I recently spoke
with a friend who told me she didn’t see how sitting in front of the Blessed
Sacrament for an hour would make any
difference in her busy life. I offer you this testimony to the benefits of
making a Holy Hour:
“Jesus waits for us in this Sacrament of Love.” These
words were addressed to us by our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, in his first
letter entitled On the Mystery and
Worship of the Holy Eucharist, April 1980. In speaking of the aim of what
the Pope called “authentic renewal” intended by Vatican II, he said, “The
Church and the world have a great need of Eucharist adoration. Jesus waits for
us in this sacrament of Love. Let us be generous with our time in going to meet
Him in adoration and in contemplation that is full of faith and ready to make
reparation for the great faults and crimes of the world. May our adoration
never cease.”
Jesus waits for us to visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament
with the same enthusiasm with which the father in the parable of the prodigal
son waited for his child to return home. The parable is meant not only to
express the joy with which Jesus receives us in the Sacrament of
Reconciliation, but also to express the joy with which Jesus receives us in all
the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist.
“But while he was yet a long way off, his father saw him
and was moved with compassion, and ran and fell upon his neck and kissed him.
And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee.
I am no longer worthy to be called thy son.’ But the Father said to his
servants, ‘Fetch quickly the best robe and put it on him, and give him a ring
for his finger and sandals for his feet and bring out the fattened calf and
kill it, and let us eat and make merry, because this, my son, was dead, and has
come to life again; he was lost and is found.” And they began to make merry.”
(Luke 15:20-24)
This is the divine enthusiasm which welcomes us in the
Blessed Sacrament. No matter if we are the greatest saint or the greatest
sinner on earth, Jesus welcomes us with all the divine yearning of His Sacred
Heart. Here He gives us a thousand kisses of His grace and mercy. Here He puts
a robe of glory on us. For each holy hour we make will leave our soul
everlastingly more beautiful in heaven because Jesus bathes our soul in his own
glory for every moment we spend in His Eucharistic Presence. He remains hidden
in the Blessed Sacrament because He asks us to come to Him in faith.
….The ring He puts on our finger is the bond of a
deepened friendship with Him. Each holy hour we make increases our union with
Him, and deepens the personal relationship we have with our Savior. The sandals
on our feet are the wisdom and strength which He gives us in this His holy
will. The feast is the rejoicing of the angels and saints because you responded
to our Lord’s call to show your appreciation for the gift of His total Presence
in this holy Sacrament where day and night He waits for us to visit Him because
His delight is to dwell with the children of men. No matter how alive we are
with sanctifying grace, Jesus gives us an influx of His life when we come into
His Eucharistic Presence and this life is the life of love that is the very
life of the Holy Trinity.
Prayer: A Prayer
of Consolation to Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament
Most Holy Soul of Jesus, make me holy,
Body of Jesus, save me.
Most pure Heart of Jesus, make me pure,
Give me light, set me on fire.
Sacred Water from the Side of Jesus, wash me.
Passion of Jesus, make me strong.
Jesus, hide me in Thy wounds.
Do not permit sin ever to separate me from you.
Defend me from the evil spirit.
Bid me come to You at the hour of death
That with all the saints
I may praise You in heaven eternally. Amen
(entire selection taken from Come to Me in the Blessed Sacrament, Fr. Vincent Martin Lucia, Apostolate
for Perpetual Adoration, Mt. Clemens, Michigan)
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