A Eucharistic soul, model for our Catholic Remnant

I recently read in a beautiful book of Meditations for priests that "our happiness in this world depends on our union with Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament." Saint John Bosco said that "our Heaven on earth is in the tabernacle, because there is the Lord and Owner of all creatures."

I intend to share with our readers, every Thursday, the lives of some souls who have been especially distinguished by their love and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, whether they are canonized saints or not. Today I want to share with you the Eucharistic life of a young French woman, in love with Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament: Mother Mary of Jesus Deluil-Martiny.

María Deluil-Martiny was born in Marseille (France) on May 28, 1841 into a distinguished French family. The eldest of five siblings, she was consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mother of God while still in her mother's womb. His maternal aunt was the venerable Ana Magdalena Remuzat (1696-1730), known for promoting devotion to the Sacred Heart, who died with great fame for sanctity. María's father was a deeply Christian lawyer, from whom she inherited the strength to overcome life's difficulties, as well as a temperament that combined ardent faith with great sweetness of heart. However, he also had a strong and firm character.

A prelate called her “the Saint Teresa (of Ávila) of our century.” From a very young age, this brilliant Frenchwoman desired to dedicate herself completely to God, in a unique way, to be able to guide others towards an “explosion of love” for Him.

At the time of her First Communion, Mary was sent as an intern to the Visitation Convent in Marseille. One day, during a moment of recreation, she pulled a friend aside and said to her: "Imagine, Angelica, at this precise moment the blood of Jesus is flowing on the altar throughout the world," absorbed in this thought. Mary made her First Communion there, in Marseille, on December 22, 1853, at the age of twelve, and the following year she received confirmation from the venerable Archbishop Eugene de Mazenod, founder of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

Today is Eucharistic and Priestly Thursday.

Like every Thursday, the Most Blessed Sacrament will be exposed for Adoration in our Chapel.

On the night of Holy Thursday, after the Institution of the Holy Mass and the Catholic Priesthood, Our Lord went with His Apostles to Mount Gethsemane, and there He entered into agony, in the silence of the night He took refuge in prayer before the Eternal Father.

In that moment of suffering and agony, the Apostles left Our Lord alone and they fell asleep. Jesus said to them: "Could you not watch with me even one hour? Watch and pray so that you do not fall into temptation."

In the Blessed Sacrament, Our Lord continues to offer the Eternal Father the Adoration and oblation of His own Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Our Lord Jesus Christ offers himself in the Blessed Sacrament for the same four purposes of the Holy Mass:

1. Adoration

2. Reparation

3. Petition

4. Thanksgiving

Jesus says to you too:

Couldn't you watch with me for an hour? Have you not been able to accompany me in the silence and solitude of the tabernacle with a spirit of adoration?

We can answer like Saint Peter at the Last Supper:

"Lord, even if everyone abandons you, I will not abandon you."

Mother Mary of Jesus Deluil-Martiny

A precocious child, at the age of 15 (some sources say 11), María formed, together with a group of companions, the congregation of the "Oblates of Mary". This included a novitiate, a rule and the profession of vows. Mary considered her "Oblates" a religious order. However, the teaching superiors disapproved of the congregation and dissolved it, complaining about Mary's antics to Archbishop Mazenod. With serenity, he told the sisters: "She will be Saint of Marseille."

Upon finishing her studies at age 17, Marie went on a retreat to discern her vocation. He wrote in his diary: “Jesus Christ is the only one I want to love. When I die, I wish I had loved no one but Him... To live well in the world, I must hate sin and flee from its occasions, hate the world and everything that comes from it... "Come and follow me," Jesus said. Oh, God, how beautiful these words are! It's mine, yes I love it.

At that time, he had the good fortune to meet the parish priest of Ars, Saint John Mary Vianney. She spoke to him about her vocation and, clearly feeling that God was calling her, she rejected several marriage proposals.

"You have the vocation, that's for sure", confided the Holy Priest, "but the time has not yet come. Entering religious life right now would alter God's plans. He has special plans for your soul. You must prepare yourself by detaching yourself from yourself."

Thus, Mary endured many interior trials. Guided by the Curé of Ars, she maintained her faith while Our Lord purified her soul. María went through a serious crisis of scruples.

During this painful period, Marie spent hours before the Blessed Sacrament, praying, searching and meditating, keeping all this in her heart, just as the Blessed Virgin did. Thanks to her wise confessor, Marie managed to get out of this distressing situation. After the death of her younger sister, Clemencia, and her three other siblings, Marie had to take care of her elderly parents, now without resources.

In 1864, Marie met the Guard of Honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a new association founded by a nun from the Convent of the Visitation in Bourg-en-Bresse. The purpose of the Honor Guard was to glorify, love and comfort the Sacred Heart of Jesus by giving oneself to Him in a life of prayer, penance and charity, in reparation for the sins of the world. Soon, Marie was blessed with the title "First Zealot" for her work in promoting the Honor Guard, distributing its publications, religious images and medals throughout the world.

