The Fire and the Flame
Vita Eucaristica e Vita Religiosa
in Saint Pierre-Julien Eymardby Fr. Manuel Barbiero, S.S.S.
Chapter Eight: Contemplative and Active LifeTranslated from the original Italian, French, and Latin by Fr. Mario Marzocchi, S.S.S., Fr. Thomas E. Waldie, S.S.S., Fr. Frederick Roberge, S.S.S. Revised edition, 1999.
The Cult of Solemn Adoration
From the very beginnings, Fr. Eymard holds to unifying the contemplative and active aspects of religious life; as we have had the occasion to mention in the first part of this work, that according to Fr. Eymard a fully Eucharistic life cannot be simply contemplative. Letters Vol. 3
Adoration and apostolate are two means to inflame hearts with the same fire of love that Jesus Christ has ignited in the Eucharist, and for propagating everywhere the kingdom of God, continued in the Eucharist Letters Vol. 2; these are the means which, integrating themselves in turn, they help to embrace in a superior way the end that Fr. Eymard proposes.
Before all else we must adore after that, zeal for our projects. The hearth and the flame. Love is not limited to that. Love needs zeal, fire ascends and spreads. It sets fire to everything it reaches. The flame that gives light and heat. Just as there is no fire without a flame, so there is no love without zeal for God's glory and the salvation of souls.
The image of fire and flame makes us perceive the dynamism that Fr. Eymard sees contained in the Eucharist; the life of prayer and the apostolic life, the fire and the flame, the love and zeal, are two sides of the same Eucharistic mission.
I1. "In the cenacle, assiduous and of one mind in prayer"
I lay down as a principle that the grace of the Society is a grace of prayer, and that we ought to be distinguished from all other religious groups. This is your grace.
In this way, Fr. Eymard spoke to his religious in August of 1867. Certainly, prayer holds a relevant place in the life of a religious, either through the relation that it has with the end of the Institute, or through the time that it comes to occupy during a day of about seven and a half hours.
To be interior, men and women of prayer, religious render themselves worthy of the spiritual kingdom of Jesus Christ, of entering into the cenacle of his graces and of his love; thus, religious become truly Eucharistic.
In the Eucharistic life of adoration, it is Jesus Christ who reveals his secrets, as he did to the apostles in the cenacle at Pentecost; for this, assiduous prayer is required, one must be persistent and faithful.
This life of prayer, an expression of the contemplative dimension, expresses itself in solemn exposition, in organized adoration, in the Mass and Communion, in the church's divine office and the sacred Roman liturgy.
Exposition is made on the main altar, where there must not be any reliquaries, pictures, or images that can distract from the divine sacrament. . . . The exterior ornamentation must be done tastefully; all that which is precious and beautiful must honor Jesus Christ exposed in the Eucharist.
Exposition requires the greatest reverence and devotion; a rigorous silence and a fitting manner of style, they are the bodily homage given to God, because one's body must also adore the God of the Eucharist. The order, the decor, the worthy and holy comportment, preach the real presence and:
must be like the visible preaching of our faith, and the exterior witness of their piety and for their ardent love for their divine King.
2. "Organized" adoration
Fr. Eymard, in various texts of his Rule of Life, reserves for adoration a treatment that is always distinct from the practices of piety; it is an integral part of the end and of the mission of his two Congregations, it is the characteristic form of them, with proper attitudes and methods.
The Rule of Life of 1864 establishes the way in which the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament lives its permanent presence before the Blessed Sacrament exposed. The religious share among themselves the hours by day and night; each one shall make by rule, three hours of adoration, two during the day and one at night successively, covering all the hours of the day. Moreover, fidelity to the order and schedule is required, there is a listing of changes of hours and tardiness.
The adorer makes the adoration with the knowledge of being, at that particular time, the delegate of the church and of the Congregation, for which he or she adores according to the spirit and laws of the church, to which they feel themselves united as sons and daughters to a mother.
During the adoration Fr. Eymard counsels not to recite the office or other extraneous prayers to Eucharistic piety, such as the rosary; after the first hour, it is permitted to recite the office of the Blessed Sacrament. Ordinarily, adoration is done kneeling, concentrating one's whole attention on the Eucharist; this is the very first attitude one must have for the cult:
This respect is in itself an adoration. It glorifies and nourishes devotion and often enough produces it.
Adoration also needs preparation, at least inasmuch as a subject needs to be treated, which must be in relation to the Eucharist. Fr. Eymard also counsels the way of using the hours of adoration, but above all invites doing adoration with joy, communicating with God and enjoying him; to look on the hour as a moment of paradise, especially if it is a most difficult one, because one continues then to grow in love.
The organization of adoration requires a certain number of religious in a community to be ready. On this point, cautions, recommendations, and exceptions are engrafted: the relation between rule and practice is difficult.
