ACTS OF ADORATION +

0 most adorable Jesus, dwelling in the tabernacle! prostrate before the throne of Thy veiled majesty, I, Thy unworthy servant, beseech Thee to receive my profound adoration. I firmly believe that Thou art really present in the Holy Eucharist, as powerful, as amiable, and as adorable as Thou art in heaven.

With the angels of heaven I adore Thee. Thou hast mercifully hidden the splendor of Thy majesty, lest it should deter us from approaching Thy sanctuary; I believe that Thou dwellest on our altars not only to receive our adoration, but to listen to our petitions, to remedy our evils, to be the strength and nourishment of our souls, our powerful Helper, our Refuge, and our Sacrifice.

I hope in that boundless mercy which detains Thee a Prisoner of love in the tabernacle. I love that infinite goodness which induced Thee to institute this Holy Sacrament of the Altar, in which Thou dost communicate Thyself so liberally and so wonderfully to Thy creatures.

I thank Thee for so convincing a proof of Thy love and ardently wish that I could worthily acknowledge all the blessings I have ever received from this fountain of grace and mercy.

I sincerely regret that this precious pledge of Thy love is received by many Christians with so much coldness and indifference. I wish to make amends for my own ingratitude and for all those sinful acts of my life, by which 1 have wounded Thy loving sacred heart.

I adore Thee, 0 my God, present in the Holy Eucharist, as my Creator, my Preserver, and my Redeemer. I recognize Thee as my only Master; I offer Thee all that I have, all that I am, all that depends on me; I offer Thee my mind to think of Thee, my will to serve Thee, my body to labor and to suffer for Thy love.

I am Thine; I give myself to Thee; I consecrate myself to Thee; I abandon myself to Thee; I wish to live and to die for love of Thee.

Amen

ACTS OF THANKSGIVING +

We adore Thee, Christ, and we bless Thee.
Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

I adore Thee, eternal Father, and I give Thee thanks for the infinite love with which Thou didst deign to send Thy only-begotten Son to redeem me. and to become the food of my soul.

I offer Thee all the acts of adoration and thanksgiving that are offered to Thee by the angels and saints in heaven, and by the just on earth.

I praise, love, and thank Thee with all the praise, love, and thanksgiving that are offered to Thee by Thine own Son in the Blessed Sacrament; and I beg Thee to grant that He may be known, loved, honored, praised, and worthily received by all, in this Most Divine Sacrament.

I adore Thee, eternal Son, and I thank Thee for the infinite love which caused Thee to become man for me, to be born in a stable, to live in poverty, to suffer hunger, thirst, heat, cold, fatigue, hardships, contempt, persecutions, the scourging, the crowing with thorns, and a cruel death upon the hard wood of the cross.

I thank Thee, with the Church militant and triumphant, for the infinite love with which Thou didst institute the Most Blessed Sacrament to be the food of my soul. I adore Thee in all the consecrated hosts throughout the whole world, and I return thanks for those who know Thee not, and who do not thank Thee.

Would that I were able to give my life to make Thee known, loved, and honored by all in this sacrament of love, and to prevent the irreverence and sacrileges that are committed against Thee!

I love Thee, divine Jesus and I desire to receive Thee with all the purity, love, and affection of Thy blessed Mother, and with the love and affection of Thy own most pure heart. Grant, 0 most amiable Spouse of my soul! in coming to me in this Most Holy Sacrament, that I may receive all the graces and blessings which Thou dost come to bestow on us, and let me rather die than receive Thee unworthily.

I adore Thee, eternal Holy Ghost, and I give Thee thanks for the infinite love with which Thou didst work the ineffable mystery of the Incarnation, and for the infinite love with which Thou didst form the sacred body of Our Lord Jesus Christ out of the most pure blood of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to become in this sacrament the food of my soul. I beg Thee to enlighten my mind, and to purify my heart and the hearts of all men, that all may know the benefit of Thy love, and receive worthily this Most Blessed Sacrament.
Amen

ACTS OF REPARATION +

Most adorable Saviour, by the most wonderful prodigy of Thy love for us, Thou dost shut Thyself up in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, in order to be the perpetual Sacrifice of the New Law, the innocent Victim of our sins, the celestial Food of our souls, our kind Physician, our good Master, our powerful Mediator, and our loving Father.

