“There is nothing so great as the Eucharist. If God had something more precious, He would have given it to us.” (SJV Center 2024)
When I sit and pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament, I am truly amazed at the tremendous gift Jesus gave us! During adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, we have the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with Jesus, cor ad cor, or “heart to heart.” This special gift should never be taken lightly. Jesus is meant to be adored; He is the King of the Universe and is truly present in the Eucharist.
Adoration is a profound way for the faithful to pray, adore and give thanks to God. When did the adoration of the Eucharist begin, and why is it such an important aspect of the Catholic faith?
Ignatius of Antioch was born around the year 50 and died in Rome between 98 and 117. Records from the first century indicate that while he was on his way to martyrdom in Rome, he warned Christians not to be swayed by the Gnostics, who denied the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Inspired by this faith, early hermits began to reserve the Eucharist in their cells. The Eucharist would then be reserved and adored in monasteries and hermitages throughout Christendom.
From the 11th century onward, devotion to the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the tabernacle became increasingly prevalent in the Catholic world. The Fourth Lateran Council decreed that the Eucharist should be kept in a safe and locked place, but did not specify a particular location. However, the sacrament was customarily (though with exceptions) kept at the high altar. With the Eucharist present in churches for the faithful to see, people would reverence and adore it. The faithful were instructed about the presence of the Eucharist in the tabernacle, which serves as a place to hold the Eucharist within the church.
Eucharistic adoration was prefigured by the jar of manna being conserved in the Ark of the Covenant within the Holy of Holies, where God’s presence was adored. The manna itself, however, was not properly the object of adoration, for it was purely material reality, although of supernatural origin. Its placement in the Holy of Holies serves as a type for the Eucharist in the tabernacle, which is the only proper object of adoration. The Eucharist is not manna; rather, it is Jesus Christ, truly present to us.
Pope Pius XII, in his 1947 encyclical Mediator Dei, stated, “The Eucharistic Food contains, as all are aware, ‘truly, really and substantially the Body and Blood together with soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is no wonder, then, that the Church, even from the beginning, adored the body of Christ under the appearance of bread; this is evident from the very rites of the august sacrifice, which prescribe that the sacred ministers should adore the most holy sacrament by genuflecting or by profoundly bowing their heads.
“The sacred councils teach that it is the Church’s tradition right from the beginning, to worship ‘with the same adoration the Word Incarnate as well as His own flesh,’ and St. Augustine asserts that, ‘No one eats that flesh, without first adoring it,’ while he adds that ‘not only do we not commit a sin by adoring it, but that we do sin by not adoring it.’
“This doctrinal basis is how the cult of adoring the Eucharist was founded and gradually developed as something distinct from the sacrifice of the Mass.
“The practice of reserving the sacred species for the sick and those in danger of death introduced the praiseworthy custom of adoring the Blessed Sacrament, which is reserved in our churches. This practice of adoration is based on compelling and solid reasons. The Eucharist is at once a sacrifice and a sacrament, but it differs from the other sacraments in that it not only produces grace, but also contains the Author of grace Himself in a permanent manner.
“When, therefore, the Church bids us adore Christ hidden behind the eucharistic veils and pray to Him for spiritual and temporal favors, of which we ever stand in need, she manifests living faith in her divine Spouse who is present beneath these veils, she professes her gratitude to Him and she enjoys the intimacy of His friendship.”
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament “produces grace.” Not only do we receive grace by consuming the Eucharist, but we also receive grace by adoring it. All Christians aspire to grow closer to Christ, and by adoring Him in the Eucharist, we can achieve just that closeness. We go to Him with our joys, happiness, successes, sadness, failures and unworthiness. When we see Jesus and adore Him with all our feelings, we can truly feel His love for us in the Eucharist.
Adoration provides a wonderful opportunity to let go of any barriers or defenses and open our hearts to Him. By doing so, we will receive grace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
In a morning Mass homily delivered in his residential chapel in 2016, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of silent eucharistic adoration, stating that “immersing oneself in silent eucharistic adoration is the secret to knowing the Lord.… To adore, there in the silence, in the silence of adoration. He is the Lord, and I adore Him.… One cannot know the Lord without the habit of adoring, of adoring in silence.”
He continued by saying, “To come to know Christ, we need to know ourselves, that is, we need to be in the habit of accusing ourselves, of calling ourselves sinners. One cannot adore without accusing oneself. To enter into this bottomless and boundless sea, which is the mystery of Christ, these things are needed.”
I conclude by sharing insights from the saints regarding eucharistic adoration:
“The devotion to the Eucharist is the most noble because it has God as its object; it is the most profitable for salvation, because it gives us the Author of Grace; it is the sweetest, because the Lord is Sweetness Itself.” —St. Pius X
“I throw myself at the foot of the tabernacle like a dog at the foot of his Master.”—St. John Vianney
“When you look at the Crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host you understand how much Jesus loves you now.”
“Every Holy Hour we make so pleases the Heart of Jesus that it is recorded in heaven and retold for all eternity!”
“The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time you will spend on earth. Each moment that you spend with Jesus will deepen your union with Him and make your soul everlastingly more glorious and beautiful in heaven and will help bring about everlasting peace on Earth.” —St. Teresa of Calcutta
“He remains among us until the end of the world. He dwells on so many altars, though so often offended and profaned.” —St. Maximilian Kolbe
“Look upon the hour of adoration assigned to you as an hour in paradise. Go to your adoration as one would to heaven, to the divine banquet. You will then long for that hour and hail it with joy. Take delight in fostering a longing for it in your heart. Tell yourself, ‘In four hours, in two hours, in one hour, our Lord will give me an audience of grace and love. He has invited me; He is waiting for me; He is longing for me.’” —St. Peter Julian Eymard
“The Blessed Sacrament is that presence which makes a Catholic Church different from every other place in the world; which makes it, as no other place can be, holy.” —St. John Henry Newman
“A thousand years of enjoying human glory is not worth even an hour spent in sweetly communing with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”—St. Padre Pio
By Deacon Matthew Szymanski