Adoration

“ O Thou Who art the Delight of our hearts and the Object of our adoration! Were the clouds of Thy decree to rain down upon us the darts of affliction, we would, in our love for Thee, refuse to be impatient. We would yield Thee praise and thanksgiving, for we have recognized and are persuaded that Thou hast ordained only that which will be best for us. If our bodies be, at times, weighed down by our troubles, yet our souls rejoice with exceeding gladness. We swear by Thy might, O Thou Who art the Desire of our hearts and the Exultation of our souls! ”

“ How pleased was the heavenly Father at this new sight; "When He introduceth the first-begotten into the world, He saith: And let all the angels of God adore Him." (Heb. i. 6.) Imagine you see the angels of heaven falling prostrate in adoration, saying, "Holy, holy, holy. Lord God of sabaoth, the heavens and the earth are full of the majesty of Thy glory." Rejoice, and adore your new-born Saviour. ”

“ Adoration.—When we speak of adoration, let it not be for one moment supposed that we refer to the adoration of the Lord Jesus, as now seated at the right hand of God, for with the whole heart, and the most profound reverence, we would fall at His feet, and say, in the language of our Communion Service, ‘Thou only art Holy, Thou only art the Lord; Thou only, O Christ, art most high in the glory of God the Father.’ The adoration against which we protest is the adoration of the Lord Jesus Christ as supposed to be localised in the consecrated elements of bread and wine. ”

“ Every word he utters, every glance, every motion, is directed to fill him with awe, with reverence, to express a demand, an act of homage, of gratitude or of invocation; and when the sacred words are pronounced, and he stands before the incarnate God truly present, though not visible to corporal eyes, with profound inclination he expresses his adoration, while the victim is raised up, that all present may, like him, kneel down and adore. ”

“ To exclude adoration, to say that adoration does not, or should not, form any part of worship, seems alike contrary to the very meaning of the word 'worship' and to be at variance with a large and important body of the facts recorded in the history of religion. ”

“ It shines with such unspeakable loveliness, so rich in blessing and so refined in ecstasy, that men gaze with more than admiration, even with sentiments bordering on that adoration which the Middle Ages felt for the mother of our Lord, and which they also bestowed upon departed saints. ”

“ The objective group of feelings is complementary to this, and is centred on the goodness, beauty, and perfection of that Infinite Reality towards which the soul is stretching itself. Its dominant notes are adoration and love. Of these two fundamental emotions—humility and love—the 111first lies at the back of all prayer of confession and petition, and is a necessary check upon the arrogant tendencies of the will. The second is the energizing cause of all adoration: adoration, the highest exercise of the spirit of man. ”

“ Since those days men have lost the power of portraying the passion of adoration in the countenance. Either in venerable age or beautiful youth, what specimens there are in the first painters of great and good beings absorbed by grateful, joyful worship of the greatest and best of all. ”

“ Why should we with meditations and adorations worship Destiny, which is not cognizable to the worshippers, neglecting our parents, who are ever present to our senses? In the worship of the parents are fulfilled the triple object of religious pursuit, and the adoration of the three regions; there is nothing equal to it, conducing to purity; so do I, O thou of excellent look, resort to it. ”

“ Withhold not from us that which Thou didst ordain for Thy loved ones, who, as soon as Thy call reached them, hastened unto Thee, and when the splendors of the light of Thy countenance were shed upon them, instantly prostrated themselves in adoration before Thy face. ”

“ Shall we not rather think of this adoration of God and the Lamb as the adoration of the one God of heaven and earth in His two phases of Being and Coming-forth? That only one being or person is referred to is shown by what immediately follows, where it is said, "And the four beasts," also representatives or symbols, "said, Amen. ”

“ Nevertheless you should know that anything which may take possession of one's soul shares its sublimity with all other things, and is for this reason at the same time something ordinary. Without such a dialectic clarification of our consciousness all adoration is idol worship. ”

