Sacrmaents Section:

Eucharistic Adoration / The Eucharist Reserved in the Tabernacle

Also See: Holy Eucharist (Topic Page)

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"We should consider those moments spent before the Blessed Sacrament as the happiest of our lives." (St. John Vianney)

"[E]ucharistic worship constitutes the soul of all Christian life" (Pope John Paul II)

"The Blessed Sacrament is the first and supreme object of our worship." (St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier)

"Do you want our Lord to give you many graces? Visit Him often. Do you want Him to give you few graces? Visit Him seldom." (St. John Bosco)

"We beseech you to foster devotion to the Eucharist, which should be the focal point and goal of all other forms of devotion." (Pope Paul VI, 1965 A.D.)

"A thousand years of glory in palaces of men cannot be worth the sweetness of one hour spent before the tabernacle." (St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother)

"When tempted to despair, I have only one recourse: to throw myself at the foot of the Tabernacle like a little dog at the feet of his master." (St. John Vianney)

"Never forget that Jesus Christ is no less powerful, no less generous in the Blessed Sacrament than He was during His mortal life on earth." (St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier)

"Could one find a greater honor than to be allowed to make reparation to Jesus Christ for the outrages which he receives in the Sacrament of his love?" (St. John Vianney)

"There can be no danger of excess in our care for this mystery, for 'in this sacrament is recapitulated the whole mystery of our salvation'" (Pope John Paul II, 2003 A.D.)

"When our Lord sees pure souls coming eagerly to visit him in the Blessed Sacrament, he smiles upon them. They come with great simplicity which pleases him so much." (St. John Vianney)

"For it is quite true, and history is rich in bearing testimony to the fact, 'that an age is more or less glorious, according to its devotion towards the adorable Eucharist.'" (Liturgical Year)

"Of all devotions, that of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the greatest after the sacraments, the one dearest to God and the one most helpful to us" (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)

"Happier than those who lived during his mortal life, when he was only in one place, we find Jesus Christ today in every corner of the world, in the Blessed Sacrament." (St. John Vianney)

"To what outrages does our Lord expose himself in the Blessed Sacrament that he may remain in the midst of us! He is there to console us, and therefore we ought often to visit him." (St. John Vianney)

"When you visit Him, He forgets your sins and speaks only of His joy, His tenderness, and His Love. By the reception He gives to you, one would think He has need of you to make Him happy." (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

"What induced Jesus Christ to condescend to be present in our churches by day and night? It was that we might be able to come to Him whenever we wanted to. What an immense privilege we Christians enjoy." (St. John Vianney)

"Man has time for everything except for visits to his Lord and God, who is waiting and longing for him in His tabernacle. The streets and houses of amusements are filled with people. The house of God is deserted." (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

"The worship of the Eucharist outside of the Mass is of inestimable value for the life of the Church... This practice, repeatedly praised and recommended by the Magisterium, is supported by the example of many saints." (Pope John Paul II)

"Our love for the Blessed Sacrament should be carried to the highest degree; the highest degree of love and adoration is the silence which prays and pours itself out in adoration before the grandeur of a hidden God." (St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier)

"Can. 937 Unless there is a grave reason to the contrary, the church in which the Most Holy Eucharist is reserved is to be open to the faithful for at least some hours every day so that they can pray before the Most Blessed Sacrament." (1983 Code of Canon Law)

"Ah! How sweet and full of comfort are the moments spent before the Blessed Sacrament! Are you in any trouble? Come and throw yourself at his feet... Do people speak badly of you? Come to him and you will find a good friend who will never fail you." (St. John Vianney)

"If any one saith that it is not lawful for the sacred Eucharist to be reserved in the [Tabernacle], but that immediately after consecration it must necessarily be distributed amongst those present; or that it is not lawful that it be carried with honor to the sick; let him be anathema." (Council of Trent)

"In the course of the day the faithful should not omit visiting the Blessed Sacrament, which in accordance with liturgical law must be reserved in churches with great reverence in a prominent place. Such visits are a sign of gratitude, an expression of love and an acknowledgment of the Lord's presence" (Pope Paul VI, 1965 A.D.)

