The Wonders of the Mass and the Eucharist: Insights of the Saints
Sister Mary Ann Fatula, OP
Sophia Institute Press
Those who want to grow in their love for the Mass and the Eucharist will find inspiration in Sister Mary Ann Fatula’s new book, published by Sophia Institute Press, The Wonders of the Mass and the Eucharist: Insights of the Saints.
Beginning with the early Church Fathers and concluding with Pope St. John Paul II in the late 20th century, the book contemplates profound insights of beloved saints on the tremendous mysteries of the Mass and the Lord’s gift of Himself to us in the precious sacrament of the Eucharist.
“The insights of these beautiful saints will be of great help to those who want to understand and love and live more deeply these great Mysteries which are the very source and center of the Church’s life and therefore of our own daily lives,” Sister Mary Ann said in an interview.
The book opens with a chapter on the insights of treasured Church Fathers and continues with six chapters highlighting writings by St. John Chrysostom; St. Thomas Aquinas; St. Catherine of Siena and St. Teresa of Avila; St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. John Henry Newman; St. Therese of Lisieux and St. John Vianney; and St. Alphonsus Liguori and Pope St. John Paul II.
“The insights of these beautiful saints are anointed by the Holy Spirit and illumine for us the profound Mysteries of love that the Lord Himself accomplishes for us at every Mass through the ministry of His ordained bishops and priests.
“They also open to us the infinitely tender wonders of the Lord’s astounding Gift of His precious Body and Blood to us in the Eucharist,” Sister Mary Ann said.
“At every Mass, the Lord Himself makes present to us His Last Supper, His death on the Cross for us, and His glorious Resurrection for us. At Mass, we don’t simply remember these saving events. We are truly there!
“St. John Newman tells us, ‘At every Mass, we are as personally present at the Lord’s Last Supper and His saving death on the Cross as His beloved Apostles were.’ And St. John Chrysostom assures us that we need not envy the disciples who were blessed by the Lord’s infinitely tender physical presence and closeness. ‘In the Eucharist, you see Him, you touch Him, you eat Him,’ he said.
“I asked the Holy Spirit to guide me to the most profound and beautiful writings of beloved saints on the wondrous Mysteries of the Mass and the Eucharist,” Sister Mary Ann said. “These are writings that have touched my own heart and have greatly deepened my own love for the Mass and the Lord’s precious Body and Blood in the Eucharist.
“In this book, the saints speak to us in their own words as our beloved friends,” she said. “Every chapter presents their insights in the context of their own struggles, as they themselves found in the precious Gifts of the Mass and the Eucharist the very source of their own lives, the source of their own peace and love and joy.
“And since their writings are so anointed by the Holy Spirit, we are drawn back to their insights and words again and again, to contemplate, to savor and to be fed by what the Holy Spirit is teaching us and giving us through them.
“Their insights lead us to be present at Mass and to receive and adore the Lord in the Eucharist with deepened understanding, faith and love, so that with the Holy Spirit’s grace, the Mass and the Eucharist become the healing, peace-filled remedy for us in our own struggles, the very source of our own lives and love and joy.”
In her introduction to the volume, Sister Mary Ann writes, “In the first chapter, Church Fathers, all Doctors of the Church who were magnificent teachers in the early Christian centuries, will enlighten us about the great Mystery of love that takes place at Mass. …
“In the second chapter, the beloved St. John Chrysostom will teach us about the infinite tenderness of the Lord at His Last Supper, death, and Resurrection, the very Mysteries that He makes present to us today in the Mass.
“In the third chapter, we will learn from the humble and gentle teacher St. Thomas Aquinas about the Eucharist, the great Sacrament of Love that refreshes and contents our souls and fills us with the Lord’s infinite charity.
“The amazing St. Catherine of Siena will speak to us with passionate love in the fourth chapter about the power of the Lord’s most precious Blood for us. And the wise St. Teresa of Avila will give us practical advice about receiving the Lord with deeper faith and love.
“In the fifth chapter, we will learn about the exquisite grace of longing for the Mass and the Eucharist from two inspiring converts from Anglicanism: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. John Henry Newman.
“In the sixth chapter, the beautiful St. Therese of Lisieux will share with us her prayer and deep desire for daily Mass and Holy Communion. The humble St. John Vianney also will give us wonderful counsels about spending time with Lord in adoration and love before the Blessed Sacrament.
“In the seventh and last chapter, the gentle St. Alphonsus Liguori will illumine for us the Lord’s desire to be intimately, physically united with us in the Eucharist and will teach us how to grow in our love for Him in the Blessed Sacrament.
“Finally, the great Pope St. John Paul II will share with us his own tender love for the Lord in the Eucharist and will show us how transformed and fulfilled our lives become when we love and live the precious graces of the Mass and the Eucharist.”
Sister Mary Ann professed her first vows with the Dominican Sisters of Peace, then known as the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs, in 1964. She earned a doctorate in systematic theology from Catholic University of America and was a professor of theology at Ohio Dominican University for more than 30 years.
She has written seven books, several of them inspired by the desire to help her students grow closer to the Blessed Trinity. In addition to The Wonders of the Mass and the Eucharist: Insights of the Saints, her other recent books, also published by Sophia Institute Press, are Drawing Close to the Holy Spirit and Heaven’s Splendor and the Riches That Await You There, released in 2021 and 2019, respectively.
“One book seemed to lead to the next,” Sister Mary Ann said. “Heaven is everything for which we are made, the ecstatic love and joy of the Blessed Trinity, and the Mass and the Eucharist are the foretaste of Heaven here on earth. The Holy Spirit of love draws us more and more surely to the infinite treasures of the Mass and the Eucharist here on earth and, in this way, to the wondrous joy of heaven itself.
“The divine Persons of the Trinity have created us in our own unique ways to attract and draw others with us to the joys of Heaven, and the Mass and the Eucharist truly are the foretaste of Heaven here on earth.
“St. John Paul II points out to us that the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognized their Lord and God in the ‘breaking of the bread’ and then set out immediately to share with others the wonders, the new life, the joy and peace they had found. (Luke 24:33) Inspired and helped by the saints, may we do the same!”
The book is available from Sophia Institute Press at (800) 888-9344 or https://sophiainstitute.com/product/wonder-of-the-mass-and-the-eucharist. The list price is $18.95, but the publisher often has special offers on its website. The book also is available on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.