But, alas! with what ingratitude on our part Thine infinite kindness is repaid. Prostrate before Thine altar, where Thou art as really present as in the highest heavens, we come to make reparation for all the injuries and for all the ingratitude inflicted on Thy loving heart in this sacrament.

0 divine Jesus, grant us to make a fitting reparation for all blasphemies, for all profanations, and all sacrileges ever committed; for the want of devotion and neglect of preparation for holy communion, for the little fruit we have drawn from it.

Pardon, 0 Lord, pardon for so many Christians who know Thee not, and who offend. Thee; for so many heretics who insult Thee; for so many impious men and apostates who persecute Thee. By the fervor of our love, we would wish to make amends to Thee for all their contempt, and for all their sacrileges.

How happy should we be, 0 Jesus, could we but make reparation to Thy glory, by our respect, by our zeal, aye, even, by the shedding of our blood. At least, most adorable Saviour, grant us the grace to love Thee in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, with the most tender, the most generous, the most perfect, the most constant love.

Virgin most holy, by thy holy and immaculate heart, make, us enter into the adorable heart of thy divine Son, Jesus Christ.

0 sweet St. Joseph! obtain for me the gift of prayer and of perpetual union with Jesus and Mary.

Amen.

ACTS OF PETITION +

0 my God, how shall I contain my astonishment when I meditate on what Thou hast done for me in this sacrament. Thou, my Redeemer, Christ Jesus, art content to descend from heaven, to place Thyself within the consecrated Host, and to dwell within the tabernacle day and night, solely to exercise Thy love towards me, and to communicate to me the abundance of Thy graces.

Oh, what bounty, what mercy! There appears to me, that in the Divine Sacrament, wherein dwells the Author and Giver of all good, I behold the King of glory, Who, with gentle courtesy, calls me, and invites me, and expects me, that I may go to receive His graces, and be consoled.

Courage, then, my soul; come, let us beg for blessings, and not be weary, but be confident that we shall receive them. “Let us go, therefore, with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid” (Heb. ii. 10).

If I look into my own heart, to discover its needs, that they may be supplied, I find that I am in want of all; for all fails me, and I have no sound virtue, for vice alone predominates in me. My wants are without end, and Thou, my God, discerns them far more clearly than I can do.

I am blind, and without light, and this is the first grace I implore from Thee: “Lord, that I may see” (Luke xviii. 41). Illuminate me, 0 true Eternal Light, Who didst come into the world to enlighten every man; make me to see and to know my vileness, my poverty, my extreme misery, that knowing myself, I may learn humility. Want of humility is the great cause of my evil; I esteem myself too highly, and aspire to be highly esteemed by others; and hence I fall, and fall at every little occasion, without ever amending my faults. All my sins are the effects, the punishment of my pride.

Oh, if I were but humble of heart, as I am under obligation to be! 0 my Jesus, Thou Who hast so abased Thyself in the Blessed Sacrament, almost to nothing, and dwells there, hiding within the sacred Host all Thy glorious gifts, I ask of Thee a true and holy humility, for without this I have neither capacity nor disposition to receive any of Thy graces, and this alone can fit me for them. I know not even what humility is, but I well know that I greatly need it. I ask it of Thee by that stupendous humility which brings Thee to dwell within the Blessed Sacrament. 0 God of all greatness, and of all humility, humble my pride, and give me a humble and contrite heart.

With the grace of humility I also ask of Thee ever to increase in me the graces of faith, hope, and charity. These virtues are of necessity for my salvation, and yet how negligently does my heart make acts of them! How often do I allow a long time to pass without making so much as one act of faith, of hope, or of charity!

