Adoro Te – I Adore Thee

In the last two words of the first line of the first stanza of "Adoro Te Devote," Latens Deitas refers to the "Hidden God." We adore Thee, O hidden God. I adore Thee, "O Mystery of faith." The Most Holy Eucharist was conceived by the Holy Spirit, in the womb of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus and of the Church, of you and me. The four Gospels in the New Testament tell of the public life of Jesus and how He gave us, at the Last Supper, His Body and Blood, the Holy Eucharist under the species of bread and wine. Now, this day, He visits us as a hidden God. With our eyes we see Him only as a wafer of bread and a cup of wine but with the eyes of our soul, of our heart, we see Him as He is, in faith, Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. We see Him standing before us and what we see is a God filled with love, with mercy and compassion.

Adoro Te, O Hidden God, I adore Thee. I fall silent in the face of Thy beauty, Thy power, Thy compassion for those, particularly in this generation, who live in a vale of tears. You are indescribable, eternal, a "consubstantial reflection of the splendor of the Father Who begets Thee, the Word!" My entire being yearns to give myself to you, to consecrate myself, to reply lovingly to the daily Grace you give me and those around me. Your love is astonishing even to the angels around you. I adore you devoutly as I contemplate how you shared this vale of tears with us, with me, for your Cross is my cross. Your Cross is my sin, the sin of my youth. The wooden cross which you bore on your shoulders on the way to Calvary , a crushing weight of the misery of the world, three times falling. May we share in your pain to lighten the weight of Your Cross. Thus in adoring you this morning, I do so with loyalty and in faith, dear Abba, dear Father God, becauseYou have given us Thy Son Jesus who by His holy cross has redeemed the world. By redeeming the world you’ve made it possible for me, a sinner, to meet you face-to-face if only I say "Yes." So I consecrate myself to you this day, I give you my unconditional Yes.

"Hidden God, I adore Thee. Truly, if I could see Thee, contemplate Thee in Thy divine splendor, if I could bathe in the ineffable, overwhelming, light of Thy glorious countenance, in the radiance of its fires, wherein the wings of Thy Seraphim are inflamed, then would Thine adoration impose itself gently and strongly upon me, and I myself should have only to be consumed slowly in Thy presence."

The illustration (left) is a visual reminder that Jesus is truly and really present in the Sacrament of the Altar. When Catholics receive the Sacred Species, we are truly receiving Jesus under the ordinary forms of bread and wine. When Jesus was in Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jerusalem and many places in the Middle East, where He was born to Mary and Joseph, and where He died on the Cross, bread and wine were the basic staple when friends gathered together. So Jesus left us, from the Last Supper onward, with the Sacrament of the Eucharist, His Body and His Blood. The substances are not merely a symbol, they are, in fact, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. He gave Himself to us, so that we may be constantly nourished by His Grace, and remember His great love for us, daily.

I go to Church almost daily. About every four weeks, I serve as a lay Eucharistic Minister at one of the two daily Masses from Monday through Saturday. It is a true joy to be part of the Ministry team at such a Mass, consisting of the Celebrant (priest), possibly a Deacon, a Lector, and 2-3 Special Eucharistic Ministers, like myself. I mention this only to underscore my firm and unshakable belief in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

If you are a Roman Catholic and you are presently not attending Holy Mass, not even on Sundays, you are missing out on receiving Jesus in this way. It is easy to return. Go visit with a priest, and ask to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Simply tell God, as you address the priest, that you are sorry for having neglected Jesus, and that you forgive your brothers and sisters as you forgive yourself for any hatred, revengeful act you may have committed. As long as there is unforgiveness either toward others or toward yourself, you will have a tough time being open to Jesus and to His Grace that He can't wait to give you, because He loves you so much. Please come back, we love you!

Author of Graphic unknown.