The affirmations that adoration requires is liberty from "every servile work and compliance with persons" and it insists upon a presence and continuity in community; some ministries which ask for too much time should be avoided. There are, however, some exceptions: when through some ministry one can hope for a great advantage for souls and for the greater glory of the Eucharist, when one deals with the good of the Congregation, when reasons arise from great necessity or charity, or regard the common good. Besides, some categories of students for the purpose of conferences, brothers and sisters occupied with necessary work, priests designated for certain ministries.
Fr. Eymard has searched, concerning this point, to avoid that absolute which risks "killing" a work in the end, but he encountered many practical difficulties in the organization of adoration; difficulties determined by the lack of personnel, for which, during his own life, there was no perpetual adoration in any of the houses. We limit ourselves now to relating a text of Fr. Eymard, added to the chapter on the manner of doing adoration, which reaffirms the priority of place it has:
As an absolute law, all our religious are bound in conscience to the service of adoration. For this is the first reason for our existence. The principal duty of the professed to which all devotions or exterior zeal are subordinated.
The religious during their hour of adoration must not recite prayers or read books, the books were permitted only to assist oneself in time of great aridity. Fr. Eymard wanted, rather, that adoration might well up from themselves, for this he suggested some methods. In presenting them, we will seek to underline the motivations of these choices, more than dwelling on the methods themselves.
3. The method of the "four ends of the sacrifice" (of the Mass)
The method that Fr. Eymard proposed since the beginning of the foundation and that he has illustrated more times than any other is that of the four ends of the sacrifice.
Adoration, thanksgiving, propitiation, supplication correspond to the four ends of the sacrifice. Adoration is united to the spirit with which the Blessed Sacrament was instituted, to the prayer of the church; to the necessity of the soul, that in sterility has need of being guided to a natural method; these are natural expressions of love and the end of prayer.
The four ends of sacrifice summarize all the religion of worship, and of the practical faith in prayer; all the virtues find their natural exercise in prayer, as in their very center of grace and love.
This kind of adoration made as a meditation, as a dialogue, has for its aim the union of the soul with the Eucharistic Christ.
4. To honor and relive the mysteries of Christ
Fr. Eymard proposes another method so that adorers do not lose their vigor and rush on in the daily exercise of adoration.
Let them learn to honor and as it were relive all the mysteries of the life of our Lord in this super excellent worship of the Blessed Sacrament; glorify all the virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the saints to the praise and glory of the hidden Lord.
In the Eucharist are present all the states of the life of Jesus Christ; in adoration one contemplates them, with faith, the mysteries of his mortal or Eucharistic life, his truth and virtues, the actual events, in order to be able to conform one's life to them.
All these various states will become a habitual practice, which will in this way simplify our spirit which has one end, one life, Jesus Eucharistic.
This method flows into a new contemplation, which goes from light to light, from virtue to virtue, from perfection to perfection; the Eucharist becomes light to the Spirit, life to the heart and strength to the will; the thought of Jesus Christ Eucharistic fills one's entire soul and whole life.
Moreover, Fr. Eymard underlines that to practice this method signifies being in the spirit of the church, because:
This is being in the spirit of the church. To honor the divine Eucharist by the various feasts of our Lord, since it is the admirable continuation and end of love and grace.
Besides the mysteries of the life of Christ, there are also the liturgical feasts of the Virgin and of the saints that can be made the object of adoration, of praise and glory to the Eucharist.
5. Adoration inspired by the Spirit
In the Rule of Life of 1864 we find present a third method of adoration, which Eymard defines as better.
This method, assents to the beginning, emerging in a particular way from 1862, hints of it can also be found in the years 1860-1861. One adores exploiting the depth of piety and of personal love, adoring through one's own state, so to speak, one's own suffering or trial, grace or concentration. In a particular way, this method consists in the prayer of union with the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit has the mission of dwelling in souls in order to manifest, to make known and form Jesus Christ, in order to sanctify them. Yet, the mission of the Spirit:
. . . not only shows us the truth, but gives us the truth, and prays in us, establishing a foundation of prayer, and adoration (. . . ) then the Holy Spirit comes to us, he expresses in us the same prayer by his grace and his love, not only does he pray in us, as Saint Paul says: "with groanings of love and repentance, he identifies with us." Because we can offer worship to God, you understand, you must be one with the Spirit's prayer, being recollected, giving ourselves in being one with the Spirit, with the prayer that the Holy Spirit inspires and divinizes in us.
In June of 1867, Fr. Eymard takes up this thought again and underlines that although there will be methods and rules of prayer to be used, it is however only the Holy Spirit that will be able to give the union and grace, the Holy Spirit will lift up the soul to union with Jesus Christ.
6. The Mass
We have already presented, in the sixth chapter, the thought of Fr. Eymard on the Mass, now, we will examine its practice.