0 my Lord Jesus Christ! Who, in the Blessed Sacrament, hast deigned to leave us a mystery of faith, a pledge of hope, a bond of love, give me grace to acquire the good habit of frequently practicing these virtues during my life, that they may avail me in the hour of my death. Make me worthy to live and die in Thy faith, with the firm hope of living and dying in Thy love.

Give me, 0 Lord Jesus! an increase of faith, hope, and charity. But, besides all this, 0 my God! I beseech Thee to give me grace to live in holy charity with all my neighbors. Thou hast commanded me to love them, but I am neglectful in observing this law; some among them I love from inclination, some from interest, and scarcely any purely for Thy love. I love him who treats me kindly, but I do not love him who offends me. Sometimes I intend to love all men, but I have too much reason to fear that in truth I do not love them with that Christian charity which is my duty.

But Thou, in the institution of the Blessed Sacrament, Thou hast left me a model, an example of charity; grant that by Thy grace I may holily imitate Thee. I resolve now to love all men sincerely and cordially for Thy sake, and particularly those who in any way have offended or injured me. All that I most desire for myself, I pray Thee to bestow on them, and to unite this my petition with Thine own prayer upon the cross, when Thou didst intercede for Thy enemies.

Grant, dear Lord, that I may ever live in charity with all, that I may so live as never by any act of mine to break the bond of charity; that I may ever love my neighbor as Thou dost love me. Above all, I humbly beg of Thee the grace to live, in all and through all, resigned to Thy all-holy will.

I accept whatever Thy divine providence shall appoint in my life and in my death; may Thy will in all things alone be done, not mine, 0 Lord! I desire all that Thou wills, and because Thou wills it; and in all circumstances I unite my will with Thine. Therefore, 0 my dear Redeemer, to Thine I now and forever unite my will to that adorable will which in the garden Thou didst, in perfect submission, offer to Thy eternal Father; and I beseech Thee ever so to retain my will in unison with Thine, that nothing shall again disjoin them.

Thou Thyself hast taught me to say, in the Pater Noster, "Thy will be done’ and daily I repeat it, but too often I say the words only with my lips; now at least my heart pronounces them for all time, and in all possible occurrences—“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Today, and in all the days of my life, may Thy most holy will be done in me, for me, by me. Teach me to know what pleases Thee, and give me grace to follow it. Grant me, 0 Lord, to discern, to will, to do, that which pleases Thee, as it pleases Thee, and because it pleases Thee.
Amen.

PRELUDE
I. "The Holy Ghost, "Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind whatsoever I shall have said to you" (John xiv. 26).

II. The Adorable Sacrament of the Altar is part of the greatest work of the Holy Ghost.

III. Let us pray to the Holy Spirit most fervently at every visit, that we may increase in the knowledge and love of the Holy Eucharist.

CONSIDERATIONS.
It has been well said that the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is part of the greatest work of the Holy Ghost; not that the Incarnation of the Son of God is His greatest work and the Blessed Sacrament His next greatest: they are rather two parts of the greatest work that He has ever wrought. The sublime majesty of the altar is a continuation of the mystery, of which St. John writes: "The Word was made flesh." The Holy Ghost, Who overshadowed the Mother of God in Nazareth, overshadows the tabernacle of God from the rising to the setting of the sun.

The mystery enacted in the remote Galilean village is repeated, in a manner, daily in our churches. In place of the humble chamber of the Virgin Mary, there is an altar and a priest in the act of saying Mass. Five words fall from the lips of the priest—"For this is My Body" even as the words: "Let it be done to me according to your word." fell from the lips of Mary—and the Word made flesh dwells amongst men. These words of consecration by a creature bring our blessed Lord Jesus Christ down from heaven to dwell in the little round host lying upon the corporal, even as the words spoken by Mary in response to the Angel Gabriel’s salutation brought down the Son of God to take up His abode in her bosom.

