Novena to St. Peter Julian Eymard and miscellania

Today begins the novena to St. Peter Julian Eymard, the apostle of the Eucharist and founder of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. This particular order has been such a blessing to me for many years. One of my dearest and  most beloved friends, my long-time confessor and spiritual director, Fr. J.T. Lane belongs to this congregation, as does my first confessor, the late and dearly remembered Fr. Maurice Prefontaine. My life has also been very blessed by Frs. Dana Pelotte and Mike Arkins, as well as Bro. David. I am so sad that the Congregation's St. Ann's province no longer has a presence in the western U.S., especially here in Salt Lake City where they are still very beloved and missed.

St. Peter Julian's feast day is 2 August. So, the annual novena to him commences today and finishes Monday, 1 August. So, if you have a specific need or intention, whether it's personal, or for someone else, please join in praying this novena, asking St. Peter Julian to intercede for your need. Bring whatever, whether for discernment, health (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual), a job, school, whatever. During these nine days, visit the Blessed Sacrament as often as you can, especially if doing so results in you making some personal sacrifice. Also consider closing the novena by going to confession during this time and assisting at Mass on 2 August.

Novena prayer, prayed daily for nine days:

Saint Peter Julian, who listened with such loving response to the voice of Jesus, help us also to listen and hear Him as He calls us to serve Him each in our own vocation. Help us especially during this Novena when we turn with our petitions to your powerful intercession.

(intentions… mention in the quietness of your own heart).

Lord Jesus Christ, through Your grace, St. Peter Julian understood the Eucharist to be Your Gift of Self to the world. May our prayers lead us to an ardent love of the Eucharist so that, like St. Peter Julian, we may shine in the world with the Radiance of Your Presence, a radiance that will silently say:

Jesus is there- let us go to Him!

St. Peter Julian, Apostle of the Eucharist, pray for us.

Day 1, 24 July:

O Sacrament most Holy, O Sacrament divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine.
Our Lady of the most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us.
St. Peter Julian, pray for us.

Peter Julian Eymard was born on 4 February 1811 in La Mure d’Isere near Grenoble in the French Alps, and was baptised there the following day. The younger of only two surviving children of his parents, Madeleine and Julien, he showed a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament from his earliest years. As a small child, he took on the task of ringing a bell through the streets of La Mure to announce that Mass time was near. This was indeed prophetic as his whole life would eventually be dedicated to proclaiming Jesus’ Eucharistic Presence in the world and encouraging devotion to Him.

AND YOU LITTLE CHILD, YOU SHALL BE CALLED PROPHET OF GOD THE MOST HIGH FOR YOU WILL GO BEFORE THE LORD TO PREPARE THE WAY FOR HIM. TO GIVE TO THE PEOPLE KNOWLEDGE OF SALVATION… (Luke 1:76-77).

St Peter Julian,
We pray that through your intercession and inspired by your example, people may be drawn to honour and join Jesus in the Eucharistic celebration, and that those who have drifted away may once again find fullness of joy in His Presence.

St. Peter Julian, pray for us.

See Blessed Sacrament novena webpage.

Miscellania

I visited a suburban Barnes and Noble because you can very often find really great books in the remainder bins of these stores. I picked up A Roland Barthes Reader, complied by the late Susan Sontag. This contains several Barthes' works I have not previously read. The real gem I unearthed was a copy of James L. Kugel's How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture Then and Now. Kugel is an Orthodox Jew and world renown biblical scholar who now lives and teaches in Jerusalem. Dr. Kugel has a remarkable website, which will appear in my sidebar. I also acquired a very inexpensive copy of John Leland's Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think). Finally, I bought A Daybook of Prayer: Meditations, Scriptures, and Prayers to Draw Near to the Heart of God, which is a wonderful anthology. When I will have the leisure to read them remains unknown.