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. "How lovely are Thy tabernacles, 0 Lord of hosts; my soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord" (Ps. Ixxxiii. 2, 3). "I have loved, 0 lord, the beauty of Thy house and the place where Thy glory dwelleth" (Ps. xxv. 8).

II. These words of the Royal Psalmist might properly be placed in the mouth of every saint. The Blessed Sacrament was to the saints the life of their souls, the soul of their ministry, and the source of their sanctity.

III. How is it with us? Let the example of the saints open our eyes to the fact that it is little indeed we offer Our Lord in return for all the love Jesus and the Saints that He manifests for us in the Sacrament of the Altar.

CONSIDERATIONS.
Many beautiful and edifying examples are related by pious authors of the love of the saints for Jesus in the tabernacle and of their devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.

The Countess Feria, we read in the "Love of Jesus," was so enamored of the altar, that she obtained permission to live continually in the church.

St. Ignatius, that he might not even in sleep be separated from the object of his love, selected as his bed-chamber the one which was nearest to the church.

St. Francis Xavier frequently passed the night in the church and took his repose in the sacristy.

St John Francis Regis, when worn out with labor, would retire to the church and there he would find rest and refreshment in communion with Jesus, and when at times he found the church closed, he would remain at the door and pour forth his soul in love and adoration.

St. Casimir, King of Poland, deeming the spot where a church stood as holy ground, used to take off his shoes and go barefoot to adore the Blessed Sacrament.

St Francis, Duke of Gandia, would leave the pleasure of the chase to accompany the Viaticum to the sick and dying.

Ferdinand V. of Austria, Sebastian, King of Portugal, and Theodosius II, Duke of Braganza, would abandon the society of friends and the pleasures of the table to join the procession of the Blessed Sacrament; and Leopold, Duke of Austria, would leave his carriage or dismount from his horse, and, falling on his knees, would adore his Savior, as the procession of the Blessed Sacrament moved along; then rising, would bear a lighted taper in his hand, as a manifestation of respect and of the fame of love that glowed in his generous heart.

St. Wenceslas, Duke of Bohemia, although tired with the business of the day, would nevertheless spend whole nights before the tabernacle in supplication for his people. He was daily present at holy Mass, kneeling on the bare stone flags of the church. It was his great delight to dress the altar and to serve the priests. His devotion for the Blessed Sacrament was so great that he not only prepared the altar breads with his own hands, but set aside a special field, tilling it himself and sowing it with corn, which, after gathering in the harvest, he would himself grind, knead, and bake, and then humbly present these oblations to the priest. On the coldest winter nights he would arise from his bed in order to visit Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament; and so inflamed with divine love was his soul that it imparted heat to his very body. On one occasion, accompanied by a servant, the saint went barefoot to the church in the depth of winter. The ground was covered with frozen snow. The holy duke stepped forward bravely, the servant following, shivering with Jesus and the Saints cold, and bitterly complaining of the pain he suffered in his feet. His master lovingly consoled him, advising him to tread in the footprints he had himself had tracked in the snow; no sooner had the man followed this advice than lo! a pleasant warmth imparted itself to his feet and with all gladness he followed the saint on his holy errand.

Blessed Maurice, a Dominican, considered it a privilege to be allowed to beg from door to door for the oil to be used in the sanctuary lamps, and he met princes who thought themselves happy in being allowed to trim the lamps.

Blessed Margaret of Hungary, though a princess, rejoiced to be able to hold the communion cloth before those who were to receive the body of Our Lord, such was her profound respect and ardent love for the Blessed Sacrament. Blessed Victoria loved to spin with special care the linen for the corporals, and Blessed Cecilia delighted in washing the altar linens.

St. Aloysius of Gonzaga spent as much time as his superiors permitted him before the tabernacle and obedience alone could compel him to interrupt his sweet communion with Jesus.

St. Teresa, St. Gertrude, and St. Mechtilde are called the saints of the Blessed Sacrament on account of their great devotion to and rapturous adoration of the Holy Eucharist. To many saints the body of Our Lord received in holy communion was frequently, for many consecutive days and even weeks, almost their only nourishment, bodily as well as spiritual.

Now it is true that we cannot imitate the saints in many things that they have done, still we might easily do much more than we are doing as an expression of our love, gratitude, and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. If we cannot visit the church or hear Mass every day, could we not do this once or twice a week? Could we not read one of these "Visits " at home every day and make an act of spiritual communion, while we kneel and turn our face towards the nearest tabernacle wherein Jesus is present in the Holy Sacrament?

Could we not, whenever we are awakened during the night, make an act of love and union, while we reflect how Jesus sleeps not, but is watching with His loving heart in the tabernacle?

Could we not assist in the work for poor churches?

Could we not give generous alms to our parish priest and enter with zeal into all his schemes for the greater beauty and appropriate furnishing of the sanctuary?

Could we not make the Weekly or, at least, the Monthly Hour of Adoration?

Could we not receive holy communion once a week or at least once a month?

Could we not be present at Benediction more frequently? It is a pity and a shame that this beautiful and fruitful evening service of Benediction is utterly neglected by so many Catholic men and even women.

Could we not imitate the saints and saintly people, who, when passing a church, always stepped in for a moment of adoration, or at least showed Our Lord in the tabernacle some little act of reverence, either by lifting the hat or bowing the head?

Could we not live in constant union with Jesus in the tabernacle, causing Him to enter into all our thoughts, words, and actions?

