I begin this post with a few tears running down my cheek. They are tears of joy, sorrow, gratitude. I just finished watching a documentary called Desire of the Everlasting Hills. As some may know, it is a documentary which presents the story of three people who lived lives of unchastity according to a disordered sexuality. I would recommend one watch the documentary here. Not only is it fitting for our current situation within the Church and within society, it gives an interesting portrayal of the loneliness of sin and beautiful examples of conversion and perseverance.

I wish to focus on one aspect and that is the role of the Blessed Sacrament in the lives of these three people. I would say when you watch the documentary, think of the Holy Eucharist, Christ in the Tabernacle. See how Christ called these three [unceasingly!] to return to Him, see how He desired (and desires) them, how He desires you! Discussion of the Eucharist will lead to my second point concerning friendship, which I have been meaning to write about for a couple weeks.

I begin by mentioning the advice I received from a sermon on Father Ripperger’s website (www.sentrad.org). It is a great site; if you listen to his sermons make sure to do penance for him as he requests. The advice was to replace, as a subject for meditation, the invocation to the Sacred Heart in the Litany of the Sacred Heart (posted for the recent Novena) with the Most Blessed Sacrament and to meditate on the richness of all the names and attributes we can recognize in this Most Precious Gift.

It is this precisely which made me tear up while watching the film. Often this topic of particular unchastity is made polemic or cast as subjective. This only distracts from the real conversation. The subjective aspect is the experience of those who suffer with such temptations. The objective aspect as Mother Angelica says is that, “God created you and me to be happy in this life and the next. He cares for you and watches your every move. There is no one who loves you who does that.” The words are simple, but true. There is no one who loves you as He does!

More can be said, but I don’t think more should be said. Just watch the video when you have an hour of free time.

A theme that runs through the documentary implicitly is the necessity for friendship.  I come to my second point now. Of course, we learn how to relate to others primarily within the context of our familial life as we grow.  This can be relearned, in my opinion, as well. That, however, is another topic for another post. As we grow older and live our adult lives, it is friendship, built on charity and sacrifice, which will get us to Heaven. Friendship is needed more than anything these days. The Christian cannot live his life well without forming good and holy friendships. The primary friendship must be with Christ, and that is my whole point in writing this post and mentioning the Blessed Sacrament. I would say, it is through charity towards others that we will learn to love God more, to love the Sacred Heart which beats with Love for us each and every day in all the Tabernacles in the world.

This is simple stuff: love of God and love of neighbor. We always try to complicate it. We need to ask the right questions and seek the right answers, but at the expense of losing our focus on Love Eternal? It is a good examination. I’ll leave it at that.

My joy, sorrow and gratitude comes from recognizing Christ’s blaring, yet gentle, love in giving us Himself in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar! I don’t deserve the opportunity to receive Him each and every day at the Holy Mass, and yet He desires me to receive Him worthily and humbly. I can only be and must be sorrowful for my sins in all the ways I have ever said something, acted in some way, or thought one way which proclaimed, ‘I want Christ dead!’ That’s what we do when we sin! We scourge the Precious Body of Our Lord, we mock Him, we crown Him with thorns, we nail Him to the Cross, we pierce His Side and His Heart! May my gratitude increase for His great Mercy!

I have noticed that I say a lot less than I used to and that is challenging for me to accept. But words seem to mean more to me now. Patiently watch the film and think of your own sins. Sinners of all types have one thing in common: we all sin. This documentary is discussing particular journeys from unchastity to a life of fulfillment in Christ, but we are all made to seek God. I hope some advantage comes from watching the film.

May the Heart of Jesus, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, adored, and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the Tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. Amen.