Priests celebrate the Mass the most glorious act to God, the most holy and salutary for us, every day, dedicating to it the space of a half hour. In a text that synthesizes a thought which frequently recurs, Fr. Eymard writes:
Let the priests apply themselves to performing the sacred ceremonies during the holy sacrifice of the Mass, celebrating with dignity and modesty, piety, avoiding a scandalous haste and a tiresome slowness. They should celebrate usually in half an hour.
The religious must assist each day at the Mass. For everyone, a worthy principle is to begin with a quarter of an hour of preparation before Mass and Communion and then one must follow with a half hour of thanksgiving after Mass.
7. The Communion
Those (religious) who have given themselves totally and forever for his love and glory ought to live of him; therefore, our religious will strive to live in such a way that they may be able to receive frequently and even daily this sacred food with real profit.
This is the general principle that Fr. Eymard writes in 1864, a principle which reflects the thought also expressed previously. Both the men and women religious must live in such a way as to frequently or daily be able to receive holy Communion . . . one must aspire with one's whole life, it must become either thanksgiving or preparation for Communion.
Communion is called the cenacle, were Jesus Christ dwells permanently and communicates his very life; it is there that one is well formed; it is necessary to receive if one may feel lukewarm or indifferent in love.
Your merit is not what gives you right, nor your virtues that open the doors of the cenacle; it is Jesus' love. It is Jesus who forms his Spirit, his virtues, his manners.
Communion is like the complement of adoration: living for adoration, one must live for Communion.
8. The divine office
Fr. Eymard holds the divine office in great esteem, above all when it is recited in choir before the Blessed Sacrament exposed. It is the sacrifice of praise among all, most accepted by God, the universal prayer of the church, inspired by the Holy Spirit; for these motives, it must be proclaimed according to the desire of the church, applying oneself both exteriorly and interiorly.
The office, celebrated by the religious before the Blessed Sacrament exposed, becomes a solemn and collective adoration:
The office, recited in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, is a community adoration, the adoration of our society; everyone of us is an adorer in reciting the office; the adorer whose turn it is, does not give up his adoration; his prayer is changed into the prayer of the church.
9. "According to the liturgy of the church"
In the points presented thus far, we have encountered many times the request of Fr. Eymard to his religious to fulfill every action according to the church, according to its laws and spirit of the liturgy. We have already previously said something in regard to the relation between the Eucharist, the church, and liturgy. Let us now point out some of the realizations, giving the motivations for them.
The liturgy is the expression of faith, of piety, and of love for the church, which inspired by the Holy Spirit, regulates the cult rendered to God; the religious must grasp and live the spirit of the liturgy that has animated the church in formulating norms for rites and ceremonies; by which:
. . . our religious will cultivate all the rituals, laws, decrees and sacred observations of the holy Roman church, and consider them as their supreme and inflexible law to be observed everywhere. They will take up the liturgical sciences with the utmost zeal, and will spread and defend with all their might against false or private applications, or observances which dishonor divine worship.
As a consequence, the study and love of the liturgy derives from it and must be the "mother of science" of the religious; giving themselves to the sacred functions becomes a way of remaining always prepared and not defective in the cult; liturgical formation defeats an egoistic piety and devotion turned in upon itself. Following the liturgy one honors the Eucharist and one prays with the church.
Worshiping the divine Eucharist in this way, I do so with the entire church and with all the saints; I am one with it and offer it the same homage and the same cult. (. . . ) My worship then is truly Catholic (. . . ) a public profession of my faith and my vocation to the greater glory of Jesus, Victim of love and praise.
The liturgy becomes therefore, a "way," because the religious realize their vocation at the interior of the church, living for the greater glory of Jesus Christ Eucharistic.
10. The exercises of piety
What remains steadfast is the principle that Eucharistic devotion must take first place; Fr. Eymard, in the principal texts of the Rule of Life, lists those practices of piety with the aim of nurturing Eucharistic devotion and of directing every work and exercise, to the honor and glory of the Eucharist.
The first list of practices, with the addition, then, of the feasts and of the saints to celebrate, appear in the years 1859-1860, and we find them only in the more complete outlines of the Rule of Life; the Rule of 1864, with successive corrections, result in being more concise on this point, with respect to the preceding lists; these indicate: an invocation at the sound of the hour, the monthly or annual retreat.
The ever present practice, is that of reciting, at the sound of the hour, the Eucharistic invocation
O sacrament most holy, O sacrament divine, all praise and honor be every moment thine!
