Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

[The following is just one of 175 reflections on the Eucharist that are bound to touch your heart and stir your soul. You will find all of them in Godhead Here in Hiding Whom I Do Adore - Lay Dominicans Reflect on Eucharisitc Adoration .] "The first time I witnessed people adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, was because I showed up for a novena where there just so happened to be Exposition - Jesus, in the Eucharist on the Altar, in the Monstrance. I did not know what to do or what it was. I found myself asking the question, “What is this?” I was amazed and I knew in my heart it was extraordinary, but I did not know what the monstrance was etc. I asked God to help me to pray and to understand. Later, I realized the real question to ask is “Who is this?” That was a long time ago. I now attend at least one hour of Eucharistic Adoration weekly and sometimes I ask questions but more often I hear the questions being asked by Jesus left alone on the Altar: “Who do you say that I ...

  “Faith in the Eucharist opens out the whole invisible world to us. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is nothing less than radiation therapy for our cancer of the eyes.  When we gaze upon the Eucharist the healing graces that come from it are the same as the grace that Jesus unleashed upon all of those blind men He healed in the Gospels.  It is the same healing, the same mercy, the same compassion, the same transformation that He offers to us in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. ‘Do this in memory of Me.’ … the Eucharist gives us a deep gaze into the invisible world and we can trust God Who has told us it is true.”  (Monsignor James Shea at the Eucharistic Conference, Fargo, ND, September 2022, as posted on Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration,com)   ·          

Pondering Tidbits of Truth is my simple and inadequate way of providing nuggets of spiritual wisdom for you to chew on from time to time. Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration "The most powerful thing we can do on this earth with our time is to spend it in Eucharistic adoration. Nothing can do more to change the world, to bring about peace, to convert hearts, to make reparation for the many evils committed. Spending time in prayer may seem, on the outside, to be a passive thing; however, it is anything but! Our world is in desperate need of hope, of renewal, of a 'turning back' to the things of God. By visiting Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we take up the best weapon for the battles of our age and contribute to the healing of our culture. Cultivating a Eucharistic life of adoration also bears tremendous fruit in our own hearts and lives. We cannot spend time in the rays of His Eucharistic Presence without receiving His grace, His love, His mercy, His peace. As we gaze...

"Did you ever consider well, dear Christian soul, that, when the Sacred Host is publicly exposed, Jesus is not on His Eucharistic throne to receive the adorations of the angels and to enjoy the company of the blessed? These He finds in heaven. But He is on His Eucharistic throne to receive your adorations, to listen to your confidences, and to console and alleviate your sorrows and trials.' Come, then, and adore the Holy Host." (From the book The Holy Eucharist , by Jose Guadalupe Trevino)

How to Be His - A 33-Day Dedication to our Eucharistic Lord , authored by Father Jesse J. Maingot, O.P. and Father Ignatius John Schweitzer, O.P., enriched my Advent, reignited my love for the Eucharist and opened my eyes to the prophetic voice we are all called to share. I highly recommend their work. Here is a summary of some of the more important insights these wise Friars shared about prophets and their role in God's plan of salvation. To speak a prophetic word,  Father Ignatius instructs us, " is not so much about foretelling something in the future. Prophecy is seeing the unfolding of history as God sees it." A prophet gets God's people to read the sign of the times and to be aware of their lives and the events of their days in light of God's wisdom and God's plan. A prophet is able to interpret what is happening from God's perspective. To speak a prophetic word is to speak into a situation, a living Word that manifests what God is up to and encourag...

 

  (Photo ©Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. Used with Permission) “If you want to grow in humility, spend time in Eucharistic adoration. In the silence of the chapel before the Blessed Sacrament, we come face to face with the humility of God. There, Christ waits for us - not demanding, not forcing, but simply inviting. In adoration. we learn to quiet the noise of our pride and ambitions. We learn to listen more than we speak. We learn to rest in God's presence without needing to prove ourselves. Adoration teaches us that humility is not about doing but about being - being with Christ, who humbled Himself to be with us.” (Excerpted from L earning Humility from the Eucharist written by Father Richard D. Breton and published in the October 16, 2025 issue of The Wanderer)

There is a famous story from the life of St. John Vianney. He noticed a farmer who spent many hours in the parish, praying before the Blessed Sacrament. When St. John Vianney asked him what he did in this time of prayer, he answered, “I look at Him, and He looks at me.” In my experience of Eucharistic Adoration, I have come to a surprising and somewhat startling discovery: I often do not feel anything happen during that time of prayer. Sometimes that time feels dry and seems fruitless. If I am in the presence of God Himself, spending direct time with Jesus physically before me, how come this is not the most fruitful and consoling time of prayer? How come I can often feel very little or nothing at all? Despite this, I still find it important to be with Him in Eucharistic Adoration. I imagine that people who go sunbathing do not feel themselves getting tanned. They may feel the warmth of the sun, but do they perceive the chemical changes that are occurring to change the tone of the...

