HOW TO ADORE Semper vivens ad interpellandum pro nobis. Always living to make intercession for us. (Hebrews vii. 25.) THE Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the most sublime prayer. At Mass Jesus Christ offers Himself to His Father, adoring Him, thanking Him, making reparation to Him, and petitioning Him in behalf of His Church, of men His brothers, and of the poor sinners. Jesus continues this august prayer unceasingly through His state of Victim in the Eucharist. Let us unite our prayer to that of our Lord; let us pray as He does according to the Four Ends of the Sacrifice; this form of prayer sums up religious worship and entails the practice of every virtue. ADORATION The act of Eucharistic adoration has for its Divine object the infinite perfection of Jesus Christ, which of itself is worthy of all honor and glory. Unite your praises, therefore, to those of the heavenly court when, prostrate at the foot of the throne of the Lamb and filled with admiration, it cries out: "To Him that sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb that was slain, honor, glory, thanksgiving, strength, power, and Divinity for ever and ever!" In union with the four and twenty ancients who cast their crowns in homage at the feet of the Lamb, lay your whole being, your faculties, and all your works in homage at the foot of the Eucharistic throne and say to our Lord: "To Thee alone be love and glory!" Then contemplate the greatness of the love of Jesus as He institutes, multiplies, and perpetuates His Divine Eucharist to the end of time. Marvel at His wisdom in this Divine invention which excites the wonder of the Angels themselves. Praise His power which has triumphed over every obstacle, and exalt His goodness which has determined the gifts of that power. On realizing that you are the very end of the greatest as of the holiest of Sacraments, break forth into a transport of joy and love; Jesus Christ would have done for you alone what He has done for all. What love! Unable to adore your sacramental Jesus as He deserves, call upon your Guardian Angel, your faithful companion through life, to help you. He will be so happy to do with you here below what he must continue doing eternally with you in Heaven. Holy Church intrusts this God to you that you may be her representative at His feet; offer Him her adoration. Unite your adoration to that of the pious souls on earth, of the Angels and Saints in Heaven, but especially to that of Mary and Joseph when, as the only possessors of the Hidden God, they were His entire court and household. Adore Jesus through Jesus Himself; that is the most perfect adoration He is both God and Man, your Savior and Brother. Adore the Heavenly Father through His Son, the object of all His delights, and your adoration will be worth that of Jesus; it will be His. THANKSGIVING Thanksgiving is the soul's most delightful act of love as also the most pleasing to God; it is a perfect homage to His infinite goodness. The Eucharist itself is perfect thanksgiving. The word Eucharist means thanksgiving. Jesus Eucharistic renders thanks to His Father for us; He is our own thanksgiving. Give thanks therefore to God the Father for having given you His Divine Son not only as Brother in the Incarnation, as Teacher of truth, and as Savior on the Cross, but especially as your Eucharist, your bread of life, your Heaven already begun. Thank the Holy Ghost for continuing, through the priests, to produce Him daily on the altar, as He did the first time in Mary's virginal womb. Let your thanksgiving ascend to the throne of the Lamb, to the Hidden God as a sweet-smelling incense, as the most beautiful hymn of your soul, as the purest and tenderest love of your heart. Thank Him in all humility of heart, like Saint Elizabeth in the presence of Mary and the Word Incarnate; thank Him with the vibrant ardor of Saint John the Baptist when he felt the closeness of his Divine Master, hidden like himself in His mother's womb; thank Him with the joy and generosity of Zacheus when he received the visit of Jesus in his house; thank Him with the Holy Church and the heavenly court. In order that your thanksgiving may never cease and go on forever increasing. do what is done in Heaven. Consider the goodness, the beauty ever old and ever new of the God of the Eucharist, Who for our sake is consumed and reborn without ceasing on the altar. Contemplate His sacramental state, the sacrifices He has made since its institution in the Cenacle in order to reach you, and the struggle He has had to undergo against His own glory in order to lower Himself to the very edge of nothingness and sacrifice His freedom, His body, His very Self. He has done that without any condition as to time or place; and with no other protection than His love, He surrendered Himself to the love as well as to the hate of man. In the presence of so many kindnesses of the Savior towards all men and above all towards you,-----since you possess Him, enjoy Him, and live of Him,-----open your heart and let thanksgiving leap from it like the flame of a great fire; let it envelop the Eucharistic throne; let it join, unite, and blend itself