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Blessed Alexandrina Maria da Costa of Portugal is not well known to many North American Catholics save for those of Portuguese backgrounds and others who have been touched by this holy one of God. Her message intersects in a profound way with that of Sr. Lucia of Fátima, and faithful Catholics would do well to make her acquaintance among the holy company of the Blesseds of the Church. The following is one of her ecstatic poems in praise of the Tabernacles of the Lord in our Catholic churches where the Lord's Eucharistic Divine Presence abides with us.
HYMN TO THE TABERNACLES
Oh my Jesus, I want each pain that I feel, each palpitation of my heart, each time I breathe, each second of the hours I pass, to be Acts of love for your Tabernacles.
I want each movement of my feet, my hands, my lips, my tongue, each time that I open my eyes or close them, each tear, each smile, each joy, each sadness, each tribulation, each distraction, contrariety or trouble, to be Acts of love for your Tabernacles.
I want each letter of the prayers I recite or hear to recite, all the words that I pronounce or hear to pronounce, that I read or hear to read, that I write or see someone writing, that I sing or hear to sing, to be Acts of love for your Tabernacles.
I want each time I kiss your holy images or those of your and my beloved Mama, and your saints, to be Acts of love for your Tabernacles.
Oh Jesus, I want each little drop of rain that falls from the sky to the land, all the water contained in the world, offered drop by drop, all the sands of the sea and everything the sea contains, to be Acts of love for your Tabernacles.
Oh Jesus, I offer You the leaves of the trees, all the fruits that they mmight have, the little flowers offered petal by petal, all the little grains of seeds and cereals in the world, and everything contained in the gardens, fields and mountains, I offer everything as Acts of love for your Tabernacles.
Oh Jesus, I offer You the feathers of the small birds, their own warbling, the fur and the voices of all the animals, as Acts of love for your Tabernacles.
Oh Jesus, I offer You the day and the night, the heat and the cold, the wind, the snow, the moon, the moonlight, the sun, the sunset, the stars of the sky, my sleep, my dream, as Acts of love for your Tabernacles.
Oh Jesus, I offer You everything the world contains, all its greatness, wealth and treasures, everything which happens to myself, everything I use to offer to You, everything one can imagine, as Acts of love for your Tabernacles.
Oh Jesus, accept the sky, the land, the sea, everything, everything they contain, as if everything was mine and everything I could make use of and offer You as Acts of love for your Tabernacles.
Blessed Alexandrina Maria da Costa, pray for us.
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