St. Jose Maria Rubio, S.J.: Making an Effort to Adore God in the Sacred Host

"Are you truly making an effort to adore God? In this Sacred Host lies the whole of His omnipotence, all His wisdom, the perfect goodness of Jesus Christ, since therein rests His living heart as it is also in heaven. When we adore in this way, we adore in spirit and in truth.

"But after we have adored, the heart must be open to the other sentiments; for you well know that we are taught a diversity of forms of adoration in the Gospels; and we express them sometimes by profound acts of bodily reverence, sometimes by silence of the mind. From time to time, we also link with this type of adoration, tears, groans, and sighs; or words, expressions of interior feelings, prayers accompany the same. All these forms of adoration before Jesus hidden in the sacrament are so powerful that there are times when the spirit can do nothing better than bow low in Jesus' presence.

"Someone asks me: "What am I to do if I can think of nothing to say?" It is enough if you show reverence and hope. "But I am unable to say anything." I ask you not to be sad on that account; the very silence suffices. However great your experience of a heart which is dried up and empty, and for all that you may be very aware of its trials and confusion, fear not; continue your act of adoration; for that is enough, and it is to be considered a splendid deed in God's eyes. If subsequently, however, a thankful feeling of the soul towards God is aroused, if you desire to endure some greater sacrifices for His sake, foster those sentiments which the Holy Spirit is arousing in you, and offer them as a bouquet in Jesus presence. And would that this were the chief and daily form of our prayer."  (Source)

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) and Fr. Robert Barron Comment on Eucharistic Adoration

"The Lord is present in the tabernacle in His divinity and in His humanity. He is not present for His own sake but for ours: it is His delight to be with the 'children of men.' He knows, too, that, being what we are, we need His personal nearness. In consequence, every thoughtful and sensitive person will feel attracted and will be there as often and as long as possible. And the practice of the Church, which has instituted perpetual adoration, is just as clear."

~ St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross ~

Graces From Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament for Those Who Ask

"Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament has His hands full of graces,

and He is ready to bestow them on anyone who asks for them."

~ St. Peter of Alcantara ~

St. Teresa of Avila and Cardinal Arinze: Personal Prayer From the Heart

"Vocal prayer . . . must be accompanied by reflection. A prayer in which a person is not aware of Whom he is speaking to, what he is asking, who it is who is asking and of Whom, I don't call prayer-----however much the lips may move."

"Mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us."

~ St. Teresa of Avila ~

St. John Bosco: The Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin Protect the World

"Were it not for the Blessed Virgin and the Blessed Sacrament, the world would now be in ruins. Those who want to work in the light - that is, along the way to heaven – must draw closer to these two sources of light, or at least one of them. Those who walk away from them move in darkness and in the shadow of death."

"Trust all things to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary Help of Christians and you will see what miracles are."

~ St. John Bosco ~

~ St. John Bosco:  Related post ~

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton: This Bread of Angels

Pope St. Pius X: Devotion to the Eucharist

"The devotion to the Eucharist is the most noble,

because it has God as its object;

it is most profitable for salvation,

because it gives us the Author of Grace;

it is the sweetest,

because the Lord is Sweetness Itself."

~ Pope St. Pius X ~

St. Teresa of Avila: Audience With the King of Glory

"To converse with You, O King of glory, no third person is needed,

You are always ready in the Sacrament of the Altar to give audience to all.

All who desire You always find You there, and converse with You face to face."

~ St. Teresa of Avila ~

St. Padre Pio and the Mass

"It would be easier for the world to exist without the sun than without the Holy Mass."

St. Thomas Aquinas: The Powerful Sacrament of the Body of the Lord

"The Sacrament of the Body of the Lord puts the demons to flight,

defends us against the incentives to vice and to concupiscence,

cleanses the soul from sin,

quiets the anger of God,

enlightens the understanding to know God,

inflames the will and the affections with the love of God,

fills the memory with spiritual sweetness,

confirms the entire man in good,

frees us from eternal death,

multiplies the merits of a good life,

leads us to our everlasting home,

and re-animates the body to eternal life,"

~ St. Thomas Aquinas ~

St. John Chrysostom: Believe the Word of God!

"Let us submit to God in all things and not contradict Him, even if what He says seems contrary to our reason and intellect; rather let His words prevail over our reason and intellect. Let us act in this way with regard to the (eucharistic) mysteries, looking not only at what falls under our senses but holding on to His words. For His word cannot lead us astray. . . When the word says, `This is My Body', be convinced of it and believe it, and look at it with the eyes of the mind. . . How many now say, `I wish I could see His shape, His appearance, His garments, His sandals.' Only look! You see Him! You touch Him! You eat Him! He gives Himself to you, not only that you may see Him, but also to be your food and nourishment. "

