The sacrificial nature of the Mass, solemnly defended by the Council of Trent, because it accords with the universal tradition of the Church, was once more stated by the Second Vatican Council, which pronounced these clear words about the Mass: ‘At the Last Supper, Our Savior instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of his Body and Blood, by which the Sacrifice of his Cross is perpetuated until he comes again; and till then he entrusts the memorial of his Death and Resurrection to his beloved spouse, the Church’ - GIRM #2

“Thou are here, God and Man in the Blessed Sacrament, and here in the Bread of Life, the Father glorifies Thee, and the glory which He gives Thee, Thou givest to those who receive Thee, making them one with Thee.” - Songs in the Night, A Poor Clare Colettine, p.79

“Jesus Christ, High Priest of the New and Eternal Covenant, taking human nature, introduced into this earthly exile that hymn which is sung throughout all ages in the halls of heaven. He attaches to himself the entire community of mankind and has them join him in singing his divine song of praise. For he continues his priestly work through his Church. The Church, by celebrating the Eucharist and by other means, especially the celebration of the divine office, is ceaselessly engaged in praising the Lord and interceding for the salvation of the entire world...” - Sacrosanctum Concilium, 83-85.

- “Naturally, [B. Maria Angela’s] love for the Eucharist was nothing more than the concrete result of her ardent and passionate desire to resemble the Spouse and to cling to Him, especially in His Passion. With features characteristic of her time … she kept vigil in the night following once again the path of Jesus in the various stations of His Calvary, judgment, condemnation, and crucifixion... But she did not limit herself to this; she lived every gesture and posture as an expression of love for the Son of God who made Himself man in order to be my most sweet Brother.” - Sister Chiara Giovanna Cremaschi O.S.C. Poor Clare historian

“In the Blessed Sacrament Christ is hidden twice over. He is hidden in His Incomprehensible Godhead and this Hiddenness is again hidden from the sight of man under the Form of Bread, and it is granted to the contemplative soul to participate in this twofold hiddenness. Christ comes to her thus concealed in order that, through her union with Him, she may dwell amongst men, in the world but not of it. He reposes in her as once He reposed in the womb of the Blessed Virgin…” - Songs in the Night, A Poor Clare Colettine, page 82

A Tuscan Poor Clare had an uncle in the Franciscan Order who wrote for his niece a beautiful book called Meditations on the Life of Christ. At one time it was one of most widely read books then in print. He wanted his niece to picture Jesus returning to table after washing the Apostles’ feet, and “He exhorted them to follow His example. Here meditate on this evening when He set us an example of charity when He consecrated His Body and Blood.” (LXIII:282)

Blessed Columba Marmion, the saintly Benedictine Abbot who became friends with the Poor Clares of Cork, wrote to them: “At Mass, I put you all in my heart every morning; and as I pass through the veil of the Holy of Holies – the Sacred Humanity of Jesus crushed and wounded for us – into the Presence of Our Great God, I take you with me and present you to the Father as brides of His Son, who so love Him that they despise all earthly things, and that in their heart of hearts they ever sing, ‘my God and my all.’” - Letter of May 1, 1922

The medieval Franciscan Friar who wrote Meditations on the Life of Christ, for his Poor Clare niece, counselled: “Now keep in mind… when Jesus said, ‘Do this in memory of Me.’ This is the memorial that, when received as food and meditated on, inflames the soul with love.” (LXXIII)

A Franciscan Friar wrote the Meditations on the Life of Christ for his Poor Clare niece. It is a series of affective reflections, teaching Sister Cecilia to place herself in the scene she is contemplating. Years later, St. Ignatius of Loyola recommended this very type of affective meditation.: “…marvel at the love that Jesus showed in giving Himself to us as food. After He washed the feet of His apostles and returned to the table, He put an end to the sacrifices of the Old Law and gave us His New Covenant. Thus, He made the new sacrifice, taking the bread in His hands, He said: ‘This is My Body, which will be given up for you.’” (LXXIII:282)

Then the Priest shows the faithful the Eucharistic Bread, holding it over the paten or over the chalice, and invites them to the banquet of Christ; and along with the faithful, he then makes an act of humility, using the prescribed words from the Gospels.- GIRM #84

“Send forth Thy Light and Thy truth! They have conducted and brought the loving soul to Thy holy hill of Calvary and to Thy tabernacle where Thou dwellest in the Sacred Host. (Ps. Xlii.). “For Christ crucified on Calvary and Christ offered in the Holy Mass are one and the same sacrifice, and till the Eternal Day break and the shadows of earth retire, the contemplative soul will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense (Song of Songs c. iv:6) to meet Him in sacrifice and worship. These are the Mountains of God.” - Songs in the Night, A Poor Clare Colettine, p. 87