“ I see him that clothes this body with his creatures, or else it would wither, and clothes this soul with his righteousness, or else it would perish, hang naked upon the cross; ... when I conceit, when I contemplate my Saviour thus, I love the Lord, and there is reverent adoration in that love, I love Christ, and there is a mysterious adoration in that love, but I love Jesus, and there is a tender compassion in that love.... ”

“ Though veneration and adoration be distinguished in holy things to show that adoration given to them is idolatry, but veneration given to them is not idolatry, yet in profane things, such as images are, veneration given to them is idolatry, as well as adoration; and we are idolaters for doing so much as to respect and reverence them as things sacred or holy ”

“ The unity of adoration depends on the unity of its object. There is but one God to whom belong the various divine attributes, and the three Divine Persons share the same majesty. Hence, there is but one adoration. ”

“ It is not the church we want, but the sacrifice; not the emotion of admiration, but the act of adoration: not the gift, but the giving.2 And see how much more charity the full understanding of this might admit, among classes of men of naturally opposite feelings; ”

“ Worship is, or should be, adoration of and yearning after the highest conceivable good. Such an attitude must necessarily lead to imitation, and be crowned by resemblance. Love makes like, and they who worship God are bound to, and certainly will, in proportion to the ardour and sincerity of their devotion, grow like Him whom they adore. So I desire to look with you at the instances of this resemblance or parallelism which the Psalmist emphasises.
I. The first of them is that in the clauses which I have read as our starting-point, viz. God and the godly are alike in enduring righteousness. ”

“ Adoration differs from other acts of worship, such as supplication, confession of sin, etc., inasmuch as it formally consists in self-abasement before the Infinite, and in devout recognition of His transcendent excellence. An admirable example of adoration is given in the Apocalypse. ”

“ Adoration, in the strict sense, an act of religion offered to God in acknowledgment of His supreme perfection and dominion, and of the creature's dependence upon Him; in a looser sense, the reverence shown to any person or object possessing, inherently or by association, a sacred character or a high degree of moral excellence. The rational creature, looking up to God, whom reason and revelation show to be infinitely perfect, cannot in right and justice maintain an attitude of indifference. ”

“ Learn they will not, for they have forgotten how to pray: prayer they are unused to, for the highest act of adoration the Church can offer, is only regarded by them as an opportunity for the gratification of their appetites. ”

“ This adoration was accompanied with an entire oblation of themselves and all their possessions, united with sincere expressions of gratitude, as well for their own particular favor as for the general benefits resulting from His incarnation, and the vocation of the Gentiles. To these they added the most ardent affections of love and desire, that all the world might know and serve their new-born King. Observe what admirable effects a lively faith produces in the soul; and learn with what affections you ought to approach the same Lord in the Eucharist. ”

“ The end that we should propose to ourselves in this Meditation, and which should be its fruit, is to have a most lively feeling of the extreme ingratitude of men, the greater part of whom are insensible to the evident marks of this ardent love, in order to repair, by a return of love, by our adorations, and by every kind of homage, all the insults that the adorable Heart of Jesus Christ has received, until now, in the most Blessed Sacrament. ”

“ You are quite affectionate, and demand a good deal of this devotion in return from the object of your adoration. You probably have symbolic dreams, which you should take some pains to have interpreted by an expert. ”

“ If we gather up the lessons we have found in the Word from Paradise downward, we see that the elements of holiness in us are these, each corresponding to some special aspect of God’s holiness: deep Restfulness (ch. 3) , humble Reverence (ch. 4) , entire Surrender (ch. 5) , joyful Adoration (ch. 6) , simple Obedience (ch. 7) . These all prepare for the Divine Indwelling (ch. ”

“ So we have to prepare ourselves by sedulous purity if there is to be any life or power in our devotions. But I pass from that, and ask you to think of the lovely picture of true devoutness given in that inflamed incense, wreathing in coils of fragrance up to the heavens. Prayer is more than petition. It is the going up of the whole soul towards God. Brother! do you know anything of that instinctive and spontaneous rising up of desire and aspiration and faith and love, up and up and up, until they reach Him? ”

