Many saints attest to the fact that the closer we are to Mary, the closer we are brought to Jesus.
In a similar way, the Church sees devotion to the Eucharist flourishing among those who invoke the aid of Mary, the Mother of God.
Pope Paul VI prayed the following prayer in his encyclical Mysterium Fidei, where he entrusted to Mary the unity of the Church, that she may unite all Christians in a love of the Eucharist.
May the most blessed Virgin Mary, from whom Christ the Lord took the flesh that “is contained, offered, received” in this Sacrament under the appearances of bread and wine, and may all the saints of God and especially those who were more inflamed with ardent devotion toward the divine Eucharist, intercede with the Father of mercies so that this common belief in the Eucharist and devotion to it may give rise among all Christians to a perfect unity of communion that will continue to flourish. Lingering in Our mind are the words of the holy martyr Ignatius warning the Philadelphians against the evil of divisions and schisms, the remedy for which is to be found in the Eucharist. “Strive then,” he says, “to make use of one single thanksgiving. For there is only one flesh of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and only one chalice unto the union of His blood, only one altar, only one bishop . . .”
Fortified by the most consoling hope of blessings that will accrue to the whole Church and to the whole world from an increase in devotion to the Eucharist, as a pledge of heavenly blessings.
And today we celebrate...