"If He came down on our altars on certain days only, some sinner, on being moved to repentance, might have to look for Him, and not finding Him, have to wait. Our Lord prefers to wait Himself for the sinner for years rather than keep him waiting one instant. How few reflect that Jesus loves them that much in the Most Blessed Sacrament." (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

"Can. 1273 Those to whom the religious instruction of the faithful falls shall omit nothing that would excite piety for the most holy Eucharist in their spirits and shall especially encourage them that, not only on [Sundays] and feasts of precept, but also on regular days during the week, they assist at the sacrifice of the Mass and visit the most Holy Sacrament frequently insofar as this is possible." (1917 Code of Canon Law)

"You also realize, Venerable Brothers, that the Eucharist is reserved in churches or oratories to serve as the spiritual center of a religious community or a parish community, indeed of the whole Church and the whole of mankind, since it contains, beneath the veil of the species, Christ the invisible Head of the Church, the Redeemer of the world, the center of all hearts, 'by whom all things are and by whom we exist.'" (Pope Paul VI, 1965 A.D.)

"If any one saith that in the holy sacrament of the Eucharist Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, is not to be adored with the worship, even external, of latria [the highest worship, given to God alone]; and is consequently neither to be venerated with a special festive solemnity nor to be solemnly borne about in processions, according to the laudable and universal rite and custom of holy Church; or is not to be proposed publicly to the people to be adored, and that the adorers thereof are idolaters; let him be anathema." (Council of Trent)

"Can. 934 §1 The blessed Eucharist: 1° must be reserved in the cathedral church or its equivalent, in every parish church, and in the church or oratory attached to the house of a religious institute or society of apostolic life 2° may be reserved in a Bishop's chapel and, by permission of the local Ordinary, in other churches, oratories and chapels. §2 In sacred places where the blessed Eucharist is reserved there must always be someone who is responsible for it, and as far as possible a priest is to celebrate Mass there at least twice a month." (1983 Code of Canon Law)

"The custom of reserving the holy Eucharist in the sacrarium is so ancient, that even the [period] of the Council of Nicaea recognized that usage. Moreover, as to carrying the sacred Eucharist itself to the sick, and carefully reserving it for this purpose in churches, besides that it is exceedingly conformable to equity and reason, it is also found enjoined in numerous councils, and is a very ancient observance of the Catholic Church. Wherefore, this holy Synod ordains, that this salutary and necessary custom is to be by all means retained." (Council of Trent, 1551 A.D.)

"Above all, do not allow - as some do, who are deceived under the pretext of restoring the liturgy or who idly claim that only liturgical rites are of any real value and dignity - that churches be closed during the hours not appointed for public functions, as has already happened in some places: where the adoration of the august Sacrament and visits to our Lord in the tabernacles are neglected; where confession of devotion is discouraged; and devotion to the Virgin Mother of God, a sign of 'predestination' according to the opinion of holy men, is so neglected, especially among the young, as to fade away and gradually vanish. Such conduct most harmful to Christian piety is like poisonous fruit, growing on the infected branches of a healthy tree, which must be cut off so that the life-giving sap of the tree may bring forth only the best fruit." (Pope Pius XII, "Mediator Dei", 1947 A.D.)

"O my beloved Jesus, O God, who has loved me with love exceeding! What more can you do to make yourself loved by ungrateful people? If we loved you, all the churches would be continually filled with people prostrate on the ground adoring and thanking you, burning with love for you, and seeing you with the eyes of faith, hidden in a tabernacle. But no, we are forgetful of you and your love. We are ready enough to try to win the favor of a person from whom we hope for some miserable advantage, while we leave you, Lord, abandoned and alone. If only by my devotion I could make reparation for such ingratitude! I am sorry that I also have been careless and ungrateful. In the future I will change my ways, I will devote myself to your service as much as possible. Inflame me with your holy love, so that from this day forward I may live only to love and to please you. You deserve the love of all hearts. If at one time I have despised you, I now desire nothing but to love you. O my Jesus, you are my love and my only good, 'my God and my All." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)

"No one can fail to see that the divine Eucharist bestows an incomparable dignity upon the Christian people. For it is not just while the Sacrifice is being offered and the Sacrament is being confected, but also after the Sacrifice has been offered and the Sacrament confected - while the Eucharist is reserved in churches or oratories - that Christ is truly Emmanuel, which means 'God with us.' For He is in the midst of us day and night; He dwells in us with the fullness of grace and of truth. He raises the level of morals, fosters virtue, comforts the sorrowful, strengthens the weak and stirs up all those who draw near to Him to imitate Him, so that they may learn from his example to be meek and humble of heart, and to seek not their own interests but those of God. Anyone who has a special devotion to the sacred Eucharist and who tries to repay Christ's infinite love for us with an eager and unselfish love of his own, will experience and fully understand - and this will bring great delight and benefit to his soul - just how precious is a life hidden with Christ in God and just how worthwhile it is to carry on a conversation with Christ, for there is nothing more consoling here on earth, nothing more efficacious for progress along the paths of holiness." (Pope Paul VI, 1965 A.D.)

