Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament's 25th Anniversary Reflections

While this may be the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year, I was surely blessed to be ENLIGHTENED during this Advent Season by recently attending the Dec.19 25th anniversary of the opening for the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama!

I couldn't have dreamed of a better way to spend some of my Advent preparation time for the birth of the Lord than being able to adore Jesus at the shrine.

During a 1995 trip to Bogata, Columbia at the Sanctuary of the Divine Infant, Mother Angelica had been inspired by our Lord to embark with her ongoing divine providencial faith and trust to build a temple dedicated to the holy Eucharist.

Last night before going to bed, I had reflected on many of the special insights that I learned from the shrine's anniversary, including the following, which inspired some special dreams:

An early morning Mass at the shrine presided by Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, who gave a wonderful homily about the magnificence of the Eucharist and the importance of adoration by contemplatives and all of us – and I loved his reciting this quote by a contemplative nun: “The walls of this enclosure embrace the whole world!”

1. A presentation by Michael Warsaw, CEO of EWTN, who had known Mother Angelica for many years and shared some very profound examples of how she demonstrated this in her life.

2. Midday prayer and rosary with the nuns – a wonderful way to “waste time with the Lord.”

3. Eucharistic healing service celebrated by Father Mitch Pacwa SJ who noted how we come to meet the Lord especially when we unite our crosses with the everlasting and giving / living cross of the Lord.

Yes, surely I still am a little aggravated as I have to wait here a little longer at the airport than my original itinerary and plans had been, but like the Magi, I need to patiently go back another way in time and in person!

And as I continue to “prepare ye the way of the Lord” as well as we all take the Advent journey to the birth of Christ, let me intertwine into my everyday life what I have learned from this Advent mini-retreat at the shrine, so as to faithfully honor my own little temple that I have been blessed with ... and to be welcoming and eucharistic with the Lord and others.

… Will there be any room / temple for HIM at my “Inn for the Lord” … or will I turn HIM away … by what I have stored???