Ven. Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895 - 1979)
Quotes On The Importance Of Eucharistic Adoration
Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen was one of the first Radio and TV evangelists of our times and watched by millions. During his Priesthood he said a Holy Hour of Adoration every day before our beloved Lord. In his autobiography he commented that this was one of the things that kept him so faithful to Jesus and the Church throughout his Priesthood. Here are some of his quotes about the importance of Eucharistic Adoration in our lives:
- "A Holy Hour of Adoration in our modern rat race is necessary for authentic
prayer."
(Fulton J. Sheen, “The Holy Hour,” retreat conference, Fulton Sheen Audio Library (c. 1950s).)
- "We are not called to great penances...but the Holy Hour is a sacrifice in union
with Christ."
(Fulton J. Sheen, “The Holy Hour,” retreat conference, Fulton Sheen Audio Library (c. 1950s).)
- "St. Paul tells us that faith comes from listening. In a daily Holy Hour, we wait
for Him to speak—and He does!"
(Fulton J. Sheen, “The Holy Hour,” retreat conference, Fulton Sheen Audio Library (c. 1950s).)
- "The best time to make a holy hour is in the morning, early, before the day sets traps for us."
(Fulton J. Sheen, Priest Retreat Conference on the Holy Hour, Fulton Sheen Audio Library (c. 1950s).)
- "By being faithful to our Holy Hour, and letting nothing interfere with it, we
use it as the sign and symbol of our victimhood."
(Fulton J. Sheen, “The Priest as Victim,” retreat conference, Fulton Sheen Audio Library (c. 1950s).)
- "God gave us two weapons: knees and hands. Knees--to spend an hour a day in
reparation for sins."
(Fulton J. Sheen, Conference on Reparation and the Holy Hour, Fulton Sheen Audio Library (c. 1950s).)
- "I wonder if it is not true that as the world loses veneration for Christ's
mother, it loses also it's adoration of Christ."
(Fulton J. Sheen, Marian Conference Address, Catholic Hour Radio Broadcast (c. 1950s).)
- "Married couples, make the Holy Hour, to make up for an abortion every thirty
seconds. Prove that the Lord is the Lord of life and not of death."
(Fulton J. Sheen, Pro‑Life Address, Catholic Television Broadcast (c. 1970s).)
- "Everyone, make the Holy Hour, and you will discover as you leave
the divine Presence that if you move among people in the world, they
will say of you as the maid said of Peter, “You have been with Christ.”
And then at the end of a lifetime spent in adoration of the Lord, and in
love of the Blessed Mother, of the Blessed Sacrament, when you come
before the Lord do you know what He will say to you? He will say, “I
heard my Mother speak of you."
- "The Motivation for a Holy Hour is reparation. We pray for those who
do not pray, we make acts of faith in the Real Presence for those who
have lost faith. In a word, we are the victims, like Christ, innocent
but one with their guilt in the progressive redemption of mankind."
(Fulton J. Sheen, "Those Mysterious Priests", San Francisco: Ignatius Press / Alba House, 2015, p. 269.)
- "A Holy Hour is not a devotion; it is a
sharing in the work of redemption.
(Fulton J. Sheen, "Treasure in Clay: The Autobiography of Fulton J. Sheen", San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1980, p. 198.)
- "The only time our Lord asked the Apostles for anything was the night He went
into agony. Not for activity did He plead but for an Hour of companionship."
(Sheen, "Treasure in Clay", 1980, p. 198)
- "During a Holy Hour we grow more and more into His likeness."
(Sheen, "Treasure in Clay", 1980, p. 199)
- "A Holy Hour becomes a magister and teacher. Theological insights are gained not only
from the covers of a treatise, but from two knees on a prie-dieu before
the Blessed Sacrament."
(Sheen, "Treasure in Clay", 1980, p. 199)
- "Neither theological knowledge nor social action alone is enough to keep us in
love with Christ unless both are proceeded by a personal encounter with Him."
(Sheen, "Treasure in Clay", 1980, p. 199)
- "The Holy Hour becomes like an oxygen tank to revive the breath of the Holy Spirit in
the midst of the foul and fetid atmosphere of the world."
(Sheen, "Treasure in Clay", 1980, p. 200)
- "The most brilliant ideas come from meeting God face to face (at adoration). The
Holy Spirit that presided at the Incarnation is the best atmosphere for illumination."
(Sheen, "Treasure in Clay", 1980, p. 200)
- "The purpose of the Holy Hour is to encourage deep personal encounter with Christ.
The holy and glorious God is constantly inviting us to come to Him, to
hold converse with Him, to ask for such things as we need and to
experience what a blessing there is in fellowship with Him."
(Sheen, "Treasure in Clay", 1980, p. 201)
- "The third reason I (kept) up my Holy Hour (was) to grow more and more into His
likeness. As Paul puts it: 'We are transfigured into His likeness, from splendor to splendor'.
We become what we gaze upon. Looking into the sunset the face takes on a golden glow. Looking
at the Eucharistic Lord for an Hour transforms the Heart in a mysterious way..."
(Sheen, "Treasure in Clay", 1980, p. 201)
- "The secret (to my preaching) is
that I have never in fifty-five years missed spending an hour in the
presence of our Lor/d in the Blessed Sacrament. That's where the power
comes from. That's where sermons are born. That's where every good
thought is conceived."
(Fulton J. Sheen, "Thru the Year with Fulton Sheen: Inspirational Readings for Each Day of the Year", San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2003, Feb. 12 entry.)