This manner of invoking, following the measure of time, is a concrete method to maintain a constant union even in one's activities, with that which is the aim of one's life: the Eucharist. Fr. Eymard's Retreat of Rome, which he made in 1865, is cadenced for purposes which have for their object ejaculatory repetitions at the striking of the hour. For example, on February 17, Fr. Eymard concludes his meditation on the mystery of the incarnation; in which, taking as his model the Virgin Mary, he has decided to form Jesus Christ within himself, of living like Jesus Christ himself and of being totally for Jesus Christ, he proposes the following:
With the help of God's grace, today, I will begin to unite myself to the adorations, the love and to Mary's service for the incarnate Word and to do so before and after each action, at the sound of the bell.
Terminating this exposition inasmuch as it concerns the contemplative life, we now pass on to a presentation of the active life, which would be like the flame that springs up from the fire, and is therefore strictly united to the first dimension.
II
APOSTLES OF THE EUCHARIST
Fr. Eymard affirms in a retreat:
The Society of the Blessed Sacrament is not satisfied with just adoring, loving the Lord of the Eucharist; our zeal for his glory seeks to have him adored, loved, and served by everyone to set up a throne of love, and win for him faithful adorers. Jesus has said: "I have come to set fire to the earth, all that I desire is to see this fire inflame the universe." This divine fire is the Eucharist. Saint John Chrysostom says: "The Eucharist is a flame which set us on fire" ( . . . ) The Eucharist is the reign of Jesus Christ in the world and above all in the hearts of his children that is the beautiful, loving mission of the religious of the Blessed Sacrament; the disciple and apostle of Eucharistic love this is its name and its life and its grace.
With that image of fire and flame, Fr. Eymard indicates the necessity that the religious have to devote themselves also to the apostolate; to imitate the apostles who, having received the Holy Spirit, leave the cenacle and dedicate themselves with strength, love, filled with zeal, as martyrs. Religious must be the apostles of the Eucharist.
We must be the apostles, the ministers, and the instruments of the Eucharist; as the apostles received the grace of apostleship of the cross, so we have received the apostleship of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is our life's center, our power for action. ( . . . ) We must preach the Eucharist by our works, by our writings, and by our worship. Nobody should speak better than we of the Eucharist. We are Blessed Sacrament religious.
Fr. Eymard indicates several criteria for choices in the field of Eucharistic ministry; the works must always have a relation with the Eucharist, that is to procure "directly" and "especially" the greater glory of the Eucharist; therefore, there is need to ask oneself if the Eucharist has its place, if it is the end of the work, in a word, if these ministries are according to the spirit and end of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament.
These ministries must not be to the detriment of perpetual adoration, and must not be distracting from concentration on Eucharistic service.
Our grace is not like the grace of other religious of apostolic missionaries, of active religious, of simply contemplative life; these are not our grace. What is ours? The Eucharistic grace, the grace that springs from the Eucharist and which must return to the Eucharist. That is the grace of our vocation ( . . . ) if we step out of the Eucharist we will never succeed.
Another criterion is given on a personal level: the religious will dedicate themselves to the Eucharistic ministry according to the measure and the gift of one's proper grace.
Fr. Eymard also indicates a style and model of apostolate. A style born of the Eucharist itself, it is the fruit of divine love that, after having vivified and given to religious a heart solely for service, urges them to consecrate themselves entirely for glory. The model, at least for the religious, is John the Baptist; the religious must become like him a light that is burning and bright, and to glorify the Eucharist with one's annihilation.
In presenting some works, which Fr. Eymard points out as proper and that he has put into practice - we will follow the order of the Rule of Life of 1864; our principal attention will be dedicated to putting into relief their "direct" bond with the Eucharist.
1. "The apostolate of prayer"
The apostolate of prayer, lived in the perpetual practice of the four ends of the sacrifice of the Mass before the throne of grace and of mercy, the "solitary house" for the religious (men and women) was looked at again.
The churches of the "solitary houses" were not open to the public, as were those of the sisters; in which for this type of apostolate, perhaps not improperly, we can also place the professed houses destined for the public cult of adoration.
This apostolate has as its aim the re-creation, the reuniting of people around the Eucharist with public and solemn adoration, as a family, life as it was lived by the first Christian community in the cenacle; the Eucharist, life of the Christian and of people, can work the transformation of society, reawaken and nourish it with faith. We relate several passages of an article that Fr. Eymard has published in 1864:
We are not afraid of affirming that the Eucharistic worship through exposition is the need of our time. This public and solemn attestation of the faith of the people in the divinity of Jesus Christ and in the truth of his sacramental presence ( . . . ) The solemn cult of exposition is necessary in order to awaken the dormant faith of so many good people who no longer know Jesus Christ, because they no longer know that he is their Neighbor, their Friend, their God. This cult is necessary in order to stimulate real piety. ( . . . ) It is necessary in order to save society. Society is dying because it no longer has a center of truth and love, and no family life; individuals isolate themselves, turn in on themselves, want to be self-sufficient; the breakup of society is imminent. But society will be reborn, full of vigor when we all join and unite around our Emmanuel. Communication among thinkers naturally will take place, guided by the truth. The bonds of true and strong friendship will be renewed under the influence of one love; the beautiful days of the cenacle will return; the feast of the great King, God's family feast."