In both mysteries the motive cause is similar—the operation of the Holy Ghost and the co-operation of the creature. "He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary". "How shall this be done?" asked Mary of the Angel, and he replied: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon, thee and, the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee" (Luke i. 34,35).

In like manner says St. John Damascene, "if you ask me how is the body of Jesus Christ produced upon the altar, I will reply that it is by the power of the Holy Ghost, Who, by His ineffable virtue, operates that which is beyond our understanding."

In the liturgy of St. James, first bishop of Jerusalem, we find the following invocation:  "May the Spirit of God, by His sweet and glorious presence, sanctify this bread and cause it to become the body of Jesus Christ." In our own liturgy equally, the celebrant invokes the Holy Ghost, saying after the Offertory: ‘Come, 0 Sanctifier, almighty, eternal God, and bless this sacrifice, prepared to Thy holy name."

Thus, at the solemn moment of consecration, the Holy Ghost descends upon the sanctuary in which the Mass is being celebrated and covers the chalice with His shadow, in like manner as He descended upon the little chamber at Nazareth, covering the humble Virgin with His shadow and, in an instant, without a sign, without a sound, without the slightest outward manifestation, the body of Our Lord Jesus Christ is produced upon the altar. Let us beseech the Holy Ghost—the divine Operator in this wondrous mystery—to be our guide in meditating thereon, to illuminate our understanding, and to enkindle that divine love in our souls which it is His special attribute to bestow.

Let us pray in our visits to Jesus in the tabernacle for the gifts of the Holy Ghost, which are: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and the Fear of God. Let us also make earnest supplication for the fruits of the Holy Ghost, enumerated by St. Paul in his Epistle tp the Galatians (v. 22, 23): Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Benignity, Goodness, Long-suffering, Mildness, Faith, Modesty, Continency. end Chastity.

These fruits, according to each one’s state, should be visible in the lives of the pious adorers of the Holy Eucharist if they wish to be true followers of Christ; for thereby it shall be known that the Holy Ghost dwells in them, just as a tree is known by its fruits.

0 Holy Ghost! let my life be hidden with Jesus in God. Give me grace to live for God only and to use creatures only in Him and for His glory. Let the beauty of God blind me to the beauty of the world, and let the light of God blind me to the light of the earth.

Thou, 0 my God, art brighter than all things and sweeter. Take away from my soul all the dross and purify it, giving it light and strength.

To Thee, 0 Holy Spirit of deathless love, I turn for help. Take from me all human respect, for wrong regard of creatures blights the soul, so that its fruits are withered. Help me to be more faithful to Jesus, my Love, Who dwells in the tabernacle and comes to me so sweetly and lovingly in holy communion. He is my life as Thou art my life and as the eternal Father is my life. May my soul be kept by Thee very bright for the coming of the Spouse.

0 Holy Ghost, I thank Thee for the Bread of Life which Jesus gives. It is His gift to me; it is Thy gift to me; it is a possession forever. I bless and praise Thee for the miracles which Thou daily workest in order that Jesus may be the food of His people.

In a hundred lands, in thousands of churches, in the heat of summer and in the winter cold, in the midst of the morning dew and when the sun is high, a pure sacrifice is offered to God, and a banquet of heaven is spread for all. Hungry and thirsty, our souls faint within us; but we cry to Thee, and Thou leadest us in a right way, a way that brings us to Thy storehouses and to the garners of Thy grace.

We kneel before the altar, and Thou dost satisfy the empty soul, and dost fill the hungry soul with good things. We wander in a wilderness, but Thy springs are always found in it. Jesus has redeemed us from the enemy. Thou art the Comforter Whom He sent. Thou dost gather us from all lands, from the rising and the setting sun, from the north and from the sea. Thy mercies, 0 Lord, give glory to Thee, and Thy wonderful works for the children of men ever show forth Thy praise.

