Your foster care spared me from meth”
“And when did I serve You unclothed or unwarm?”
With zeal like a storm, He disclosed…
“By purchasing work boots your friend couldn’t afford Crocheting bright hats for those neighbors in need By skipping the bar to give more to the poor And serving at S.V.D.P.” *
“And when did I see You uncared for; unwell?”
Then swelling with joy, He declared…
“Distressed with dementia, you’d answer my queries Over and over and over again When sick, you would visit; we’d watch that fun series Post-relapse, you sponsored Me, friend”
I begged, “Oh my King, I have just one more plea…
“When did I see You unfree, stuck in jail?”
His tale, with eyes beaming, I heeded…
“When thrown in the clink, you assailed me with visits Enduring with love countless forms; safety quizzes The darkness gave way to the faith you awakened Your calls proved I wasn’t forsaken”
Before I woke up, I spoke upone last time
“You’ve told me the ‘when’, Sir, but how ’bout the ‘how’?”
“Just how was I able to see You unfed? Unquenched and unwatered? Unknown and unhailed? And how could I notice you naked; unwarm? Unwell and unfree, stuck in jail?”
Undignified-like, the King sprang to His feet
And sang with elation, arms widening
“The ‘breaking of bread’ drew your eyes to My Host Exposing my face all around you Of the care you bestowed on so many, I’ll boast Through prayer, streams of love would surround you
“So enter My Kingdom made ready Already within you it’s bursting Long hence, you made room Your own gloom reversing Rehearsing for living and loving post-hearse
In My last-are-first
Lost-and-found
Least-of-these
Upside-down
Kingdom” ** *****
Matthew 25:31 (NIV) “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’”
*St. Vincent de Paul Society
**Matthew 21:31: “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.”
NB. Blessed Archbishop Fulton Sheen said that at the judgment before our Lord we will be disappointed with ourselves but also surprised at how much we have loved Him!
Cake OR ice cream? Burger OR fries? Law OR freedom? Religion OR science? Happy OR holy? Wild OR wise? Blood and sweat and cryin’ OR Faith and prayerand God Reliance?
Love my neighbor OR my Lord? Coins have two sides; every size Save the poor OR the planet scorned? Serve wherever in disguise God mourns Or cries
Adore at Mass OR past closed doors? Confess to a priest OR in my mind? Pray at church OR bedroom floor? Not OR but AND to find The Lord Enshrined
Does heaven speak through verse OR pope? Transcendent OR descending near? Is God in man OR in the Host? The latter, most AND in both
To be
Revered
Not OR but AND! The Christ is close His ruses fade; His Face appears For in each lad or lass… distressed In the “least of these”… oppressed He’s often missably, in-explicably… In each slum… surreptitiously… And in each child… hug and kissably… Here
Could God be Almighty- yet tiny and poor? Creator of planets- forgotten, ignored? Invincible Lord- but breakable, frail? The words of the Bible these myst’ries unveil
The tininess of God displayed In Bethlehem’s babe Cute and small (Lk. 2)
The poverty of God portrayed In Galilee’s tramp Shunned by all (Mt. 8:20; Mk. 14:71)
Our God’s “dismissability” In Nazareth’s son “without honor” (Mk. 6:4)
The Lord’s preferred fragility In Calvary’s Lamb Led to slaughter (Is. 53:7)
God’s weakness, smallness, helplessness, and utter breakability
Are found in ev’ry person full-endowed with all His features (Gen. 1)
And found in ev’ry Eucharistic Host! For shareability
Empow’ring us to heal Him hidden in His broken creatures (Mt. 25)
O “Risen One”, I see you rise with vibrant springy days That grow and bloom the Hope which “springs eternal” (1) The bulbs that elbow through the snow proclaim the lonesome tomb (Rom. 1) To “bear much fruit”, I’ll die with You…
A falling “kernal” (Jn. 12:24)
“Rabbi, Let Me See”
To see You, “Great Creator”, in the lightning, quake and fire Yet knowing that Elijah heard You rather in the hush (1 Kgs 19:11) In every soaring, splashing, creeping creature I admire (Gen. 1) And mesa, forest, flashing peak, plateau, and jungle lush
“Rabbi, I want to see…”
To see You as “The Light” in every lantern, star, and sunrise (Jn. 8:12) These guide and warm and banish brackish thoughts; unholy fears (Jn. 1:5) Your children You call “light” to fight the creeping darkness likewise (Mt. 5:14) Through mercy’s works that, to the hurting, makes Your Face appear
“Rabbi, I want to see…”
To see You in all faces, fair or plain, and in the “least” (Mt. 25:40)
Especially the suffering, oppressed, unborn, and poor
To find You in each victim crushed by war, abuse, disease