- “Sister Eustochia sensed the deep union between the Crucified and the Eucharist and she meditated upon the Sacrifice of the Cross that made itself present in the celebration of the Sacrament. She also had a vivid sense of the liturgical year and of the mysteries that were celebrated during the Divine Office. This love of hers was transmitted to the sisters, especially in the weekly chapters, where she expressed the fire that burned within her heart in passionate words. For her, the culminating point of the journey set forth each year by Holy Mother Church was, naturally, Holy Week, which she lived with particular intensity.” - .” - Sister Chiara Giovanna Cremaschi O.S.C., Poor Clare historian

. “For us the Passover banquet is Christ Himself, whom we eat in the Eucharist, just as the Apostles who were gathered with Jesus in the Upper Room at the Last Supper received the Blessed Sacrament on the night before He suffered.” - Blessed Jan van Ruysbroeck, A Mirror of Eternal Blessedness, written for a Poor Clare

Now that the paschal meal of the lamb was accomplished and the apostles were illumined by divine light, Christ our Lord rose and interiorly humbled himself, profoundly recognizing himself inferior in his humanity to his divine nature with inexpressible acts of submission. he considered the importance the virtue of humility had in his acceptance [of the Father's will] and how necessary it was for the salvation of men and he said to the eternal Father: 'My Father, it is through the door of humility that I wish to enter into the celebration of such sublime mysteries.’” - Blessed Mary of Agreda, Poor Clare

On April 4, 1943, the Capuchin Poor Clare nuns in Naples were in procession when suddenly the air sirens started wailing. All of the Sisters ran for cover in the underground vaults (cemetery) under the church. The Father Confessor, Father Epifanio, was with them, but was only able to give the Sisters absolution. The bombers came so quickly that they had no time to try to rescue the Blessed Sacrament. A bomb exploded near the Sisters, though none of the Sisters were harmed.

A Franciscan Friar of the Fourteenth Century wrote a series of reflections for his niece, a Poor Clare. These reflections, Meditations on the Life of Christ, are considered a jewel of medieval spirituality. The author wrote: “Since the time was ripe for the mercy and kindness of the Lord, Jesus wished to have a Last Supper with His disciples before He died. This was to be a memorial for them… The Lord revealed more openly, ‘I have greatly desired to eat this Pasch with you before I suffer.’” (LXXIII)

“Once, the day of the most sacred Supper arrived, in which the Lord loved His own until the end. Near evening, as the agony of the Lord was approaching, Clare, sad and afflicted… seemed to be joined to Christ…” (Life of St. Clare #31)

“It is from the Passover (Ex 12:3) that the Eucharist takes its name” for the Fathers of the Church teach us, “on the very night of the Exodus out of Egypt, God contemplated the Eucharist and thought of giving us the true lamb (Ex 12:13)”. (The Eucharist, our Sanctification – Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM, page

- “Clare remained prostrate in prayer. She flooded the ground with tears and caressed it with kisses, so that she might always seem to have her Jesus in her hands, on whose feet her tears flowed and her kisses were impressed. ‘Have you seen Him whom my heart loves?’” (Life of St. Clare, #19)

- “A more profound penetration into the mystery of the passion of the Lord … culminated with Easter Sunday wherein the Spouse conceded his beloved - Sister Veronica felt loved by such love and desired to respond! - a singular grace. This treats of the mystical betrothal for which she had been preparing for some time. It was very significant that this occurred the day that signals the triumph of life over death by way of the naked Cross. She lived the Paschal Night in a vigil of prayer and as immediate preparation, as a crescendo of desire for Him that reached its culmination at the moment of Eucharistic communion. In actual fact, the visits of the Lord to Sister Veronica almost always coincided with the reception of the Body of Christ, and in a certain sense, were more obvious when she drew near to the Sacrament.” - Sister Chiara Giovanna Cremaschi O.S.C., Poor Clare historian, speaking of St. Veronica Giuliani [see July 10th]

- “Alleluia, Christ our Passover, the lamb, has been sacrificed” to free us from slavery to the devil… Throughout Christendom we cry out in exultation: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever” (v.1). But what does it mean to “keep the feast with the unleavened bread of purity and truth”? When bread is unleavened, when no yeast is put into it, it does not rise, it remains flat retaining its original shape. When the Israelites left Egypt, they had no time to prepare their daily bread in the usual manner; it was baked unleavened because of their haste. In referring back to this yearly commemoration of the Jewish nation, St. Paul is telling us that now that Christ, our sacrificial Lamb, has risen from the dead, we no longer need to celebrate with mere symbolic natural elements. He, himself, is now our “unleavened bread of purity and truth, alleluia, alleluia”. With sincerity of heart and mind we can proclaim the truth: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it”. - Sister Mary Francis, Poor Clare of St. Louis

