O Blessed Host

The government restrictions on gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 significantly impacted many, even causing suffering for some. For the faithful this was a very serious situation affecting our worship. The Holy Mass and the Sacrament of the Eucharist were suspended in most places in the US for an extended period of time. So was the Sacrament of Confession. While this was extremely difficult for many of us, “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28). Well into the pandemic, I read a news article about “drive-through” Confessions and decided to search the internet. I located the Church of the Holy Ghost in Tiverton, RI as one of the churches offering this, and it is only about a 45-minute drive from home. The church was open such that one could perform Penance inside immediately after Confession if one wished; of course, adhering to the requisite distancing and masking provisions. I took advantage of this opportunity. On a table in the narthex were offered various written materials, one of which was several copies of Divine Mercy In My Soul - Diary of Sister M. Faustina Kowalska. From praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, I was aware of St. Faustina and the Diary. Prior to this day, I had not had the inclination to obtain it so I picked up a copy after Penance. I had read the book on and off over a couple of years. About a year or so ago, I added it to my daily reflections, reading a couple of entries at a time. One evening, I read the little known “O Blessed Host” litany. As I was reading the individual petitions, different verses from the Gospels would come to mind. After researching the topic, I was very surprised to see that the prayer had not been coupled with Gospel passages in a devotional. In fact, I could find very little mention of the litany overall. There are no coincidences. I believe the Holy Spirit led me to write this book. Sample Petition page: O Blessed Host, our only hope in life and at the hour of our death. “And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom’. And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise’” (Luke 23:42-43). Jesus was crucified just outside of Jerusalem on the hill at Golgotha, which comes from the Aramaic gulgultāʾ, meaning “place of a skull”. There were two criminals being put to death alongside Him, one on each side. Like the crowd of onlookers watching and jeering, one of them derided Jesus, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39). The other realized that he was in the presence of the Messiah, repented and rebuked the first, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds” (Luke 23:40-41). This history is recorded only in the Gospel of St. Luke, the Gospel of Mercy. By acknowledging his sins and accepting the punishment, the second thief sets an example for witnesses and for all humanity on the importance of true contrition. The Greek word used from original texts for “paradise” is παραδείσῳ (paradîso), used only here in all of the Gospels. It originally meant “garden” and its various forms are used in the Septuagint (Greek translation of Hebrew Scriptures) for the Garden of Eden in Genesis. Jesus’s promise to the repentant thief at the hour of his death shows the onlookers His Divinity and demonstrates His infinite mercy for those who believe in Him, confirming the thief’s hope shown in the verses above. The history of salvation begins and ends in paradise through faith, hope and trust in our Lord. “The Lord quickly pardons, because the thief is quickly converted. And grace is more abundant than prayer; for the Lord ever gives more than He is asked for.” – St. Ambrose of Milan