On that holy night of the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Face of God, hidden from all ages, is revealed for the first time to Our Blessed Mother. Consider the joy of the Blessed Virgin Mary as She beholds Her Beloved Son’s Holy Face. Consider Her love and adoration. The Holy Face of the Divine Infant Jesus is truly present before the eyes of faith in the Most Blessed Sacrament. The Blessed Sacrament is Jesus—Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. His Divine Infancy is not a historical event which took place some 2,000 years ago, since what happens to God, and Jesus is God, remains present for all eternity because God is the eternal present. His acts are theandric—they are acts of God, thus they remain eternally present in Him and He in them. The mysteries of His life remain eternally present in Him and He in them. In the Blessed Sacrament Jesus is present in His Divine Infancy as in the manger; in His teenage years at Nazareth; in His Passion, Death and Resurrection—in all the Mysteries of His life.
Come adore this wondrous presence
Bow to God the source of grace
Here is kept the ancient promise
Of God’s earthly dwelling place
Sight is blind before God’s glory
Faith alone may see His Face…
This is a verse of the “Pange Lingua” hymn by St. Thomas Aquinas. Come adore His wondrous presence, as the shepherds did on that Holy Christmas night after the angel announced to them the good news, the glad tidings, that a Savior is born to them. “And the angel said to them, ‘Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you; you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!’” (Luke 2:10-14) The shepherds went to Bethlehem “with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:16) The shepherds foreshadow the priests of the New Covenant. It was to the shepherds first of all that the good news was given by the angel. They went and saw, and then made known to others what had been told to them concerning Jesus the Savior.
Priests of the Lord, be the first to come and adore Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the altar and then bring to Him the souls entrusted to your care—your flocks—to adore.
Come to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament as to Bethlehem, to the manger. Jesus is there in His Divine Infancy with Mary and Joseph, and the holy angels and saints. As St. Teresa of Avila the great doctor of the Church said: “where the king is, there is his court; in sum wherever God is there is Heaven. Without a doubt you can believe that where His Majesty is present, all glory is present.” Let us bow down before Our Lord and Savior, before God in adoration. The holy angels can help us to adore, they who adore Him on earth as they do in Heaven. Let us ask St. Joseph to help us to adore, He whose gaze was ever fixed on Jesus and Mary. Our Blessed Mother can help us to adore, She Who is the adorer par excellence as the Mother of God, the Queen of the Angels and Saints. Let us ask Her to impart to us Her love, reverence and wonder.
Jesus is all-holy; He is God, and therefore we bow down in reverence before Him, as the Magi did. A Benedictine monk recently quoted these words of Mother Mectilde de Bar: “Oh! If we could see the posture of the angels and the saints before the adorable Eucharist, we would not be so bold as to enter [churches] without fear, without respect, and without amazement. It is here that we lack faith.” Indeed, we must have great reverence before the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist. If we have interior reverence, it will be reflected exteriorly in our posture, in our silence.
One aspect of adoration is friendship with God. Yes, Jesus is the all-holy God, but He is also our Friend. One might say how can I be a friend of God; I am not worthy, a mere sinner. Jesus says to the author of the book “In Sinu Jesu” that holiness is not the pre-requisite for friendship with Him, but its fruit. Come to Jesus, then in the Most Blessed Sacrament and speak to Him as to the best of friends, face to Face. He is the Friend Who can never disappoint or betray us, for He is God. Tell Him everything you would tell a best friend, and more. Jesus knows what is in your heart of course but He wants you to use the free will He gave you, and which He respects, to share everything with Him. Your joys, sorrows, troubles and cares, problems, your hopes and desires…tell Him everything. Ask Him anything you like. To the author of “In Sinu Jesu” Jesus says that a conversation involves questions and answers. He will answer you in your own way, and you will rejoice. The more you visit and talk to Him, the more you will know Him, love Him and trust Him. Jesus wants to be our best Friend, but may we always keep in mind that He is God and and speak to Him lovingly but reverently. St. Faustina had a very close union with Jesus and she spoke to Him face to Face, but her spiritual director cautioned her to speak to Him with reverence because the Lord is very great.
God knows that as human beings we need images and He gave us an image of Himself, and so an image of Him in the Blessed Sacrament, in the Divine Mercy Image. Appearing to Saint Faustina, Jesus told her to paint an image of what she sees, of Him as He appeared to her. The Image was ultimately painted by an artist under Faustina’s guidance. Privately she wept over the Image since it does not reflect Jesus’ beauty, but Our Lord told Her what matters is His grace acting through this image. By His grace acting powerfully through it, we come to know Him, love Him and trust Him. Take a small copy of the Divine Mercy Image with you when you go to visit the Blessed Sacrament. The rays of His mercy which you see in the Image before You, emanate from His Heart truly present within Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament, from His Sacred, Merciful, Eucharistic Heart. You are bathed in these rays of His mercy. St. Faustina says in her Diary in paragraph #420: “Toward the end of the service, when the priest took the Blessed Sacrament to bless the people, I saw the Lord Jesus as He is represented in the image. The Lord gave His blessing, and the rays extended over the whole world.” Let the rays of His mercy enfold you. Receive His mercy for yourself, and for those who reject it. This consoles Jesus very much since He longs to pour out His mercy upon souls.
There may come a time in adoration when conversation ceases and there is only a loving silence between two friends who love each other and rest in that love. It is enough for them to simply be with each other, much as a lover simply gazes at the beloved, and that suffices.
In every Roman Catholic Church, the Blessed Sacrament is present in the tabernacle, God’s little “house” within the great house the church. There Jesus waits for you night and day, longing for your company for He loves you with an infinite love. God is love. Consider how adorable the Divine Infant is…adorable is a pale word indeed. Come to adore Him at the tabernacle where He is present as on His throne in Heaven. Come to adore Him as in the manger at Bethlehem. As one priest said, Bethlehem is wherever the Blessed Sacrament is present—at the Mass and at the tabernacle.
Let us ask Our Blessed Mother to impart to us some of the love, joy and wonder in Her Heart on that holy night of Our Lord’s birth as She gazed upon His Holy Face, hidden from all ages and now revealed for the first time. Let us ask Her to help us to adore Him and with a measure of Her reverence, since Her Son is God.
Come adore this wondrous presence
Bow to God the source of grace
Here is kept the ancient promise
Of God’s earthly dwelling place
Sight is blind before God’s glory
Faith alone may see His Face…
Photo by Walter Chávez on Unsplash