“It is, therefore, of the greatest importance that the celebration of the Mass or the Lord’s Supper be so ordered that the sacred ministers and the faithful taking part in it, according to the state proper to each, may draw from it more abundantly those fruits, to obtain which, Christ the Lord instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of his Body and Blood and entrusted it as the memorial of his Passion and Resurrection to the Church, his beloved Bride.” - GIRM #17

Christ our Passover has been sacrificed, alleluia; therefore, let us keep the feast with the unleavened bread of purity and truth, alleluia, alleluia. The lyrical words of today’s Communion Antiphon, so full of history, contain a deep mystical reality which is difficult to express in human language. St. Paul had a full knowledge of the Jewish feasts and customs and could, without hesitation, equate Christ as the Passover lamb, prefigured in the Jewish law. On the night of the first Passover when the Israelites were freed from slavery to the Egyptians, “the house of Israel did indeed say, ‘His mercy endures forever’” … From that day forward, this saving event of the Israelite nation has been commemorated every year with two specific items: unleavened bread and the sacrifice of a lamb.” - Sister Mary Francis, Poor Clare of St. Louis

“In every land, in every Church throughout the world, the faithful “praise in unison your conquering hand, O Lord” , as they gather on this Octave day, just one week after celebrating the Holy Thursday Last Supper. Again, celebrating the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, they “remember your kindness and your faithfulness toward the house of Israel”. By instituting the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, Jesus “made his salvation known; in the sight of the nations (through the missionary work of the apostles and disciples), he has revealed his justice” . His justice bears the face of mercy in the new order he established by taking on the form of bread and wine as his own flesh and blood.” - Sister Mary Francis, Poor Clare of St. Louis

“At the beginning of this Mass, we reflected on God’s providence and care for his chosen people of the Old Covenant. At the Consecration a reality took place bringing Jesus into our midst. And now as we pray the Communion Antiphon, we know when “Jesus says to us, his disciples: Come and eat”, it is no longer “manna, that wheat of heaven, which God rains down upon us”. It is no longer “the bread of angels, sent by God in abundance, that is eaten by men”. Rather, it is his own Body and Blood, still seen as “bread and wine which Jesus takes and gives to us saying, ‘Videte et gustate – Come and eat’.” - Sister Mary Francis, Poor Clare of St. Louis

– Blessed Columba Marmion, the saintly Irish Abbot who became friends with the Poor Clares of Cork, wrote to them: “Easter has been a time of grace and light. I was able to celebrate the great Pontifical Offices and Masses of Holy Week; and ever since the glorious Risen Christ has been coming to see me, and speak of His Kingdom.” Abbot Marmion was one of the pioneers of liturgical piety in the early 1900’s, and his writings have nourished generations of priests, monks, nuns, and Catholic lay people.

Benediction 4:30 p.m. On April 16, 1783, a ragged beggar collapsed and died in Rome, at a church which was originally a Poor Clare monastery. The man was a Third Order Franciscan, who lived hand-to-mouth, spending his time in pilgrimages and in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Benedict Joseph Labre has since been canonized, and he is frequently invoked for the mentally ill and the homeless.

In the year 1794, Holy Thursday fell on April 17th. The Poor Clares of Lyons were in prison during the French Revolution. The nuns implored a priest to leave them a consecrated host in a bag. He did so, and they hung the bag on a nail in the wall, and thus were able to have the Lord with them all night. One of the Sisters, Sister Mary Colette, set herself in such a way as to screen the Blessed Sacrament from observation in case of a surprise. Nothing, though, troubled their vigil.

Let us reflect further on this new “bread of purity and truth”. When we eat our earthly meals, our bodies assimilate the qualities of the food consumed. But when we partake of the Eucharist, the “unleavened bread of purity and truth”, it is Christ himself, his true Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, that enters into our souls. It is his purity and truth that becomes stronger in us, enabling us to grow into his likeness. So, it is necessary when receiving our Lord in the Holy Eucharist that our minds be pure, that our words speak the truth, and that worldly ideas and ideologies are not filling our hearts, blotting out the reality of Christ’s death and Resurrection. Without saying so explicitly St. Paul; is reminding all Christians that as followers of Jesus, our lives are to be a witness to “Christ our Passover who has been sacrificed”. We have every reason to sing: “Alleluia, alleluia.” - Sister Mary Francis, Poor Clare of St. Louis

