Adoro Te Devote (On Eucharistic Adoration)

This is something I wrote WAY back in the day (on September 27th, 2006, to be precise), when I was a seminarian with St. Pius X Seminary at Loras College.  I've salvaged it from a previous blog I had on the now-practically-ancient social networking site, MySpace.  I thought I'd offer it here for your reflection.  I pray it is edifying.  God bless!
     

Adoro Te Devote

by St. Thomas Aquinas

Hidden God, devoutly I adore Thee,

Truly present underneath these veils:

All my heart subdues itself before Thee

Since it all before Thee faints and fails.

Not to sight, or taste, or touch be credit,

Hearing only do we trust secure;

I believe, for God the Son hath said it-

Word of truth that ever shall endure.

On the Cross was veiled Thy Godhead's splendor,

Here Thy manhood lieth hidden too;

Unto both alike my faith I render,

And, as sued the contrite thief, I sue.

Though I look not on Thy wounds, with Thomas,

Thee, my Lord, and Thee, my God, I call:

Make me more and more believe Thy promise,

Hope in Thee, and love Thee over all.

O Memorial of my Savior dying,

Living Bread that givest life to man;

May my soul, its life from Thee supplying,

Taste Thy sweetness as on earth it can.

Deign, O Jesus, Pelican of Heaven,

Me, a sinner, in Thy blood to lave,

To a single drop of which is given,

All the world from its sin to save.

Contemplating, Lord, Thy hidden presence,

Grant me what I thirst for and implore,

In the revelation of Thine essence,

To behold Thy glory evermore. 

AMEN.

This particular hymn, by St. Thomas Aquinas, that I took from the book, "Praying in the Presence of Our Lord: Prayers for Eucharistic Adoration" by Father Benedict Groeschel, CFR, is probably my favorite hymn/prayer for Eucharistic Adoration.  I'm blessed enough with my schedule to spend an hour each day in front of the Blessed Sacrament (sometimes exposed, sometimes in the tabernacle) and I cannot tell you what a tremendous difference Adoration makes.   I get to pray my Divine Office, pray a Rosary, and pray from this little book every day.  


I wanted to share this hymn with each of you, and encourage each of you, as far as your duties in life permit, to spend an amount of time each day before the Blessed Sacrament.  Many Churches will leave their doors unlocked until the evening hour, so even if you stop into Church on a lunch hour, and spend 15 minutes of your time with the Lord, I promise you it will change your life.

 

My hour with the Lord every day is really my retreat time, where I can escape to be in the Lord's presence, to enjoy His quiet peace, and to recharge myself to face the challenges that lie ahead in life. Eucharistic Adoration gives us grace for living.   It draws us closer to the Lord that we might be better able to fulfill our duties in life, and do so not out of a mundane sense of obligation, but with love- the love that is born of intimacy, born of a personal encounter with that which is our Source of Life, our Hiding Place, our Refuge and our Stronghold.  This is what the Psalmists mean when they call God their Refuge or Stronghold or Hiding Place.  They call God such titles because they had a personal encounter with that Presence which is the fulfillment and consummation of their very existence- the Lord Most High. 


When we encounter the Eucharist, we encounter the Divine Presence of Him whom heaven and earth cannot contain. Though Our Lord lies hidden in the form of Bread, yet we see that such was His will and pleasure, that the fullness of God should be pleased to dwell in such lowly circumstances, for in such lowly circumstances we see most clearly the awesome power and splendor of He who is the Risen Lord, the Conqueror of Death, the Resurrection and the Life.

Next time you go to Mass, or next time you present yourself before the Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament, remind yourself of Who it is that you are appearing before.  This is Jesus, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, the Savior of the World, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World.  And you, like St. Thomas Aquinas, will not be able to resist saying, "Hidden God, devoutly I adore thee; Truly present underneath these veils: All my heart subdues itself before Thee, since it all before Thee faints and fails."

Have a blessed day, and remember to take time to visit Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament!

Peace and Love, through Jesus Christ, our Eucharistic Lord,

Fr. Diehm