One can note the recall of terms that we have indicated as characterizing the community life of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament; the cenacle and the family; these make the bond between the religious life, the life of prayer and activity.
2. The sciences and the arts
They (religious) will cultivate the arts and sciences which can enhance and honor the cult and piety of the Holy Eucharist.
From the start, Fr. Eymard places this type of apostolate among those for the religious men and in some way for the religious women. In fact, in the Rule of Life of the sisters mention is made of care for decorating the altars, for sewing, for adorning above all the poor churches, following the norms, forms, and indications of the Roman liturgy. This particular work is noted also under the name of "work of tabernacles," and we find this term present in some of the projects of the men religious.
The list of possibilities to be realized amplifies itself in the texts regarding the men religious, involving all types of art: poetry, painting, sculpture and music; this always in favor of the poorer churches. Moreover, those religious who have a gift for writing, are invited to compose works which enable nourishment and perfection of faith for the faithful toward the Blessed Sacrament.
3. The cult and the ceremonies
Let them tirelessly give themselves to the cult of the ceremonies of the cult of the sacred Roman liturgy.
We have already spoken of the attention the religious must give to the liturgy and ceremonies. The apostolate that drives from it, consists, according to what Fr. Eymard has written, in preparing young people for the service of the liturgical mysteries and ceremonies, in order to make known, loved, and served always better Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
4. "To welcome priests lovingly"
They will receive priests lovingly for retreats in their cenacles, so that they may become more fervent adorers and apostles in spirit and in truth of their sacramental Lord.
From the start, Fr. Eymard declares the religious house a "cenacle" open and hospitable in welcoming priests, re-creating in them a sacerdotal spirit and sanctifying them through the Eucharist.
In the initial phases of the foundation, Fr. Eymard had thought of offering a retirement place, in a house inflamed with Eucharistic piety, especially for older priests who could no longer function in pastoral ministry. But the difficulties were great, above all for safeguarding the religious life; besides, it was necessary to provide the work of an infirmary. Later on, this work was not considered among the aims of Congregation.
The apostolate for priests takes three directions. The first effort is that of reanimating, nourishing, and perfecting the Eucharistic spirit and devotion in priests.
A second line that Fr. Eymard pursues from the start is that of giving life to a form of an aggregation for priests. In 1858, he composes a project of statues for a Third Order of Priests of the Blessed Sacrament, in order to offer priests the grace of an organized life; thus inspired and formed they would be able to aspire to sacerdotal perfection and engage themselves in the greater glory of the Eucharist.
This idea remains present, only some months before his death did Fr. Eymard seem to take an aspect more correspondent to the possibilities of the milieu of his time. In a conversation with Fr. Tesniθre, he expresses himself as follows:
I want to get the priests. Yes, my apostolate is with the priests. This is my principal apostolate. ( . . . ) Already I have composed half of the regulations. But I do not want a Third Order, and I do not know what name to give them. I want to get them into a society that is free, divide them into sections with one of their number at the head, a member who is very devoted to the Blessed Sacrament, give them one or two retreats in a year. And, above all, give them the ease to enter into the Society; to be religious; invalids, to end their days near the Blessed Sacrament. Oh! When will this day come!
A third line of realization for this endeavor is directed toward those priests who have abandoned their ministry. Fr. Eymard seeks to rehabilitate them, in order then to attempt sanctifying them with the Eucharist. Cardinal Langenieux, the archbishop of Reims, releases this testimony to the Ordinary of Paris:
Cardinal Morlot held Father Eymard in greatest esteem once he got to know him, and saw in him a man of God in all the total meaning of the word. a man deeply committed most specially to help renew the priests entrusted to him by the archbishop. Besides, I can affirm that he overcame, by his truly priestly virtue, his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, his meekness, even the most rebellious; I have watched him during the four years that we were working together. I know that a great number of the priests rescued by his zeal, persevered and were holy priests.
5. The work of "First Communion"
They shall take care that poor boys and young men are prepared and instructed in Christian doctrine and in piety in order to receive worthily for the first time, the most holy body of Jesus Christ.
We possess a vast documentation on this work, from the beginning it was always present to the thought of Fr. Eymard; it is a work that has allowed the birth of the Congregation. Eymard defines it: the royal work of Eucharistic nuptials Letters Vol. 3 and in it he saw a work that linked itself well with adoration and the Eucharistic spirit.
The work has the aim of seeking, instructing, and preparing all the adults that have passed the age of parochial catechism, for their First Communion, or else those who for reasons of illness or factory work were not able to make their Communion.
