Bronchain Meditations: Corpus Christi

The Wonders Of The Eucharist

Preparation. - That we may reanimate our devotion to tomorrow's great mystery, we shall consider, first, how admirable are the Eucharistic mysteries, and secondly, how little do we admire them. Our spiritual nosegay will consist in frequently repeating interiorly these words of the prophet: "What is the good thing of Him, and what is His beautiful thing, but the corn of the elect, and wine springing forth virgins?" (Zach. 9. 17).

I. How Greatly We Should Admire The Eucharistic Mysteries.

There is nothing more sublime in religion than sacrifice, for by it God is more perfectly honored than by the most precious offerings. For a sacrifice is the immolation, annihilation and destruction of the victim, and there is nothing left beyond this. God's dominion over us is so absolute, so infinite; and the gratitude we owe Him for His benefits, and the expiation due for our faults are so far beyond our power, that were all mankind to immolate themselves at every moment, it would be but the merest trifle of what we owe to the Lord.

Let us, nevertheless, be consoled, for a Victim has taken our place, the most august Victim that ever has been. As man, He sacrifices Himself, and as God, He imparts unlimited value to His sacrifice, and thus pays all our debts, and renders to God most worthily all the homages and submission we owe Him. And are these prodigies accomplished in heaven or in some distant land? No; for it is in our very midst. Every day on our altars a spotless Victim, such as the earth had never before witnessed, immolates Himself for sinful men; the mysteries of the creation, the Incarnation and the Redemption are renewed in a single mystery, and the God who made the universe out of nothing, annihilates and, so to speak, destroys Himself through the words of Consecration.

Moreover, the immolated Man-God dwells in our tabernacles, surviving Himself, concealing Himself under the most humble species, not in one place only, but in thousands of sanctuaries at once in millions of consecrated hosts, that He may become our prisoner and our companion in exile. Furthermore, He condescends to become our food, thus performing new prodigies. He comes into us, and, instead of being changed into our substance, He transforms us into Himself, acting directly on our souls and indirectly on our bodies; the sacred species concealing Him, whilst being only appearances, miraculously nourish us, as if they were real substances. O ineffable wonders, alone worthy to ravish a Christian heart here below!

O Jesus, it was Thy boundless love that prompted Thee to perform these wonders! I unite myself with the angels praising Thy holy Majesty, with the Dominations venerating it in humble prostration, with the Powers filled with awe in Thy divine presence, and with all Thy heavenly court to adore, love, serve and glorify Thee in Thy august Sacrament. Grant me, first, a lively faith in this ravishing mystery, and secondly, the ardent devotion it should inspire in all faithful and docile hearts.

II. The Indifference Of Men Towards The Blessed Eucharist.

People admire the progress in industry, science and art, and also the immense wealth of some individuals, their grand palaces and superb gardens; but how few souls think of the great prodigy of the Eucharist! As for us, are we not charmed by the beauties of nature, the splendor of the firmament, the sight of creation? And yet, how often are we not indifferent, unmoved in the sanctuaries inhabited by the uncreated Greatness!

The Almighty, who created the universe, could by a single word bring forth out of nothing millions of other worlds incomparably greater and more beautiful; but, says St. Augustine, He, though almighty, cannot produce anything else so admirable as the Sacrament of the altar. God, being essential Wisdom and Goodness, could, if He so wished, indefinitely multiply the immense benefits He lavishes on us, but, says the same saint, He could not bestow on us another gift equal to the Blessed Eucharist. O ineffable mystery!

Who would not marvel at seeing men so indifferent towards it! When a king, a ruler, a president visits a city, people flock from all directions to greet him; and the Lord of the universe daily descends from heaven on earth with His court, dwells among us, and no one thinks of Him, or comes to adore Him, except a few pious and faithful souls!

Let us strive to be among these few, and let us admire and esteem nothing else in our exile than the permanent Eucharistic miracle, which eclipses every prodigy already wrought or that will ever be wrought till the end of the world. Were we to appreciate these truths as St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, St. Aloysius, St. Teresa, St. Alphonsus, would we, for a single moment, forget the God of the Eucharist? With what awe and love would we think on Him, His greatness and infinite perfections! How assiduously would we visit Him, pray to Him, offer Him our homages! and how zealously would we strive to propagate His worship!

O Jesus, make Thyself known, make Thyself loved. Thou didst work so many prodigies in favor of Thy doctrine; do not leave Thy sacred Person in the shade, which dwells in our midst.

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Servant of God

Charles Louis Laurent Bronchain was born of excellent parents, September 4, 1829, at Frameries, near Mons in Belgium. From his early boyhood he was distinguished for his piety. As an altar boy he was modest and recollected, and was wont after serving Mass to remain as close as possible to the priest. Being asked why he acted thus, he replied: "I do this, because I wish to be nearer to the good God." When he saw people going to holy communion, he was filled with a holy envy, and would say to himself: "When shall I also have the happiness of receiving our Lord?" We may easily imagine his joy and happiness when this favor was vouchsafed to him for the first time. When out walking with his playmates, he always managed to bring them near a church and induced them to enter it with him to pay homage to our divine Saviour in the Sacrament of His love.

During the six years he studied at the "Petit Seminaire de Bonne Esperance," he was universally admired and respected for his modesty, piety, charity, and other virtues. Heeding the divine call to a more perfect life, he, with the consent of his parents, renounced the world and the brightest prospects of success, and entered in 1850 the Redemptorist Novitiate at St. Trond. The following year he made his profession and was sent to Wittem to prosecute his studies. As novice and student, Louis Bronchain was a model to his companions in regular observance, charity, love of prayer, and study, and self-denial. After his ordination in 1857, he labored zealously for some years in the ministry and in giving missions.

In 1865 he was appointed Master of Novices. To his novices he was ever a tender and loving father, giving them the example of every virtue. His life was practically a continual prayer. Rising very early every morning to be able to devote more time to it, he would spend hours in meditation before the Blessed Sacrament. Though very severe towards himself and addicted to corporal austerities, he, like a true saint, was always cheerful and full of charity and condescension towards others, and of solicitude in supplying the wants of his novices. His health failing, he was relieved of his heavy burden in 1870. From that time until his death, his life was one of continual suffering, borne with wonderful patience and resignation. As long as he was able he labored for his fellow-religious, and for the salvation of souls. Being an able spiritual director, he enabled his many penitents to make great progress in the spiritual life. As for himself he was an “interior man,” such as he describes in his “Meditations.” He died June 2, 1892, in the odor of sanctity.

Father Bronchain spent his years of suffering in composing spiritual works, which passed through many editions during his lifetime and have done incalculable good to souls. They are, like the works of St. Alphonsus, whose spirit he possessed in a remarkable degree, noted for the solidity of their doctrine, the simplicity and popularity of their language, and especially for that sweet unction which induces the practice of virtue, horror of sin, and especially the love of Jesus and Mary.

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