“ By all those sorrows, joys, passions, compassions, and whatsoever else is dear to thee in heaven and on earth, take pity on me, O compassionate Redeemer! hear my prayers, and grant me that for which I now most humbly and heartily petition thee. [Mention here the thing you desire, or reflect mentally upon it.] Give me, O gracious Saviour, speedily to experience thy divine succour and comfort, who, according to the accustomed sweetness of thy tender heart, art wont to grant the requests of those who fear and love thee, even to their soul's desire and satisfaction ”

“ Blessed, we say, for Heaven has said it, blessed are they whose ministry of love is in that unquiet inner world; whose sympathies intertwine themselves with its strained, snapped fibres and ligaments; whose hand gently withdraws the barbed arrows of outrageous fortune, and into the ragged wound pours the oil of consolation and the balm of joy! Select, sacred, and heaven-ordained and anointed priests and priestesses they, of a God of love in a world of sorrow. ”

“ With the greatest devotion and burning love, with all the affection and fervour of my heart, I desire to receive thee, O Lord; as many saints and devout persons, who were most pleasing to thee in holiness of life, and most fervent in devotion, have desired thee when they have communicated. ”

“ The truth is, that these prayers and chants are offered up not for God's sake, but for ours. They are a relief to the heart surcharged with religious emotion, the outcome of the vehement impulse of the soul towards communion with the Life of its life. Speaking reverently, prayer and praise are like a lover's protestations, which are not an act of adulation at the shrine of his mistress, but an irresistible unburdening of the greatness of the emotion that fills his heart. But no lover could speak from his soul in a public place, in the sight or hearing of other men. ”

“ May the Lord direct me by his counsel and wisdom! May he overshadow me with his presence, that I may sit beneath the banner of his love, and find the consolations of his blessed Spirit sweet and refreshing to my soul.
“When I feel that I am nothing, and God is all in all, then I can willingly fly to him, saying, ‘Lord, help me; Lord, teach me; be unto me my prophet, priest, and king. Let me know the teaching of thy grace, and the disclosing of thy love.’ What nearness of access might we have, if we lived more near to God! What sweet communion might we have with a God of love! ”

“ Confining ourselves to Our Lord, and keeping in mind that true devotion in its full and perfect meaning supposes love for and imitation of the person to whom we are devoted, we may securely say that the Passion and the Blessed Sacrament are the subjects best suited to create, increase inflame our hearts, first with love, and then with a real desire of imitation. Both are the clearest and strongest proofs of the love of His Sacred Heart for man, and therefore the best to excite love for Him in the heart of man. ”

“ To raise even once the eyes to heaven, with inward affection of heart, is an ardent prayer in itself, and most tenderly touches my heart. For prayers such as these should originate in affection, in sorrow for sins, in hatred of this world’s vanity, in weariness of the present, and longing for the life to come, in thanksgiving for my many favours, in admiration of the wonderful works of God, in confidence in God, and in zeal for his honour ”

“ O my God, trusting in Thy promises and relying on Thy infinite power and goodness, I hope to obtain pardon for my sins, the assistance of Thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
Act of Charity
O my God, I love Thee with my whole heart and above all things, because Thou art the Supreme Good and worthy of all our love. I am sorry for having displeased Thy infinite goodness by my sins. I desire to do Thy holy will and to love Thee more and more. For the love of Thee I will love my neighbor as myself. ”

“ Only one thing: Love. If I love, I can do it. "Walk in love as Christ also hath loved us and given Himself an oblation for us."
O my little Jesus, hidden there for me and offering Thyself for me, teach me to be generous, teach me to love Thee as Thou deservest; help me to lie quietly and unresistingly on the altar. I am not alone. Thou art there, bearing all with me and giving me the necessary strength to bear all for Thee. Help me to sacrifice willingly all my cherished desires and tastes, all my will. ”