In June 1865, after the beatification of Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque—the visionary of Paray-le-Monial—Marie was invited to make a spiritual retreat at the Visitation of Bourg, where she received precious graces. Later, in December 1866, Father John Cavage, SJ (also of the Honor Guard), entered his life, preaching about the precious blood and water that flowed from the heart of Jesus. Inspired by this retreat, Marie contacted Father Cavage, revealing her desire to enter religious life.

Marie knew that Our Lord wanted her to cooperate with him to make amends for sins, but what did that mean? What was he asking of her? Praying before the Real Presence on September 7, 1867, he heard Jesus say to him, "I am not known, I am not loved." Jesus continued: «I wish to create souls for myself that understand me... I am a torrent that wants to overflow and whose waters can no longer be contained!... I wish to make cups for myself to fill them with the waters of my Love!... I thirst for hearts that appreciate me and that allow me to fulfill the purpose for which I am here! I am insulted, I am desecrated. Before the end of time, I want to be compensated for all the insults I have received… I want to distribute all the graces that have been rejected…!

Marie wrote in her prayer journal:

'The world doesn't want it anymore. Today, some blush before Him, while others hate and despise Him. They try to expel it from hearts and from society. In the face of these disgraces, contempt and satanic blasphemies, let us respond loud and clear: “He must reign!”'

A year later, while praying before the statue of Our Lady of La Salette in France (commemorating the apparitions of 1846, witnessed by Mélanie Calvet and Máximo Giraud), Marie recounted the following inspiration: "The Blessed Virgin desires victims who, united to her pierced heart (cf. Luke 2:35) and to the sacrificed Jesus, stand between the crimes of men and the justice of God."

She prayed like this: "Oh, Jesus, receive me from the hands of the Blessed Virgin and offer me with you, sacrifice me with you... I offer myself for this sacrifice to the extent that you want and my weakness allows me... I will consider all the crosses, all the sufferings that your Providence sends me as proof that you have accepted my humble offering."

The seeds of the religious order he was going to found had begun to blossom in his heart.

"Just as the Virgin Mary on Calvary" – he postulated –, "united with the Eternal Priest, offered her Divine Son and then renewed this offering through Saint John, the Daughters of the Heart of Jesus, united with all the priests of the world, will offer the Eucharistic Jesus sacrificed on each altar. They will especially offer the Blood and Water that flowed from the divine Wound of the Sacred Heart. They will be worshipers of the Eucharist solemnly displayed in the chapels of their convents and will dedicate themselves to surrounding it with the deepest signs of respect and love. This will be your life, your reason for being…”

Mary then suffered humiliating trials, for God had taken her offering seriously. Father John Cavage, a spiritual advisor, wrote to him: “Strive to humble your spirit. Your soul is moldable and you are obedient, but your spirit must be humbled... The means that God usually uses to humble the spirit are humiliations and temptations. These reveal what you are without grace: something horrible and abominable.

On June 20, 1873, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, Marie founded the "Daughters of the Heart of Jesus."

The objective of the new Order founded by Mary was to cultivate atoning love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus, imitating the spiritual priesthood of the Mother of Sorrows. These women led a cloistered life dedicated to constant prayer for priests (guardians of zeal for Christ), adoration of the Eucharist, and sufferings offered for the conversion of the world and the sanctification of their earthly shepherds.

Mary chose the name Mother Mary of Jesus, inspired by her image of the Virgin Mary. The only one in his life was Jesus the Eucharist. Mother Mary had long longed to sacrifice her life for our Lord. She did not impose difficult suffering or austere penances on her sisters. He declared: "The sufferings caused by heat and cold are a blessing to a mortified soul. Keeping silent on these occasions is a precious mortification, because no one sees it or notices it; everything is only for Jesus.

Our Blessed Mother had said to Mother Marie in prayer: “For the future institute, the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the heavenly offering of the Divine Victim sacrificed on the altar, will excellently compensate for the corporal mortifications that some constitutions can no longer bear.”

Mother Mary taught her “daughters” the intimacy she herself had experienced with Jesus. He comforted and guided them, even caring for them when they were sick.

A decade after founding her order, Marie hired a destitute Louis Chave in hopes of lifting the orphan out of the cycle of poverty. Louis proved to be rude, lazy and, ultimately, an anarchist (typically known as an atheist who hated Catholicism). Mother Marie, who had consecrated her life to Jesus, bid him farewell.

Five months later, on February 27, 1884, Ash Wednesday, Mother Mary was enjoying her rest in the garden of La Servianne, where Chave was waiting for her. Although he only spoke a few kind words to her, he pulled out his revolver and shot her in the head and neck, severing her carotid artery. Mary's last words were: "I forgive him... all for the cause." Mary's most fervent desire since her childhood had been to shed her blood for Jesus, to suffer for him. Chave had fulfilled her greatest desire: to die a virgin and martyr for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

May the example of Mother Mary of Jesus Deluil-Martiny raise in our remnant a legion of Eucharistic souls with a true spirit of adoration.

Mother Mary of Jesus Deluil-Martiny

Mother Mary of Jesus Deluil-Martiny