With the collaboration of some laity, Fr. Eymard first gathers the children and youth, so that First Communion takes place August 15, 1859, by Christmas time of the same year the work was well on its way. In brief, the average number of children was between one hundred and one hundred fifty for the year. Every communicant that finishes catechism makes an effort to find a substitute, and he leads him with himself on the following Sunday to First Communion. Moreover, the contacts with youth were followed up afterwards; each year a four day retreat was organized, to prepare them for Easter.
The work does not stop at First Communion, but involves confirmation also. It does not remain simply sacramental, but becomes human progress. It involves children, youth, adults, elders, and entire families of the working-class world and of the ill-reputed suburbs of Paris, where poverty reigns, the uncared for, the indifferent to religion.
For this apostolate, Fr. Eymard avails himself of a group of religious (men and women) at least until 1863, and of laity. Other than catechism, which takes place three times a week, there is provision for the economic side of the work, that is: clothes for the communicants, at times also for their relatives, meals during the three days of retreat that precede First Communion, in some cases daily wages for the young workers, in order to convince the families to let them come.
The dream of Fr. Eymard will be to see the work of First Communion spread throughout Paris with four or eight centers of catechism.
What are the reasons that make this work a particular mission for the religious of the Blessed Sacrament? An apostolate specifically Eucharistic?
Fr. Eymard himself, on more than one occasion, has presented his point of view. He has called this the apostolic work par excellence, which would be surrendered to nothing else, because, the soul that comes to love Jesus Christ and hungers for him has found life and life superabundantly. We can feel this in the following words of Fr. Eymard, transmitted to us by a direct witness:
Anyone who eats at the king's table is honorable. But a Christian is even more so. How can you refuse to honor a man, a child even, who has become, or who will become a new heaven, a living tabernacle, another Christ, as Saint Paul says ( . . . ) We must pray for these poor children who are going to make their First Communion ( . . . ) We have some, mixed up kids who live in the midst of the world's scandals; the poor, except for the mendacious. We have all the others. I am very happy our ministry has no shining appearances ( . . . ) If we were instructing a dozen princes, people would say: "Look at these men. What a great amount of good they are doing; what an outstanding order." How foolish the world is! These young men are 12 kings. They represent Jesus Christ who said: "Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me." ( . . . ) The Blessed Sacrament is the first religious order, the first of all; it must have the most beautiful mission, namely, to all that is more wretched, the most vicious; what did you expect? When we mention the rag pickers we cannot go any lower ( . . . ) This is a fine mission; it reminds us of our Lord's second invitation to the Eucharist. The first was for the Pharisees, for the important people, for the virtuous. They were more concerned with their businesses than for the King's royal feast for his Son. ( . . . ) What does the King say? "So! Go out into the highways and byways; bring in the lame, the blind, anyone you can find." The servants did so, and they came back saying: "Sir, there is still room. Go get the most destitute and make them come in." This is where the Eucharist began. From our first day, we have had the First Communion for the poor. What we have been doing since the beginning is probably our mission ( . . . ) We feel that we have a mission for these people; we ought to be very proud, and happy. The important people will come later; they do not need us.
The reason for this choice is not only in the fact that the First Communion brings persons to encounter the Eucharistic Christ, but also, and in the passage given above, it seems to have a particular force in the fact that Jesus Christ himself, instituting the Eucharist, has made a choice for the needy and poverty stricken; at the Eucharistic table there are no distinctions or preferences, all find themselves sons and daughters, brothers and sisters:
Out Lord is our Father too. We are his children ( . . . ) In Holy Communion, we feel that he is our loving Father. We are happy to be his family. And just as in a family, all the children are equal; and the only requirement for admission is that you are a son or daughter. In the same way, when you come to Communion, you are not asked your age, or your address, or your holiness. Only, are you Christians.
Love is the motive of the Eucharist; it is the love that, making itself true charity, leads to act in the direction indicated by Fr. Eymard, the Eucharist results being, for this work, the beginning and the end.
6. Retreats and spiritual exercises
Experience shows that all the means of the spiritual life, spiritual exercises (retreats) are the more efficacious for the acquisition and stability of the virtues. They shall practice this kind of spiritual warfare and instruct others in their use so that they may rejoice to see the interior reign of God and our Lord Jesus Christ progress in souls.
Both the men and women religious are involved in this duty; they are called to gather with charity and joy, in one's cenacle, all those who request to be able to spend a period of time in recollection and prayer.
Fr. Eymard gave indications both in regard of the aim and of the way to conduct a retreat, as well as the duties required of the director. From these aspects, we can gather the Eucharistic specificity of this apostolate and also how other institutes carried out their spiritual exercises. The exercises have this aim:
That one's heart may be absolved of every evil and imperfect affection so that they may give themselves totally to the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, and may direct all their works and virtue to His sacramental glory and live his life.
