This Advent, as we prepare for the babe in the manger (“to eat”) in Bethlehem (“house of bread”), the many visual cues make it easy to remember that the greatest gift God gave us was Himself – first as an innocent child and then in the Eucharist. The latter may be less obvious to many, but just as in Scripture itself, imagery of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament has pervaded literature and the arts throughout the centuries. It continues to this day, if you know where to look. As Catholics stoke the fires of a national Eucharistic revival, take heart that Our Lord is with us always and share that faith with others with gift ideas for the bibliophile on your list – even if that book lover is you.
St. Peter Julian Eymard, a 19th-century French priest, had a deep love for the Eucharistic Lord since childhood. He continued to develop that relationship, founding religious orders devoted to the Blessed Sacrament and preaching and writing extensively on the subject in response to disbelief and indifference to the Real Presence during his time. Join the “Apostle of the Eucharist” on a retreat to deepen your own love of Jesus in the Eucharist in “30 Day Eucharistic Revival: A Retreat with St. Peter Julian Eymard” by Father Donald Calloway.