To seek You in my hidden room; adore You more and more
“Rabbi, I want to see…”
To see You, “Bridegroom of the Church”, when spouses love each other Their faithful, free and fruitful love reflects its holy Source (Eph. 5:32) Each marriage brings to mind Your vows to me, which none can smother “…til death”, and yet beyond! To love You not: life’s sole remorse
“Rabbi, I want to see…”
To see You, “Father-Icon”, in all earthly dads and pastors (Jn. 14:9) Their gentleness, encouragement, correction, and direction Protection from the “father of lies” and sin’s untold disasters You father us through Godly men! Their care is Your affection
“Rabbi, I want to see…”
To see You, “Healer”, as I pray for health in Jesus’ Name (Jn. 14:13) Foreseeing heaven’s healing of all tears and bitter illness (Rev. 21:4) Through doctors, nurses, therapists, Your healing touch we gain Through Christians laying healing hands; through sacraments; through stillness
“Rabbi, I want to see…”
To see You “Jesus”, “God’s Salvation”, as my sin I fight (Mt. 1:21) When on Your Holy Name I call, Your strength could not come quicker (Phil. 4:13) And if I lose a skirmish, “absolution” sets me right Allowing me to hear You say “forgiven” through your vicar
“Rabbi, I want to see…”
To see You, “Bread of Life”, upon the altar-table spread (Jn. 6; Ps. 23) “Unbloody Sacrifice” and foretaste of the feast of heaven (Lk. 22:20) Your Blood and Body offered under forms of wine and bread Like potent “Lembas”, filling us with strength to be Your “leaven” (J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings; Mt. 13:33)
*****
(1) Alexander Pope
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” 52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Each loved one that we miss Are with us in each Mass We meet the saints and angels there Around the Altar-table, where We pray with those who’ve passed
No closer can we be To loved ones now at rest Than in His Eucharistic Gaze The simple Host, our sight betrays To hide a Humble Guest
His Body makes us whole His Blood our passions quell And where His Sacred Head is now Are found His members, who resound His snatch from sin and hell
Beyond the veil of bread Through lenses of His grace We see the face of Christ the Lord And those who Him on earth adored Within His warm embrace
*****
Blessed Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi are a married couple on their way to canonization. Heartbroken by Luigi’s passing, Maria was able to write a few months later: “Luigi is always and incessantly the love and inconsolable sorrow of each and all of us, yet he helps us, he is near to us, and he loves us as much and even more, if it is possible, than before. Little by little, he is present to me ever more, most of all, at Communion, before the altar.”
Regarding the background of Beyond the Eucharistic Veil, I wrote it after my mother Barbara passed in 2023. It was inspired by a comment my household brother shared with me in college (Franciscan University of Steubenville). He told me that after his sister died at age 17, He would find her in the adoration chapel, in the Sacred Host, recalling that if his sister was with and in Jesus, then she there in the Eucharistic Host. Christ the Head is connected to every member of His Body, the Church. Eucharistic Adoration and Mass brought him consolation in his grief, as it does for me today.
Blessed Sacrament Chapel at Mt. St. Joseph Church, St. Louis, MI (Nativity of the Lord Parish)
Mass and Adoration let us visit Christ on earth
He’s cloaked as bread, but present just the same as at His birth
Our visits to the tabernacle fill His heart with glee
And comfort Him, whose love and Presence many don’t believe
*
Christ suffers as a lover Whose deep love is unreturned
Our visits will console Him for His love, so often spurned He longs to quench the thirst for love that all of us can feel Each “Eucharistic Visit” quells our thirst- and His- concealed
*
Both Mass and Adoration let us plug into the “Vine” (John 15)
He fills us with His Sap, that we might change it into wine
The wine of love for others which He calls us to pour out
Such wine we cannot make alone; without Him, there’s but drought
*
Both Mass and Adoration let us visit Christ in “prison”
Within His “cell”, He waits for us to come to Him and listen
A Prisoner of love who longs to drench us with His grace
We quench His thirst for love; He ours fulfills in this embrace
*
Make plans to go to Adoration! Sit at Jesus’ feet
His Presence in the Eucharist will give you peace so sweet
He longs for you to love Him; in this Sacrament He’ll wait
Soon stop at church and visit Him; consider it a “date”!