Because the retreatant gains a deeper knowledge of the love of Christ for him in the Eucharist, in a way to enable him to root himself, to nurture and attain living the same Eucharistic life, the same proposed methodology is indicated for the formation of religious:
That one may proceed wisely, from light to love, and from love to the practice of all the virtues.
The one who directs the retreat, also studies the character of the retreatant, the nature of his affections and passions, the spirit, the spiritual attraction and the particular will of God for him, he will begin by:
fixing his soul in God, in his fatherly providence, in his divine personal love.
The retreat director, therefore, will apply himself, with zeal and evangelical charity, to form in the retreatant the spirit and life of Jesus Christ, respecting his vocation and personal attraction, because:
God is the one who gives the vocation, and everyone becomes holy by doing his divine will.
It is proper for the Eucharist to regenerate Christian life, to lead to perfection every Christian in his own state of life, in the realization of one's baptismal vocation.
7. Preaching and confessions
Those who have been examined by the Superiors and approved for the work of preaching and confession, will be concerned only with the reign of love of the Blessed Sacrament, like holy John the Baptist rejoicing to see Jesus live and grow in hearts while they decrease and be accounted for nothing.
From this introduction, one can see that the same reasons recur for the apostolate of retreats and of the spiritual practices. It is Jesus Christ who must grow in souls. It is by the Eucharist that men are lead, and for this the foundation to be set is love. The sanctification of souls realizes itself going from divine love to the virtues to the Eucharistic life. This always remains the method to follow.
Fr. Eymard counsels preachers to prepare themselves before the Blessed Sacrament, in order to educate and inspire themselves in the spirit of Jesus Christ, in order to fill themselves with Eucharistic grace, so that:
The spread the fire of divine love everywhere, fulfilling the desire of the Lord who said: "I have come to cast fire on the earth, and what do I will but that it be enkindled?"
Further, the preaching must be simple, adapted to the public in a way to edify them, avoiding every human and mundane eloquence, and every exaggeration (over-statement, nonsense).
For preachers and confessors, Sacred Scripture takes an important place. Preachers must be "filled," and confessors must prepare themselves with words taken from Scripture. This attention to Scripture, not new in Eymard, is a particularity for a way to develop the apostolate which we think finds its proper source in the Eucharistic purpose.
8. The aggregation
Fr. Eymard, in the Rule of Life of 1864, does not speak explicitly of the aggregation: a work which is listed from the beginning among the principals of the Congregation, when the aggregates are considered as making up part of the membership of the Congregation.
However, if we read how much was said as a starting point for this apostolate of the Congregation, comparing it with preceding texts, and with the purpose that we find indicated in the Directory, which Fr. Eymard composed for the aggregation, we can say that the work is present.
In the Rule of Life of 1864, the apostolate has for its aim:
To arouse and nourish faith in this sacrament of life and to enflame and stimulate greater love and worship in everyone.
In the synoptic group, we find as an endeavor for the Congregation that of:
Let them spread everywhere through the zeal of pastors, the Aggregation of the Blessed Sacrament, and so develop true and faithful adorers for Jesus, the Lord.
In one of the many presentations of the aggregation, which Fr. Eymard composed, we read that its aim is:
To form for our Lord, Jesus Christ, in his sacrament of love, good and faithful adorers in the world: to join their efforts in one Eucharistic service, and to help them live more perfectly the life of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
It treats therefore of forming some laity to the Eucharistic life, as fulfillment of their Christian life; these participate in the same spirit of the Congregation, as "spiritual members," sharing the purpose and works of the Congregation.
One particular project of Fr. Eymard on the aggregation, enables us to grasp better the Eucharistic specificity of this type of apostolate; he, in fact, thinks of dividing it into three classes, as so many steps or degrees of participation in the Eucharistic life; thus it seems to propose a process: from simple association for adoration to the attainment of "cenacles" for the laity, who, according to the possibilities permitted by their state of life and duties, might form among themselves a community of Eucharistic life.
Several projects are on this level. The first class are the aggregates "simple and individual" who fulfill their duties alone; the second class is compose of aggregates who, organizing among themselves, for a service of adoration, under the direction of the pastor or superior of a community or an approved work; finally the third class is called a "fraternity" or "cenacle." Of this, it is said:
A fraternity is a group of three to five members who live as a family, according to the spiritual rule of the Society and form in this way, in the world, a little cenacle of religious and Eucharistic life, in the ordinary and secular life.
The aggregation begins at Marseille in 1859. Later, it spreads to other cities, such as: Tarare, Amplepuis, Tours, Dreux, Neufchatel, Bruxelles. The letters are a precious source of knowing the activities and duties of the aggregates, and the relations intertwined with Fr. Eymard.
