Ever Ancient, Ever New
A series on Saints with a special devotion to the Eucharist
Saint Peter Julian Eymard S.S.S., a French priest, is known as “the Apostle of the Eucharist” and remembered as the founder of two religious institutes: the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament for men and the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament for women.
Born in 1811 in La Mure in the French Alps, Peter Julian Eymard manifested his great zeal and love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament since his early childhood. At the age of 5, he was found missing and later located in the church standing on a stool he used to climb up on the high altar and leaning his head upon the tabernacle door. He said innocently, “I am near Jesus and I am listening to him!”
Although Eymard’s first attempt to become a priest ended unsuccessfully due to an illness, he was finally ordained to priesthood at the age of 23 for the Diocese of Grenoble. Several years later he joined the Marist order dedicated to the Blessed Mother Mary and traveled through Europe giving retreats and missions.
His spiritual life surrounded the Eucharistic Christ and the devotion to adoration, which became popular in the Catholic Church during after the French Revolution. His understanding of perfect adoration was centered on the love for Christ rather than on the spirituality of reparation which was the common teaching during these times, “The Eucharist is the supreme proof of the love of Jesus. After this, there is nothing more but Heaven itself.”
Recognizing the great graces flowing from the Eucharist, his resolution was to draw as many people to the Eucharistic Christ as possible and encourage them to frequent Holy Communions, “In one day the Eucharist will make you produce more for the glory of God than a whole lifetime without it.”
“Jesus has prepared not just one Host, but one for every day of our life. The Hosts for us are ready. Let us not forfeit even one of them.”
He explained his comprehension of the Eucharistic mystery, “The God of the Eucharist conceals Himself in order to be desired, veils Himself in order to become an object of contemplation; He wraps Himself in mystery in order to spur on and perfect the soul’s love.”
In 1856, Father Eymard founded the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament whose members remained in adoration 24 hours a day; this devotion quickly attracted lay persons as well.
Eymard’s adoration prayers were always united with the heart of Mary, “Eucharistic adoration is the greatest of actions. To adore is to share the life of Mary on earth when she adored the Word Incarnate in her virginal womb, when she adored Him in the Crib, on Calvary, in the divine Eucharist.”
Eymard also depicted the Eucharistic adoration as a union of prayer of both the pilgrimaging church on earth and the triumphant church in heaven, “The adoration of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament is the end of the Church Militant, just as adoration of God in His glory is the end of the Church Triumphant. A holy rivalry, a concert of prayer, a harmony of divine service should exist between the heavenly court and the Eucharistic court here below, between the adorer and his mother the Church.”
He understood the Eucharist as the prerequisite to Catholic unity, “The Eucharist is the link that binds the Christian family together. Take away the Eucharist and you have no brotherliness left …. Communion is as necessary for us to sustain our Christian vitality, as the vision of God is necessary to the angels, to maintain their life of glory.”
Peter Julian Eymard died in 1868 at the age of 57 and was canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII.
Prayer by Saint Peter Julian Eymard:
Virgin Immaculate, perfect lover of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we ask you to obtain for us the graces we need to become true adorers of our Eucharistic God. Grant us, we beg of you, to know Him better, to love Him more, and to center our lives around the Eucharist, that is, to make our whole life a constant prayer of adoration, thanksgiving, reparation, and petition to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Amen.
Information compiled from the Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration Association and National Catholic Register.
Jad Ziolkowska is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.