Antique French Catholic holy card devoted to the Holy Eucharist and spiritual Communion, with a finely printed monochrome devotional scene framed by an intricate pierced paper-lace border. At the top, a radiant monstrance containing the Host rises above the landscape, while the central invocation calls repeatedly to Christ: “Venez, Seigneur Jésus! Venez” — “Come, Lord Jesus! Come.”
The card is identified on the front as No. 16 and bears the imprint “Ch. Letaille, Paris.” The reverse contains an extended French Eucharistic meditation beginning “Mon âme brûle d’ardeur pour le Dieu vivant!” and includes short sections on spiritual Communion, fidelity, submission, devotion, suffering, resemblance to Christ, and love.
The imagery and prayer emphasize longing for Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and the desire to make one’s whole life a continual Communion. With its delicate paper-lace construction, Eucharistic iconography, Paris publisher’s mark, and substantial French devotional text, this is an appealing example of 19th-century-style Catholic religious ephemera.
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