At critical times throughout Salvation History, God’s people have been invited to consecrate themselves. We are at one of those critical times in history, and consecrating ourselves, our families, our country, and indeed, the whole world to the Eucharist may make all the difference.
33 Days to Eucharistic Glory is the first ever Eucharistic Consecration guide. This unprecedented spiritual resource presents profound truths, astonishing historical facts, powerful practical examples, a daily virtue to adopt, extraordinary prayers, and inspiring stories—all in an easy-to-follow daily format.
Life is a pilgrimage. It is a sacred journey toward our eternal home with God. Learn what it means to be a pilgrim in a world that is constantly trying to reduce you to a tourist and consumer. Journey with Mother Teresa, John Paul II, Thérèse of Lisieux, Maximilian Kolbe, Thomas Aquinas, Sister Faustina, the Children of Fatima, and Mary the Mother of God to experience Jesus in the Eucharist like never before.
Prepare yourself for an explosion of grace in your life. Grace is the assistance God gives us to do what is good, true, noble, and right. And there is no better way to receive God’s grace than through the Eucharist. Over the next thirty-three days you will learn how these great saints and others lived in Eucharistic Glory.
This extraordinary spiritual guide will forever change the way you spend time with Jesus in the Eucharist.
This consecration is an invitation to dedicate yourself to God and make yourself 100 percent available to carry out His will on this earth. It is an act of unconditional surrender to Jesus in the Eucharist, an opportunity to set aside our distractions and selfishness, dedicate ourselves abundantly, wholeheartedly, and completely to the will of God, and promise to faithfully respond to God’s grace in our life.
In the Book of Exodus, after the incident with the golden calf, Moses realized that the people had lost their way, and so he called them together and said:
“Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord… that He may bestow upon you a blessing this day.”
In the First Book of Chronicles, after God chose his son Solomon to lead, David gave everything he had over to God and the people of Israel. And then he asked:
“Who else among you will contribute generously and consecrate themselves to the Lord this day?”
In the Book of Joshua, God’s chosen people entered the Promised Land after wandering in the desert for forty years. Joshua asked the priests to carry the Ark of the Covenant before the people and said:
“Consecrate yourselves to the Lord, for tomorrow He will do wonders among you.”
For the Jewish people, the Ark of the Covenant was God’s dwelling place on earth, God’s presence among them. The Eucharist is God dwelling among us today. And so, today I say to you, with Moses, David, and Joshua . . . “Consecrate yourself today to the Lord . . . that He may bestow upon you a blessing this day.”
33 Days to Eucharistic Glory is the first guide to Eucharistic Consecration. Catholics have consecrated themselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Saint Joseph, Saint Raphael, Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Anne, the Holy Spirit, the Miraculous Medal, Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Mediatrix of All Grace, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Czestochowa, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Our Lady of Sorrows, and to the Holy Trinity.
I believe it is time we consecrated ourselves to Jesus in the Eucharist—it is time for a Eucharistic Consecration.
How to Use This Book
Over the next thirty-three days you are going to take a spiritual pilgrimage. Some people go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Fatima, Lourdes, Santiago de Compostela or Rome. I hope you can join us one day on one of our amazing pilgrimages to these places. But this spiritual pilgrimage you can make in the comfort of your favorite chair. And yet, it will be the longest journey you ever make without moving an inch.
A pilgrimage is a sacred journey with a specific intention. Our journey will be an inner journey, and our specific intention is Eucharistic Consecration.
This book is intended as a handbook for your spiritual pilgrimage. The readings, prayers, and other resources are arranged day-by-day and under a weekly theme. This is a time of preparation for the profound experience of Eucharistic Consecration. The reflections are designed to be deeply spiritual and intensely practical.
This preparation will require about fifteen minutes each day. Here is a step-by-step guide to each day:
- Find a quiet place.
- Read the reflection.
- Ponder the one idea that struck you most from the reading for a few minutes.
- Pray the Spiritual Communion.
- Look for opportunities to adopt the virtue of the day amidst your daily activities.
- Have a great day!
The journey will last thirty-three days. Four weeks and five days. Each week is arranged around a theme and designed to prepare you for your consecration on day thirty-three, but also to educate and inspire you about the extraordinary power of the Eucharist.
Week One: The Eucharist and the Pilgrim
Week Two: The Eucharist and the Saints
Week Three: The Eucharist and You
Week Four: The Eucharist and History
The Final Days: The Moment of Surrender
If you miss a day, don’t get discouraged, and don’t quit. Every evil force in the universe wants you to do that. You will feel the pull of those evil spirits at times. And the pull of those evil spirits will be tempting you to abandon this pilgrimage. Don’t. See those temptations for what they are: proof that what you are doing is a powerful spiritual exercise that is going to bear abundant fruit in your life and for the world.
If you miss a day, or two days, or even five days, do not give in to discouragement. Discouragement doesn’t come from God.
If you miss days, simply read the days you missed, and keep moving forward. You will be tempted to abandon this journey or tempted to go back and start again. Don’t. This again is just the pull of evil spirits that do not want you to complete this consecration.
If you started praying the rosary and started over each time you got distracted, you would never finish a single rosary.
Stay the course. Don’t give in to distraction or discouragement. No matter what, thirty-three days after you start: Consecrate yourself to Jesus in the Eucharist. Day 33 lays out clearly how to complete the Act of Consecration.
All that’s left to do now is select a start date. You can start your spiritual pilgrimage any day you wish. It is, however, tradition to begin on a date that leads you to complete the consecration on a feast day. With that in mind, you will find a chart at the end of this section of with some options for starting your journey.
But keep in mind that the Church honors at least one saint or solemnity every day of the year. Some people like to conclude on the feast day of their favorite saint or the saint they were named after. And if you wish to start today, it is just a matter of calculating which feast day will be your day of consecration. I do think it is good to know before you begin, so call on that saint’s intercession along the way, especially during moments of difficulty and discouragement.
