Rev. Marco Testa, As We Worship So We Become: Meditations, Prayers and Devotions to the Most Holy Sacrament of The Altar: 2023.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass strengthens us to live Eucharistic lives of prayer, repentance, conversion, self-sacrifice, charity, adoration, witness. Through Christ’s sacrifice on the altar, as well as frequent Eucharistic Adoration, abundant graces are poured out on those who believe “that the Eucharist is the source and summit” of our lives. By God’s grace, everything about us – our thoughts, attitudes, actions – our entire being changes in conformity with Christ.
As We Worship So We Become: Meditations, Prayers and Devotions to the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is “lovingly offered to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus through the hands of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament in an act of reparation; as a humble effort to make known the riches of the Church’s greatest treasure – The Most Holy Sacrament of the altar – with the many who no longer know what the Church has consistently taught about the Eucharistic Mystery.” For the faithful who frequently participate at the Holy Sacrifice and visit our Lord in Eucharistic Adoration, this compact book helps to deepen our appreciation, understanding and humble worship.
The first section of the book is titled Several Meditations on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Using the Extraordinary Form Mass as a way to “introduce those who are not familiar with this Rite to its spiritual and mystical depth” since it is the “Rite that sustained and nourished the spiritual life of countless Saints and which gave birth to Christian culture,” Fr. Testa takes us sequentially through each part of the Sacred Liturgy to clearly explain its purpose and the role it fulfills in our formation into devout disciples of Christ. The sacrificial nature of the Mass, which has largely been forgotten in our time, is emphasized in this first section. “The outright denial of the sacrificial nature of the Mass or ignorance of this truth is at the heart of the crisis the Church is experiencing today; and by extension, the crisis in the world.”
The second section, Prayers and Devotions, focuses on time spent before the Blessed Sacrament and in Eucharistic Adoration. As our participation at the Holy Sacrifice grows in depth and understanding, the “fruit” of the Sacrifice, Holy Communion, transforms us so that “the Holy Eucharist becomes the source and summit (fons et culmen) of our life.” Prayer and adoration become as natural as breathing and our devotional life intensifies.
This section includes several prayers that prepare us for the worthy reception of Holy Communion. Likewise, there is a selection of prayers of thanksgiving after receiving the Blessed Sacrament, including the beautiful Thanksgiving Prayer contained in The Divine Worship Missal (Ordinariate Form). The Prayer of the Crusade of Reparation to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, written by Bishop Athanasius Schneider for the Eucharistic Reparation Crusade, July, 2020, is one of the powerful prayers found here, as is The Seven Offerings of The Precious Blood of Jesus.
In a confused, disoriented world that has largely lost sight of God, “the Sacred Liturgy rightly and reverently celebrated is the most effective tool of evangelization…In Eucharistic Adoration, the worship that we give to God in the Mass is extended, and our loving communion with God is deepened.”
Everything we desire for ourselves and for our neighbour is found in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and in humble adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. This little book, compact in size but considerable in its effect, aids us in our longing to love and adore Our Lord above all else. As We Worship So We Become is a powerful tool as we endeavour to lead our life rooted in a profound Eucharistic love of God and neighbour.
As We Worship So We Become: Meditations, Prayers and Devotions to the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is available for online purchase at stmichaelstrove.ca, a Catholic online store based in Toronto, Canada.
Rev. Marco Testa, As We Worship So We Become: Meditations, Prayers and Devotions to the Most Holy Sacrament of The Altar: 2023.