REV FR TIMOTHY ETSENAMHE
The veneration of the Eucharist which is done outside the Holy Mass is a continuation of the Mass. At the same time, it is the best preparation for the Eucharistic celebration. It is a big help towards the spiritual life of the person. It takes you close to Jesus, just like his beloved disciple who leaned on Jesus’ chest, to feel his infinite love for him. It is really a blissful thing. It makes you have a longer contact with the source of all grace.
Below are the fifteen reasons, why you should spend a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament. I have categorized these reasons under two headings- Magisterium and Biblical Reasons.
MAGISTERIUM REASONS
You are greatly in need of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament! ‘’The church and the world have a great need of Eucharistic adoration.’’ Pope John II, Dominicae Cenae.
There is a personal invitation to you from Jesus. ‘’Jesus waits for us in this sacrament of love.’’ Pope John Paul II, Dominicae Cenae.
Your hour with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament will repel evils in the world and bring about peace on earth. ‘’Let us be generous with our time in going to meet Jesus and be ready to make reparation for the great evils of the world. Let your adoration never cease.’’ Pope John Paul II, Dominicae Cenae.
Jesus wants you to do more than to go to Mass on Sunday. ‘’Our communal worship at Mass must go together with our personal worship of Jesus in the Eucharistic adoration in order that our love may be complete.’’ Pope Joh Paul II, Redemptor Hominis.
You grow spiritually with each moment you spend with Jesus. ‘’Our essential commitment in life is to preserve and advance constantly in Eucharistic life and Eucharistic piety and grow spiritually in the climate of the Eucharist.’’ Pope John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis.
The best time you spend on earth is with Jesus, your best friend, in the Blessed Sacrament.
‘’How great is the value of the conversation with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, for there is nothing more consoling on earth, nothing more efficacious for advancing along the road of holiness.’’ Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei.
We receive divine rays in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. ‘’Just as you cannot be exposed to the sun without receiving it rays, neither can you come to Jesus exposed in the Blessed Sacrament without receiving divine rays of his grace, his love , his peace.’’ Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei.
BIBLICAL REASONS
He is really there in the Blessed Sacrament. ‘’I myself am the living bread come down from heaven.’’ John 6:33.
Day and night Jesus dwells in the Blessed Sacrament because of his infinite love for you. ‘’Behold I will be with you always even to the end of the world.’’ ‘’Because I have loved you with an everlasting love, and constant is my affection for you.’’ Matt 28:20. Jer.31:3.
The specific way that Jesus asks you to love him in return is to spend one quiet hour with him in the Blessed Sacrament. ‘’where your treasure is, there is your heart.’’ Could you not watch one hour with me?’’ Matt.6:21. Matt.26:40.
Each hour you spend with Jesus will deepen his divine peace in your heart. ‘’Come to me all of you who are weary and find life burdensome and I will refresh you…’’ ‘’Cast all your anxieties upon the one who cares for you…’’ ‘’My peace is my gift to you.’’ Matt.11:28. Pet.5:7. Joh.14:17.
Jesus will give you all the graces you need to be happy. ‘’The lamb on the throne will shepherd them. He will lead them to the springs of life giving waters.’’ Rev.7:17.
Each moment you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament brings joy, pleasure, and delight to his heart. ‘’My joy, my pleasure, my delight is to be with you.’’ Proverbs 8:31
Jesus will bless you, your family and the whole world for this hour of faith you spend with him in the Blessed Sacrament. ‘’Blessed are they who do not see and yet believe.’’ ‘’Faith can move mountains…’’ ‘’What is needed is trust.’’ ‘’Behold I come to make all things new.’’ John 20:29; Mrk. 11:23; Mrk. 5:36; Rev.21:5.
For peace and prosperity in our country. ‘’When my people humble themselves and seek my presence… I will revive their land.’’ 2 Chronicles 7:14.
CONCLUSION
Our church is a Eucharistic Church. We are a Eucharistic people. Let us cherish the age long tradition of visiting the Blessed Sacrament. As we anticipate the solemn ceremonies of the Maundy Thursday, let avail ourselves the opportunity of spending half hour (CBCN recommendation this year) with the Lord in the garden of Gethsemane, the last aspect of the ‘Mass of the Last Supper.’ Jesus Himself invites us to this garden: ‘’stay here and pray with me,’’ Mathew 26:36. Let us make effort to visit this garden putting Nigeria in prayers. Our country is in need of intervention in the face of economic downturn and unprecedented rise in acts of banditry that have made Nigeria unsafe to freely live in. We have become like sheep without a shepherd. Let us turn to God who is our refuge and strength, an ever- present help in trouble via the Blessed Sacrament.