Could we not say very often during the day: "Blessed and praised be the adorable Sacrament of the Altar!

Could we not be more recollected in church, and stop the bad habit of gazing about and nodding and smiling to friends and even gossiping with them?

Could we not make a decent genuflection, on passing the tabernacle, by bending the knee in profound and reverent adoration?

No matter how exalted your state or condition of life may be there was one person more exalted than the greatest queen on the face of the earth and she worked and toiled unceasingly for Our Lord and Savior during thirty years—our Blessed Lady, the virgin Mother of God; she passed her life and spent her days in acts of humblest service. Nor was she unconscious of her glory; for she herself foretold that "all generations " would call her "Blessed." But she also knew that although she was exalted above all the angels and saints, and her throne was next to that of Almighty God Himself, yet she was but a creature and her Son was God. And knowing this, she recognized that there can he no labor, no action, no service, however menial in the eyes of the world, which does not become an unspeakable honor for the creature when performed in the direct service of the Creator.

The example of Mary and the example of saintly kings and queens, as also of holy men and women in every state of life, should stimulate us to greater acts of love and more profound reverence for Jesus in the tabernacle.

0 glorious Queen of Heaven and Mother of God, Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament! teach us how to love and venerate daily, more and more, this Holy Sacrament, in which we possess our divine Lord, thy Son, even as thou didst possess him in thy peaceful home of Nazareth.

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 a Spouse most worthy of love; Who freely loved thee, when thou wast a wanderer on the face of the earth, poor and full of confusion; Who thinketh of thee, as His spouse joined by so many bands to Himself, and drawn by so many gifts to love Him greatly in return (Ezech. xvi. 5,1; Osee xiv. 5).

II. Love Him in the spirit of liberty; so that thou mayest not indulge thyself in body or soul, but that thy Spouse may rule thee, Who hath given thee His own soul and body and blood (1 Cor. vii, 4).

III. Ask Him for the spirit of "Wisdom;" that thou may be able to dwell on all that is most utterly near to God, viz.: His essence, His attributes, His processions, His decrees, that so thou may excite thyself to greater love.

EUCHARISTIC GEMS.
In your visits, sometimes invite the different choirs of saints to accompany thee to the feet of Jesus in the tabernacle.

1. O all ye holy patriarchs of the Old Law, obtain for me your lively faith, that I may believe more and more, even as you believed God’s promises.
"I do believe, Lord; help my unbelief."— Mark.ix. 23.

2. O all ye holy prophets, obtain for me your firm hope that as you lived in hope of a Redeemer to come, so my hope in God may daily grow and increase.
"In Thee, 0 Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded."—Ps. xxx. 2

3. O all ye holy apostles of the Lamb, obtain for me your ardent charity, that I may love my divine Lord for His own sake, and my neighbor as myself, for the love of Him.
"By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another."—John xiii. 35.

4. O all ye holy martyrs, obtain for me your fortitude, that I may endure patiently and willingly the sufferings of life in order to become more like my divine Master, crucified for me.
"If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me."—Matt. evi. 24.

5. O all ye holy bishops obtain for me your burning zeal that I may do all that lies in my power, at least by fervent prayer, to promote the salvation of souls.
"Pray ye tie Lord of the harvest; that He send forth laborers into His harvest."—Matt. ix. 38.

6. O all ye holy confessors, obtain for me your contempt of the world, that I may value only the things of eternity.
"Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world."—1 John ii. 15.

7. O all ye holy virgins, obtain for me your purity, that I may live all my days free from the slightest breath of sin.
"Flee from 'sin as from the face of a serpent."—Eccl. xxi. 2.

St. Philip Neri. A.D. 1595.
Holy Church affirms that the heart of this devout lover of the Blessed Sacrament was so enlarged by the action of divine love that its natural place was unable to contain it. That love also imparted a peculiar heat to his body, with which it appeared to glow. It not unfrequently happened during holy Hass that sparklets of fire appeared to be emitted from his countenance. This fact is thus mentioned in the Bull of his canonization: "That interior heat ofttimes overflowed upon his entire body, when he directed his attention to divine things, so that his face and eyes sent forth sparks of fire."

His love for the Most Holy Sacrament, and the fulness with which He realized the love of Jesus Christ in thus giving Himself to us, caused him to lead his penitents to frequent confession and communion, a practice which in his days had become very rare. It was not then the general custom for every priest to say holy Mass daily. His exhortations effected a complete reformation in Rome, and the number of the communions was wonderfully increased, while the Sacrament of Penance was once more raised to its proper place in the daily lives of the people.

Jesu Dulcedo Cordium.
Jesus, Thou Joy of living hearts,
Thou Fount of life, Thou Light of men 
From the best bliss that earth imparts,
We turn unfilled to Thee again.

Thy Truth unchanged hath ever stood;
Thou savest those that on Thee call 
To them that seek Thee Thou art good,
To them that find Thee, all in all!

We taste Thee, 0 Thou living Bread,
And long to feed upon Thee still;
We drink of Thee, the Fountain Head,
And thirst from Thee our souls to fill.

Our restless spirits yearn for Thee,
Where’er our changeful lot be cast;
Glad, when Thy gracious smile we see,
Blest, when our faith can hold Thee fast

O Jesus, ever with us stay!
Make all our moments calm and bright
Chase the dark night of sin away ;
Shed o’er the world Thy holy light,
                             —St. Bernard