"Wherefore, there is no room left for doubt, that all the faithful of Christ may, according to the custom ever received in the Catholic Church, render in veneration the worship of latria, which is due to the true God, to this most holy sacrament. For not therefore is it the less to be adored on this account, that it was instituted by Christ, the Lord, in order to be received: for we believe that same God to be present therein, of whom the eternal Father, when introducing him into the world, says; And let all the angels of God adore him; whom the Magi falling down, adored; who, in fine, as the Scripture testifies, was adored by the apostles in Galilee. The holy Synod declares, moreover, that this custom was piously and religiously introduced into the Church of God, so that this sublime and venerable sacrament was celebrated every year on a special feast day with extraordinary veneration and solemnity, and was borne reverently and with honor in processions through the streets and public places. For it is most proper that some holy days be established when all Christians may testify, with an extraordinary and unusual expression, that their minds are grateful to and mindful of their common Lord and Redeemer for such an ineffable and truly divine a favor whereby the victory and triumph of His death is represented. And thus, indeed, ought victorious truth to celebrate a triumph over falsehood and heresy, that her adversaries, placed in view of so much splendor and amid such deep joy of the universal Church, may either vanish weakened and broken, or overcome and confounded by shame may some day recover their senses." (Council of Trent, 1551 A.D.)

"The Eucharistic Food contains, as all are aware, 'truly, really and substantially the Body and Blood together with soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ.' It is no wonder, then, that the Church, even from the beginning, adored the body of Christ under the appearance of bread; this is evident from the very rites of the august [Eucharistic] Sacrifice, which prescribe that the sacred ministers should adore the most Holy Sacrament by genuflecting or by profoundly bowing their heads. The Sacred Councils teach that it is the Church's tradition right from the beginning, to worship 'with the same adoration the Word Incarnate as well as His own flesh,' and St. Augustine asserts that, 'No one eats that flesh, without first adoring it,' while he adds that 'not only do we not commit a sin by adoring it, but that we do sin by not adoring it.' It is on this doctrinal basis that the cult* of adoring the Eucharist was founded and gradually developed as something distinct from the [Eucharistic] Sacrifice of the Mass. The reservation of the sacred species for the sick and those in danger of death introduced the praiseworthy custom of adoring the Blessed Sacrament which is reserved in our churches. This practice of adoration, in fact, is based on strong and solid reasons. For the Eucharist is at once a Sacrifice and a Sacrament; but it differs from the other sacraments in this that it not only produces grace, but contains in a permanent manner the Author of grace Himself. When, therefore, the Church bids us adore Christ hidden behind the Eucharistic veils and pray to Him for spiritual and temporal favors, of which we ever stand in need, she manifests living faith in her divine Spouse who is present beneath these veils, she professes her gratitude to Him and she enjoys the intimacy of His friendship." (Pope Pius XII, "Mediator Dei", 1947 A.D.) [*Note: Although the term 'cult' - in modern times - often has negative connotations, the term may be inoffensively used simply to refer to a 'system of religious beliefs or practices'.]

Also See: The Holy Eucharist (Gen'l. Info.) | Holy Eucharist (Catechism of the Council of Trent) | Holy Eucharist / Mass (Basics / Misc.) | The Real Presence / Transubstantiation | Forty Hours Devotion | Praise / Benefits of the Holy Eucharist & Mass | The Holy Eucharist & The Goodness and Love of God | Reverence / Proper Behavior (Mass / Holy Eucharist) | The Holy Eucharist Should Be Handled Only By Priests | Mass / Holy Eucharist Prayers | Church Talk Reflections | The Holy Eucharist (Our Father's Love Reflections) | The Holy Eucharist (Classic Encyclicals) | Proper Behavior in Church | Resources (Incl. Fliers) | Reverence / Honor to God (Topical Scripture) | House of God / House of the Lord (Topical Scripture)  

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