*
Just “eat and drink, be merry now
for death will come tomorrow”?
This outlook will not foster joy
It soon will end in sorrow
God’s earthly gifts grant happiness, but
Only such that’s fleeting
So turn to Christ the Bread of Life to
Feast on life unceasing
*
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (Jn.6:51)
(The ancient Christian Symbol I.H.S. represents the first three letters of the Holy Name of Jesus in Greek) In His Sacrifice, I have salvation In His Suffering, I have salve In His Stripes, I have stamina In His Sacraments, I have succor In His Sight, I have serenity In His Statements, I have security In His Surrender, I have strength In His Self-gift, I have solace In His Sacrifice, I have salvation
The sacraments are outward signs of saving inward grace
Each one decreed by Christ himself, redeemer of our race
He fashioned each to meet our needs, that’s why they’re not abstract
But tangible and earthly things our senses can extract!
*
St. Ambrose said “O Christ…I see you in your sacraments…”
And used the words “I meet you…face to face” in truest sense
They’re personal encounters that are possible through faith
To grant us “life” that’s “to the full” as Christ himself does saith!
*
BAPTISM
In baptism the soul is cleansed from Adam’s sin and shame
Through water and the calling of our God’s thrice-holy Name
Reborn as royal sons and daughters of our heav’nly King
Incorporated into Christ; now death hath lost its sting!
*
PENANCE (aka RECONCILIATION/CONFESSION)
When penitents approach the priest, their sins to him confess
He giveth absolution and the sinner he doth bless
His power to forgive is given by the Lord Himself (Jn.20:23)
Who gives the grace to put off sin that maims or kills soul-health
*
THE EUCHARIST
The source of all the Church’s life, the “Blessed Sacrament”
Upon the bread and wine, through priestly prayer God’s Spirit sent
Transforming them to Jesus’ Body and His Precious Blood
His hidden Presence here with us, our souls with grace to flood!
*
CONFIRMATION
In Confirmation, Christ bestows His Holy Spirit’s pow’r
He seals us as His soldiers and makes holy courage flow’r
Obliging us more strictly to bear witness to the Lord
Perpetuating Pentecost, and urging kingdom forw’rd!
*
HOLY MATRIMONY
For Holy Matrimony is a mirror of Christ’s love
Which He doth pour upon the Church, His “Bride” and precious “dove”
As covenant it mirrors too God’s love for Israel
Each spouse can from this sacrament draw grace as from a well!
*
HOLY ORDERS
In Holy Orders men are chosen by the Will of God
In readiness for Gospel preaching bold their feet are shod
To nourish souls with Word and sacrament as Shepherds true
They fight off wolves and find lost sheep who sadly are not few!
*
ANOINTING OF THE SICK
Anointing doth allow the Lord our illnesses to bear
Through priestly prayer we’re bidden in Christ’s saving work to share
Allowing us great fruit to bear through union with the Lord
Forgiveness, healing, strength, and peace is lavishly outpoured!
*
The sacraments! They fill our souls with God’s own very life
Profusely granting charity, the balm for sin and strife
Conforming us to Christ, Who through the priest’s own hands doth bless
Empow’ring us to conquer Satan, hell, and selfishness!
*
Oh loving Father, thank You for these vital means of grace
Do please dispose our hearts and minds to recognize the Face
Of Christ thy Son, though acting through weak ministers on earth,
In every sacrament, true foretastes of our heav’nly birth, Amen!
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. (Jn.6:53-54)
He is there for you
In every tabernacle
Waiting patiently
*
Prisoner of love
Christ our constant companion
Captive to free us
*
Saints savored visits
Sensing his silent presence
Their souls satisfied
*
Sanctuary lamps
Flickering with living flame
For the living Christ
*
In this sacrament
He wants to radiate you
With healing Son-light
*
If you sit near him
He will soak your thirsty soul
With waters of life
*
To visit him there
You will know intimacy
Loneliness dispelled
*
Genuflect and wait
Silently, softly he’ll speak
Sit in the stillness
*
“I’m with you always”
His promise fulfilled each day
Mass brings Him to us
*
In each Mass he comes
Incarnation “continued”
In the Eucharist
*
Come let us adore
Be present to the Presence
“Blessed Sacrament”
*
In each Cath’lic Church
His beating Sacred Heart waits
Visit Him today
Rhymes for the Rejoiceful 