Holy Spirit, divine Consoler! I adore Thee as my true God. I bless Thee by uniting myself to the praises Thou dost receive from the angels and the seraphs. I offer Thee my whole heart, and I render Thee heartfelt thanks for all the benefits that Thou hast bestowed and dost unceasingly bestow upon the world. Thou, Who art the Author of all supernatural gifts and Who didst enrich with immense favors the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, I beseech Thee to visit me by Thy grace and Thy love, and to grant me Thy seven-fold gift, in order that I may with constant love and perseverance walk in the way of my eternal salvation.

Our Lady of the Most Holy Sacrament, Mother and model of adorers, pray for us, who have recourse to thee.

St. Joseph, pray for us, that like thee, we may die in the arms of Jesus and Mary.


PRAYER TO THE HOLY GHOST
0 Holy Ghost, Thou Teacher and Sanctifier, Who givest light and strength to my soul, bless me that I may be more faithful to Jesus, my Savior and my God, Who is hidden in the Blessed Sacrament, and that I may love Him more and more. In the light of the tabernacle I ask of Thee, 0 Holy Spirit, to fill my heart with pure desire for Jesus, the Living Bread. Give me grace to adore Him with the zeal and humble ven­eration of the holy angels; grant that His will may be done on earth as it is in heaven, and that His will be done in my soul. Help me to thank Him for all His gifts, and, most of all, for Himself. By this Holy Sacrament He strengthens souls on earth, gives rest to souls in purgatory, and gladdens souls in heaven. He is the hidden manna, promised by Himself to all who overcome them­selves and love Him. May I taste the sweetness of Jesus! Set up more and more Thy kingdom in my soul, that I may keep my body under and bring it to subjection, lest I should be a castaway from Jesus and from Thee.

SPIRTUAL COMMUNION
0 Jesus, my Savior, Who art truly present in the Blessed Sacrament for the nourishment of our souls! since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally, I humbly and earnestly beseech Thee to re­fresh me spiritually. I love Thee above all things and I desire to possess Thee within my soul. Come into my mind to illumine it with the light of heaven; come into my heart to enkindle therein the fire of Thy love. Unite me so intimately with Thee, that it may be no more I that live, but Thou that livest and reigneth in me forever.



FRUIT OF THE VISIT.
I. Behold Christ seated in thy heart, as thy Teacher, Who doth teach thee the way of perfection, and doth instruct thee in all that thou should do or not do; regard thyself as another Magdalen, sitting at His feet, listening to His words, and learning from Him that one thing, which alone is necessary (St. Luke x. 39, 42).

II. Love Him with thy whole mind; so that thou may always cleave to Him by holy thoughts, and may always seek from Him for that purity and tranquility of mind by which thou mayest gain the reward of Heaven.

III. Ask Him for the spirit of "Knowledge and of all the Gifts of the Holy Ghost" that thou mayest know how to discern the true from the false, and may unwaveringly obey the dictates of faith.

Aspiration.
" Show, 0 Lord, Thy ways to me, and teach me Thy paths " (Ps. xxiv. 4).

EUCHARISTIC GEMS.
Garden of the Most Holy Sacrament
Of the wondrous body, O my tongue, be telling,
And the blood most precious of the Crucified,
Which to quench the dragon’s fiery fang came welling
For the world’s salvation from His holy side.

With the twelve He sate and gave a mystic token,
Teaching their true hearts with word and holy sign;
For His body, saith He, is the bread thus broken,
And His blood of healing fills the cup of wine.

In His sacred hands He took the bread and broke it,
Likewise took the cup, and sanctified the same;
Whoso shall presume unworthily to take it,
God shall of a surety bring that soul to shame.

Whosoever drinketh of the cup of blessing,
Whoso of this bread partaketh not in vain,
He shall bear true witness, worthily confessing
Christ's most holy Passion till He come again.