~ St. John Chrysostom ~

St. Ody of Cluny Stressed the Need for Worthy Reception of the Eucharist

The "devotion" to the Body and Blood of Christ which Odo in the face of a widespread neglect of them which he himself deeply deplored always cultivated with conviction deserves special mention. Odo was in fact firmly convinced of the Real Presence, under the Eucharistic species, of the Body and Blood of the Lord, by virtue of the conversion of the "substance" of the bread and the wine. He wrote: "God, Creator of all things, took the bread saying that this was his Body and that he would offer it for the world, and he distributed the wine, calling it his Blood"; now, "it is a law of nature that the change should come about in accordance with the Creator's command", and thus "nature immediately changes its usual condition: the bread instantly becomes flesh, and the wine becomes blood"; at the Lord's order, "the substance changes" (Odonis Abb. Cluniac. occupatio, ed. A. Swoboda, Leipzig 1900, p. 121). Unfortunately, our abbot notes, this "sacrosanct mystery of the Lord's Body, in whom the whole salvation of the world consists", (Collationes, XXVIII: PL 133, 572), is celebrated carelessly. "Priests", he warns, "who approach the altar unworthily, stain the bread, that is, the Body of Christ" (ibid., PL 133, 572-573). Only those who are spiritually united to Christ may worthily participate in his Eucharistic Body: should the contrary be the case, to eat his Flesh and to drink his Blood would not be beneficial but rather a condemnation (cf. ibid., XXX, PL 133, 575). All this invites us to believe the truth of the Lord's presence with new force and depth. The presence in our midst of the Creator, who gives himself into our hands and transforms us as he transforms the bread and the wine, thus transforms the world.

~ Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, September 2, 2009 ~

St Jeanne Jugan: A Saint for Our Time

“Jesus is waiting for you in the chapel.

Go and find him when your strength and patience are giving out,

when you feel lonely and helpless.

Say to him: ‘You know well what is happening, my dear Jesus.

I have only you.Come to my aid...’

And then go your way.
And don’t worry about knowing how you are going to manage.

It is enough to have told our good Lord. He has an excellent memory.”

~ St. Jeanne Jugan, from Sayings of Jeanne Jugan ~

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross: Spend Time With Our Eucharistic Lord

"To make room in our life for the Eucharistic Lord, so that He can change our life into His, is that asking too much?"

"The Lord is present in the tabernacle in his divinity and in his humanity. He is not present for his own sake but for ours: it is his delight to be with the 'children of men.' He knows, too, that, being what we are, we need his personal nearness. In consequence, every thoughtful and sensitive person will feel attracted and will be there as often and as long as possible. And the practice of the Church, which has instituted perpetual adoration, is just as clear."

~ St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross ~

St. Alphonsus Liguori: Adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

"Certainly amongst all devotions,

after that of receiving the Sacraments,

that of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament holds the first place,

is the most pleasing to God,

and the most useful to ourselves.

Do not then, O devout soul, refuse to begin this devotion;

and forsaking the conversation of men,

dwell each day, from this time forward,

for at least half or quarter of an hour, in some church,

in the presence of Jesus Christ under the sacramental species.

Taste and see how sweet is the Lord."

~ St. Alphonsus Liguori ~

St. Jean Vianney: All Good Works Are Not Equal to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

"All the good works in the world

are not equal to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

because they are the works of men;

but the Mass is the work of God.

Martyrdom is nothing in comparison

for it is but the sacrifice of man to God;

but the Mass is the sacrifice of God for man."

~ St. Jean Vianney ~

St. Jean Vianney: Open Our Heart to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

"When we go before the Blessed Sacrament, let us open our heart;

our good God will open His.

We shall go to Him; He will come to us;

the one to ask, the other to receive.

It will be like a breath from one to the other,"

~ St. Jean Vianney ~

St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi: Daily Visits to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi (1566-1607) was a Carmelite nun from the age of seventeen. She recommended to busy people in the world to take time out each day for praying before the Holy Eucharist. "A friend,she wrote, "will visit a friend in the morning to wish him a good day, in the evening, a good night, taking also an opportunity to converse with him during the day. In like manner, make visits to Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, if your duties permit it. It is especially at the foot of the altar that one prays well. In all your visits to our Savior, frequently offer His Precious Blood to the Eternal Father. You will find these visits very conducive to increase in you divine love."

~ Excerpt from: The History of Eucharistic Adoration by John A. Hardon, S.J. ~

St. Alphonsus Liguori: Eucharistic Adoration Prayer

~ St. Alphonsus Liguori Prayer: from Visits to the Blessed Sacrament ~

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque: Prayer to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

"In order to be like You, who are always alone in the Blessed Sacrament, I shall love solitude and try to converse with You as much as possible. Grant that my mind may not seek to know anything but You, that my heart may have no longings or desires but to love You. When I am obliged to take some comfort, I shall take care to see that it be pleasing to Your Heart. In my conversations, O divine Word, I shall consecrate all my words to You so that You will not permit me to pronounce a single one which is not for Your glory.... When I am thirsty, I shall endure it in honor of the thirst You endured for the salvation of souls.... If by chance, I commit some fault, I shall humble myself, and then take the opposite virtue from Your Heart, offering it to the eternal Father in expiation for my failure. All this I intend to do, O Eucharistic Jesus, to unite myself to You in every action of the day."

~ St. Margaret Mary Alacoque ~