St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696 to 1787)
Quotes On
The Importance Of Eucharistic Adoration
A very prolific writer about the Catholic Faith, he found his vocation during
one of his many hours adoring our Lord and was declared a Doctor of the
Church in 1871. Here are some of his quotes about the importance of
Eucharistic Adoration in our lives:
1934 - "The Holy Eucharist" (Visits To The
Most Blessed Sacrament And To The Blessed Virgin Mary: For Each Day Of The
Month) By St. Alphonsus Liguori
"Oh, how sweet a joy it is to remain with faith and tender devotion before
the Eucharist, and converse familiarly with Jesus Christ, who is
there for the express purpose of listening to and graciously hearing
those who pray to him."
"In a quarter of an hour's prayer, spent in the presence of the Blessed
Sacrament, you will perhaps gain more than in all the other
spiritual exercises of the day."
"Certainly amongst all devotions, after that of receiving the sacraments, that of
adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament holds the first place, is the
most pleasing to God, and the most useful to ourselves."
"Our holy faith teaches us, and we are bound to
believe, that in the consecrated Host, Jesus Christ is really present
under the species of bread. But we must also understand that He is
thus present on our altars as on a throne of love and mercy, to dispense
graces and there to show us the love which He bears us, by being pleased
to dwell night and day hidden in the midst of us."
"There it was (in Echaristic Adoration) that St.
Francis Xavier found refreshment in the midst of his many labors in
India; for he employed his days in toiling for souls, and his nights in
the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. St. John Francis Regis did
the same thing; and sometimes finding the church closed, he endeavored
to satisfy his longings by remaining on his knees, outside the door
exposed to the rain and cold so that at least at a distance he might
attend upon his Comforter concealed under the sacramental species.
St. Francis of Assisi used to go to communicate all his labors and
undertakings to Jesus in the most Holy Sacrament."
"Be also assured that Jesus Christ finds means to console a soul which remains with a
recollected spirit before the Most Blessed Sacrament, far beyond what the
world can do with all its feasts and pastimes."
"What shall we do, you sometimes ask, in the presence of Jesus in
the Blessed Sacrament? Love him, praise him, thank him and ask him for
things. What does a thirsty person do when he sees a pure clean
fountain?"
"Make me hunger to be continually in thy presence in the Blessed
Sacrament, to receive thee into myself, and to keep thee company."
Other St. Alphonsus Liguori Eucharistic Adoration Quotes
"Frequent visits to Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar are a great
help to the souls that love Him."
"You may be sure that of all the moments of your
life, the time you spend before the divine Sacrament will be that which
will give you more strength during life and more consolation at the hour
of your death and during eternity."
"Withdraw yourself from people and spend at least a quarter of an hour, or a
half-hour, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Taste and see
how sweet is the Lord, and you will learn from your own experience
how many graces this will bring you."
"True, Our Lord hears our prayers anywhere, for He has made the promise, “Ask,
and you shall receive”, but He has revealed to His servants that
those who visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament will obtain a more
abundant measure of grace."
"The sovereigns of the earth do not always grant audience readily; on the
contrary, the King of Heaven, hidden under the Eucharistic veils, is
ready to receive anyone…"
"Nothing in the world can set hearts ablaze with love for God like the
Blessed Sacrament. That is why this divine bread has been pictured
as a furnace of love. Saint Catherine of Siena saw far-reaching
flames coming from this furnace of love and spreading throughout the
world."
"Good friends find pleasure in one another's company. Let us know pleasure
in the company of our best Friend, a Friend who can do everything
for us, a friend who loves us beyond measure. Here in the Blessed
Sacrament we can talk to him straight from the heart."
"We can open our souls to Him, tell Him what we need, beg him for powerful
graces. We are perfectly free to approach the King of the universe
with full confidence and without fear."
"Jesus tells us that where person esteems his treasure to be, there also does he keep his
affections. Therefore the saints, who neither esteem nor love any
other treasure than Jesus Christ, centre their hearts and all their
love in the Most Blessed Sacrament."
Nowhere have holy souls made more admirable
resolutions than here at the feet of their hidden God. Out of gratitude
to my Jesus, veiled in this great Sacrament, I must declare that it was
through this devotion, visiting Him in the tabernacles, that I withdrew
from the world where, to my misfortune, I had lived until the age of
twenty-six. Happy will you be if you can separate yourself from it
earlier than I did and give yourself wholly to that Lord who has given
Himself wholly to you."
"To souls enamored of God, hours spent before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament appear moments."
"My Jesus, what a lovable invention this Holy
Sacrament is that You would hide under the appearance of bread to make
Yourself loved and to be available for visits by anyone who desires You."
"My Lord Jesus Christ, who, for the love You bear
to mankind, do remain night and day in this Sacrament, full of pity and
love, awaiting, calling, and receiving all who come to visit You; I
believe that You are present in the Sacrament of the Altar; I adore You
from the depths of my own nothingness; I thank You for the many graces
You have given me, and especially for having given me Yourself in this
Sacrament."
"Loving souls can find no greater delight than to
be in the company of those whom they love. If we, then, love Jesus
Christ much, behold we are now in his presence. Jesus in the
Blessed Sacrament sees us and hears us; shall we, then, say nothing to
Him? Let us console ourselves in His company; let us rejoice in
His glory, and in the love which so many enamoured souls bear Him in the
Most Holy Sacrament. Let us desire that all should love Jesus in
the Holy Sacrament, and consecrate their hearts to Him; at least let us
consecrate our affections to Him. He should be all our love and
our whole desire."
"O most compassionate Savior, be pleased to make
me faithful to You and grant that I may also, by my example, excite
others to keep You company in the Most Blessed Sacrament."
"If you desire to find Him immediately, see
(that) He is quite close to you. Tell Him what you desire, for it
is to console you and grant your prayer that He remains in the
Tabernacle."
"You will find that all the Saints were enamoured of this most sweet
devotion; since, indeed, it is impossible to find on earth a more
precious gem, or a treasure more worthy of all our love, than Jesus in
the Most Holy Sacrament."
"Oh, what torrents of grace have the Saints drawn from the fountain
of the Most Blessed Sacrament! for there Jesus dispenses all the merits
of His Passion, as it was foretold by the Prophet: 'You shall draw
waters with joy out of the Saviour’s fountains' (Is. xii. 3)."
"Those persons are tenderly affected who go to Jerusalem... but how much greater
ought our tenderness be in visiting an altar on which Jesus is present in
the Most Holy Sacrament."
“The Eucharist consoles a soul far beyond what the world can offer.”
"The saints experienced in this world such pleasure in remaining in the
presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, that days and nights appeared to
them as moments."
"My Jesus! What a lovable contrivance this holy
Sacrament was -- that You would hide under the appearance of bread to make
Yourself loved and to be available for a visit by anyone who desires You."