In Tarare, Mme. Tholin-Bost organizes and in a way directs the Eucharistic adoration, besides, through the encouragement of Fr. Eymard she begins a group for young girls, from 15 to 18 years of age, that is, after their First Communion. Here are some of the passages from the good amount of correspondence:
Thank God. Now you are with us, a member of the cenacle. Here is your Eucharistic field: these little plants need to be nourished. How I would wish that you could go, with a torch in one hand, like lightning, and set the fire of Eucharistic love everywhere. I am sending you this letter of affiliation with our little Society that you love so well and which is very closely united to you.
Mme. Lepage, from Rennes, had started a cenacle experience with Julie-Antoinette Bost, sister of Mme. Tholin-Bost. Fr. Eymard writes:
Always be an apostle of the God of the Eucharist. This is your mission of fire in the midst of people who are cold; your mission of light to those who do not believe; your mission of holiness for souls who adore. Jesus said: "I am the bread of life."
The desire of Fr. Eymard is that these cenacles might multiply on behalf of the world. To Mme. de Grandeville, he writes:
I have an idea of something for you which keeps nagging me. It is this: to have you start in Nantes, in your home, a little family of adorers.
To the Countess de Fegely:
My hope for you is that you may start in your country a house of adorers. This is the greatest thing you can do. The greatest, the holiest, the most apostolic. Work at forming this cenacle. You have the means, the love, and perhaps the mission.
It seems that the Countess d'Andigne also, collaborator with Fr. Eymard for the work of First Communions, lives the cenacle experience; in fact, we read in a letter:
Love your house on the island, our Lord's Bethany, his permanent cenacle for His Eucharistic Life. ( . . . ) Train yourself in fixing yourself in an atmosphere of divine love while you are taken up with the variety of things you have to do, and with your moods. The sun does not change, because clouds passing by, hide it.
The experience of the aggregation, that has its summit in the life at the cenacle, inasmuch as we are able to ascertain, is a way of Christian formation, of personal maturity and community in the light of the Eucharist, in order to become leaven of renewal in society.
Conclusion
The two faces of the Eucharistic life that Fr. Eymard proposes has been presented to his religious. We searched to show this with constant effort so the Eucharist might be the continuous "point of reference." We have also seen how it is not always easy to harmonize these two realities between themselves and the concrete situations that Fr. Eymard and his religious experienced and those that everyday life presents to us.
We ask ourselves, therefore, if the image that Fr. Eymard uses, of fire and flame, indicates a priority or underlines, greatly, the inseparability of the two elements. Certainly, the ideas he was slowly developing have greater need of time for experimentation to be able to verify the actualization; but one point seems clear to us: all that which a religious (men and women) fulfills takes its meaning from being linked/bonded to the Eucharist. A year before his death in a meditation to his religious, he once again speaks of taking heed:
Every action has a right to be well done. For a religious of the Blessed Sacrament, the day is a chain with the first link in the morning attached to the Eucharist and the last one in the evening. ( . . . ) You ought to do any material work as well as you make adoration or receive Communion, because your actions receive their merit from the Master you serve.
The fire and the flame, therefore, can define themselves as linked together, which correspond and recall themselves; they are constituted as a circle, which gives a unifying dimension to life, and makes of life a continuous journey, from one aspect to another, without solution of the continuity. One testimony presents itself as how Fr. Eymard may have gone forth to live his life between the contradictions of these two aspects of his spirituality: the contemplative and active life:
Fr. Eymard had the greatest zeal for others. He had the soul and the gifts of an apostle. What is extraordinary is that he founded a contemplative order, and he was more of an apostle than a contemplative. Love for others and exterior zeal, judging by his life, surpassed by far his love for solitude. This love for solitude for which he spoke to us very often, even for himself was an illusion. He was not made for life in a monastic cell; I do not mean to say that he was not an interior soul; on the contrary, I believe that he was that above all and lived in a very close and constant union with God. There is no other way to explain his insights on the interior life and what he has written about it. His insights presuppose his practice. (This judgment is of Dom Paul Marechal, first religious of the Blessed Sacrament, who had known Fr. Eymard in 1865 and had entered as a postulant into the Congregation in November 1867. He attests that during the novitiate period, he saw Fr. Eymard at least once a week.)
Fr. Eymard knew how to reconcile in himself the two dimensions; that which comes forward is a strict and constant union with God, lived in every situation.
I envy you your quiet rest, I am in the midst of the waves of this ocean which is Paris, where I touch God as I run and rest a bit when I adore him.
Still, we are pushed, so to speak, by the Saint to complete an ulterior and deeper examination of his spiritual life, in order to find that which is essential in the Eucharistic vocation, the focal point, the fundamental experience that can not be relativized by change of mentality, ways of seeing and tradition.
Barbiero, Chapter 9: Uniquely Called by the Eucharist
Barbiero, Chapter 10: Gift of Self