On The Necessity of Adoration

"[Adoration] is as necessary to man's spiritual existence as the laws of logic are to the intellectual life or the spatial order is to his physical existence. Or, using a different analogy, we may say that adoration is to man's spiritual vision what light is to his physical eye.

Human existence is founded in truth, and the foundation of all truth is that God is God - unique, alone, and unto Himself; and that man is God's creature. By recognizing this fundamental truth and by acting in accordance with it man maintains his intergrity and his wholeness. Adoration is the act in which this truth continually rises resplendent, and in which it is acknowledged and consummated.

It is important that we practice adoration because normally we tend in our prayers to put too much emphasis on asking. Of course we should ask, but let us not forget what Christ said in the Sermon on the Mount: "For your Father knowweth what is needful for you, before you ask Him." More important than petition is adoration, for in it truth will come to us - the truth of life. Everyday cares will find their proper place and our standards will become rightly adjusted. This truth will comfort us; it will put in order what the entaglements and illusions of life have thrown into confusion. It will heal us spiritually so that we may begin anew."

The Art of Praying - Monsignor Romano Guardini