On April 19, 1346, the first nuns made profession in the Poor Clare monastery of Brussels. They knew Blessed Jan van Ruysbroeck, the great spiritual writer, and he wrote the Seven Enclosures for them. Later, he wrote for the Poor Clare Sister Margaret A Mirror of Eternal Blessedness, which is a meditation on the Blessed Sacrament. It is published by Paulist Press. “Christ gave us his flesh to be our soul’s food and his blood to be our soul’s drink.” – Blessed Jan van Ruysbroeck

Then the Priest shows the faithful the Eucharistic Bread, holding it over the paten or over the chalice, and invites them to the banquet of Christ; and along with the faithful, he then makes an act of humility, using the prescribed words from the Gospels. – GIRM #281

- “At the Holy Mass, offer yourself with all your faculties and with all that you are, and surrender yourself to the Lamb being offered for your sake.’ - Blessed Jan van Ruysbroeck

“The heavenly Sacrifice, instituted by Christ, is the most wondrous bequest of His new covenant. On the night He was delivered up to be crucified, He left us this Gift as a pledge of His abiding Presence.” – St. Gaudentius of Brescia

” The Eucharist is both a mystery of faith and a ‘mystery of light’. Whenever the Church celebrates the Eucharist, the faithful can in some way relive the experience of the two disciples on the way to Emmaus: ‘Their eyes were opened and they recognized him’ (Lk 24:31)”. – Pope Francis, Vultum Dei Quaerere #22 - (Document for Contemplative Nuns)

Blessed Columba Marmion, the saintly Abbot of Maredsous, Belgium, who became friends with the Poor Clares of Cork, wrote to them: “I say private Mass in my oratory, (for my family and friends, and spiritual children); and you are in that Mass… You see, neither time, nor space, can separate hearts united in Jesus Christ. Jesus is so good. He takes on Him not only our sins, but all our miseries and sufferings, makes them His own; and as such they cry out, as the voice of His Only Begotten Son to the Father, to obtain mercy for all.” - Letter of December 17, 1921

- “ ‘Do this in memory of Me.’ He it is that you receive in the Sacrament of the altar. And He is the same who was born of the virgin Mary; for you He suffered death and was buried. And He it is who rose from the dead for you. He is thus offered and given to you in the little Host.” .” - Meditations On The Life Of Christ, by a Franciscan Friar for his Poor Clare niece, (LXXII)

“Our communal worship at Mass must go together with our personal worship of Jesus in Eucharistic adoration in order that our love may be complete.” - Pope John Paul II

– “When the night of the Last Supper came, we were led to the Eucharist, the Bread and Wine overflowing with mercy, symbolic of a “land flowing with milk and honey”. With each reception of the Eucharist, which unites us so intimately with Christ, our capacity to love also grows “that the law of the Lord might more readily be always be on our lips”. – Sister Mary Francis, Poor Clare of St. Louis

Blessed Columba Marmion, O.S.B., toward the end of his life, became acquainted with the Poor Clare Colettines of Cork, Ireland – the Abbot himself was a native Irishman. The spiritual bond between the Abbot Marmion and the Poor Clares was fruitful on both sides. He wrote to them: “I think of you all each day at Holy Mass, and offer you to God in union with the Divine Victim. In fact, I very, very often think of you and pray for you; OI feel somehow that it was Jesus who called me to help you, and has in some way confided you to my loving care.” - Letter December 17, 1921

“The eye can only see, and the hand can only touch, the white substance of the bread, and the taste can only taste the savor of the bread, so that the outward bodily senses are deceived… How is the Blessed Sacrament to be truly tasted, seen, and touched? With the sentiment of the soul. With what eye is It to be seen? With the eye of faith. This eye sees in that whiteness of the bread God-made-man, the Divine nature united with the human nature, the Body, the Soul, and the Blood of Christ…” – Saint Catherine of Siena, Treatise on Prayer.

The Franciscan Juan of the Angels was considered one of the glories of Spanish mysticism, and counted amongst the great preachers and writers of Counter-Reformation Spain. He was in such demand that he preached at the Royal Chapel of the Empress Maria of Austria, the sister of King Philip II of Spain. He was then appointed the confessor of the nun-infanta Sister Margaret of the Cross. In 1609 he died in the monastery of the Poor Clares in Madrid, where he served as the chaplain and confessor, and where Sister Margaret lived. (See also December 5th ) Fray Juan writes: “The bride of Jesus can say: ‘I have a Spouse Who has the fragrance and the color of Heaven … This Divine Shepherd’s flock will not die of hunger, nor will it in feed on rough pastures … What a Shepherd! He feeds His flock with His own Blood!’”