with the Divine fire, with the radiant and devouring flame of the Heart of Jesus. Let these two flames rise to Heaven, to the throne of God the Father Who has given you His Son-----in Whom you receive the Holy Trinity. PROPITIATION Reparation, or propitiation, must follow upon thanksgiving. From a sentiment of joy your heart must turn to sadness, to bewailings, to tears, to the deepest sorrow on considering the ingratitude, indifference, and impiety of most men towards the Eucharistic Savior. So many men forget Jesus after having loved and adored Him! Is He no longer lovable? Has He ceased to love them? The ungrateful creatures! They no longer want to love Him because He is too loving; they no longer want to receive Him because He is too good; they do not want to see Him anymore; they flee from Him; they do away with the thought of His presence and even with the very remembrance of Him, which annoys them and goads them on; and all that because He has made Himself too little, too humble, too much like nothingness. There are some who, unable to ignore Him, do not hesitate to insult, abuse, and deny such a good Father and kind Master so as to take revenge on His excessive love. In order not to see this Sun of love, they close their eyes. Among these ungrateful persons there are sacrilegious virgins, unworthy priests, apostate hearts, fallen Seraphim and Cherubim. This is your mission, O adorers: to weep at the feet of Jesus despised by His own, crucified in so many hearts, and abandoned in so many places; to console the Heart of this tender Father Whom the devil, His enemy, has robbed of His children. A Eucharistic Prisoner, He can no longer go after His lost sheep, the prey of ravenous wolves. Your mission is to beg forgiveness for the guilty; to pay their ransom to Divine mercy, which needs suppliant hearts; to become victims of propitiation with the Savior Jesus Who, no longer able to suffer in His risen state, will suffer in you and through you. PETITION Finally, supplication or impetration must crown your adoration and make up its glorious trophy. Impetration is the force and power of Eucharistic prayer. Not everybody can preach Jesus Christ by word of mouth, nor labor directly for the con- version of sinners and the sanctification of souls; every adorer, however, has the mission of Mary at the feet of Jesus: an apostolic mission of prayer, of Eucharistic prayer, at the foot of the throne of grace and mercy. To pray is to glorify God's infinite goodness, to give work to Divine mercy, to bring joy and expansion to God's love of His creature by the fulfillment of the law of grace, which is prayer. By prayer therefore man gives God the greatest glory possible. Prayer is man's greatest virtue. All virtues are comprised in it, for all the virtues are a preparation for it and a part of it. Faith believes, hope prays, and charity begs in order to give to others; humility of heart forms the prayer, confidence speaks it, and perseverance triumphs over God Himself. Eucharistic prayer has an additional merit: it goes straight to the Heart of God like a flaming dart; it makes Jesus work, act, and relive in His Sacrament; it releases His power. The adorer does still more: he prays through Jesus Christ and shares our Lord's role as Intercessor with the Father and Divine Advocate for His redeemed brethren. But what should they pray for? The rallying cry, "Thy Kingdom Come" (Adveniat Regnum Tuum), expresses for adorers the end and the law of prayer. They should pray that the light of the truth of Jesus Christ may enlighten all men, especially the Infidels, Jews, Heretics and Schismatics, and that they may return to true faith and charity. They should pray for our Lord's kingdom of holiness in His faithful, His religious, His priests, that He may live in them by love. They should pray above an for the Sovereign Pontiff, for all the intentions dear to his heart; for their own Bishop, for all that his zeal desires to accomplish; for all the priests of the diocese that God may bless their apostolic labors and inflame them with zeal for His glory and with love for Holy Church. To vary their prayers, adorers may paraphrase the Our Father, or again the following beautiful prayer: "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. Blood of Jesus, inebriate me. 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 Thee. Defend me from the evil spirit. Bid me come to Thee at the hour of death that with all the saints I may praise Thee eternally. Amen." And again they may paraphrase the litany of the Holy Name of Jesus which lends itself so well to devotion. Adorers should not withdraw from their Divine Master's presence without thanking Him for His loving reception. Let them ask pardon for their distractions and irreverences. Let them offer Him as a homage of fealty a flower of virtue, a nosegay of little sacrifices. Then let them depart as they would from the Cenacle, or as the Angel who takes flight from God's throne to carry out His Divine commands. Contact Us HOME---------------THE HOLY EUCHARIST DIRECTORY-----------------------BLESSED SACRAMENT VISITS www.catholictradition.org/Eucharist/real-presence2.htm