But the unbelieving eat and drink damnation,
For their hearts discern not Jesus Christ the Lord;
And they spurn His blood of reconciliation
Which from out the spear wound for our ransom poured

Lo! the Word Incarnate is the bread from heaven ;
Lo! the cup is filled with Jesus' blood indeed;
Precious is the food to faithful servants given,
They who feed upon Him Christ's commandments heed,

Christ herein sustains all the faithful-hearted,
Yet his body is not torn in any wise;
In the smallest morsel is the whole imparted,
God is truly present, veiled from mortal eyes.

And the hours shall find me still devoutly musing,
Lord, on Thy dear body’s awful mystery;
That Thy sacramental graces rightly using,
With a faith unchanging I may worship Thee.
                                                 An Ancient Humn.

Veni Creator Spiritus.
Come, Holy Ghost. Creator, come,
From Thy bright heavenly throne;
Come, take possession of our souls,
And make them all Thy own.

Thou Who art called the Paraclete,
Best gift of God above ;
The living spring, the living fire,
Sweet unction and true love.

Thou Who art sevenfold in Thy grace,
Finger of God's right hand ;
His promise, teaching little ones
To speak and understand.

Oh! guide our minds with Thy blest light,
With love our hearts inflame ;
And with Thy strength, which ne'er decays,
Confirm our mortal frame.

Far from us drive our hellish foe,
True peace unto us bring ;
And through all perils lead us safe,
Beneath Thy sacred wing.

Though Thee may we the Father know;
Through Thee thy eternal Son,
And Thee, the Spirit of them both :
Thrice blessed Three in One.

All glory to the Father be,
With His co-equal Son,
The like to Thee, great Paraclete,
While endless ages run.
                                     Amen.

Origin of the Church of the Holy Ghost at Slavings, in Moravia. 1280AD.
The "Bauern Feuerfest"
Near the frontier which lies between Lower Austria, Bohemia, and Moravia, is situated the town of Slavings, in Moravia. Some hundred paces outside this town, the traveler may see a venerable church dedicated to the Holy Ghost. It is very near a small monastery, which stands alone, under the shelter of a friendly hill, removed from the noise and bustle of the world.

Upon the very spot whereon the church now stands took place the following remarkable event, of which the story is to be found in the annals of the Moravian Church: Early in the year 1280, it came to pass that on a certain stormy night the parish church of Slavings was broken into by robbers, and the sacred vessel containing the Blessed Sacrament was carried away. The perpetrators of this sacrilege were never discovered, but great was the distress among the people on account of the dishonor done to the Most Holy.

Now it happened in the spring of the same year, as a cowherd was pasturing his cattle near the spot whereon the church now stands, and certain countrymen were laboring in a field hard by, that there appeared suddenly a flame of fire rising from a little heap of ones overgrown with bushes, whereupon the cattle which were grazing close at hand knelt down as if in reverence, and the cowherd, full of amazement, cried out to the nearest laborer, "Fire, neighbor—fire!"

Like Moses of old in the wilderness, these countrymen desired to examine more closely the cause of this supernatural fire, when, to their joyful astonishment, they beheld the stolen Host lying among the stones, enveloped in a heavenly light.

With all speed they hastened to the city, and brought out a priest, who most carefully gathered up the sacred particle in order that it should be conveyed back to the parish church, amidst the great company of rejoicing townsfolk which had assembled there. But when the procession arrived at the gate of the city, tradition affirms that the Most Holy Sacrament disappeared from the hand of the priest and returned to the spot where it had been found. This miraculous occurrence took place no less than three times, after which both priest and people, perceiving that Our Lord had chosen it for His dwelling place, resolved with one consent to build Him a church upon the spot, after which the priest was allowed to carry the sacred particle without further let or hindrance to the parish church.

The church thus built became an object of great veneration, and the shrine was richly indulgenced. In the year 1123 the heretical hands of the Hussites appeared before Slavings and wasted the surrounding country. The privileged chapel was razed to the ground, but the little heap of stones where the Blessed Sacrament had reposed remained undisturbed.