Let's be frank:   If we really believe that Jesus Christ is truly and  substantially present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the tabernacles of our Churches, we would be there with Him. We would do everything in our power to spend some time with Him and to encourage others to do so as well.  But we don't really believe this essential Truth. We have abandoned our Loving Lord to His prison-tabernacle and locked the doors of His Churches so that even the few drawn to be with Him are unable to get in. Stop for a moment and ponder this shocking reality from our Lord's perspective. Is this anyway to treat the Son of God? Of course it isn't! Go visit and comfort our abandoned and forgotten Lord . Bring  a copy of   Stirring Slumbering Souls - 250 Eucharistic Reflections  with you and let the wisdom it contains draw you into His loving embrace and Presence. Enlist in His army of Adorers. Let Him change you and the world! Here is a sample of what others have...

( Image Source ) We appreciate the ongoing efforts of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to foster greater awe, amazement and belief in our Lord’s Real and Substantial Presence here among us in the Eucharist.  The number of Eucharistic processions that have taken place throughout this nation have been heartening. The excellent homilies, posts, videos and testimonies of priests, religious and lay Catholics that our bishops have shared on social media have also been inspiring - no doubt countless souls have been touched. We pray that the Church’s current efforts are reaching not just the choir but the millions of non-believing Catholics and former Catholics who inhabit this great nation. How are we going to assess the success of these efforts? Simple: If those professing to be Catholic believe that God is really, truly and substantially present in the consecrated hosts in our tabernacles, they will flock to be with Him – He who loves them and awaits their visit. They would never...

[Excerpted from Godhead Here In Hiding Whom I Do Adore - Lay Dominicans Reflect on Eucharistic Adoration ] “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” A promise of faith, hope, and love in this valley of tears, trials and strife. Where can we find our dear Lord Himself? Catholic tabernacles for sure offer Him Whom we seek. But a Holy Hour encounter in Eucharistic Adoration is where He awaits our visit so meek. We cannot touch, hear or carry on a face-to-face conversation with the God Whom we visually do not see. Yet, we sit quietly and gaze on this Treasure of ours as He speaks to our souls, a comfort for me. With burdens of sin, guilt, sorrow, fear and pain, we believe and adore; we pray not in vain. Help us, dear Lord, to find answers and peace as we sort out the trials of our earthly place. I don’t fully comprehend — don’t know if I ever will —T he Gift resting before me in the Monstrance so bright. My worries and problems relax at the sight and my soul ...

Plan on visiting our ever-present and loving Lord: "I visit for love. To both give my love and to receive His love.   This all-knowing Love that embraces, corrects, restores, and sees exactly who I am.   I come to remember John 3:16: “ For God so loved the world ”… and the love that He gives is here in the Blessed Sacrament, His Son Jesus Christ.   When I enter, the Church aura is heavy with love.     His love for us His adorers. Our love for Him the One adored.   The love shared between fellow adorers, and the love of the Heavenly adorers for Him and for us. I am here both alone in love with Him, and yet in a cherished communion with all who seek to adore. When I am a lover, at my very best, I approach with gratitude, praise, and thanksgiving. I wish to give love for Love, no matter what the time 5 minutes or 3 hours. I give my love, as best I can, yet often a cacophony of need can consume me. My thoughts burst into the silence with my challenges, so...

Homiletic and Pastoral Review Magazine  Book Reviews – November 2023 Godhead Here in Hiding Whom I Do Adore  – Lay Fraternity of St. Dominic Lay Fraternity of St. Dominic.  Godhead Here in Hiding Whom I Do Adore: Lay Dominicans Reflect on Eucharistic Adoration . Hammondsport, NY: The Lay Fraternity of St. Dominic, 2023. 351 pages. Reviewed by Fr. Ignatius John Schweitzer, OP.  ( Reprinted here with permission ) As part of the effort toward Eucharistic Revival, the Dominican Laity have released an inexpensive new book on Eucharistic Adoration,  Godhead Here in Hiding Whom I Do Adore: Lay Dominicans Reflect on Eucharistic Adoration . It is a unique and exceptional book worthy of the parish’s adoration chapel and also as a gift for a friend who has yet to discover the Eucharist. The book gathers together about 175 reflections of Lay Dominicans on what Eucharistic adoration means to them, what they do during a holy hour, ways that the Eucharist has transformed them,...

"He looks at me and I look at Him. That gaze is enriching. I let God observe me, to dig deep inside me, to form my soul, to mold it. He is truly present, not an invention. He is there. If everyone could realize that, they would run to it! If everyone believed in this truth, how their lives would change for the better!" ( From My Son Carlo: Carlo Acutis Through the Eyes of His Mother, by Antonia Salzano Acutis

Godhead Here in Hiding Whom I Do Adore - Lay Dominicans Reflect on Eucharistic Adoration is not just a book. It can be a vital tool to help foster Eucharistic Revival. Listen to Father Ignatius John Schweitzer, OP, Priest Promoter of the Lay Dominicans, Province of St. Joseph.  Please share his challenge with everyone you know: You can purchase copies of  Godhead Here in Hiding Whom I Do Adore - Lay Dominicans Reflect on Eucharistic Adoration   at Amazon.com

  It is More Than a Book – It is an Invitation to Adore Our Loving Lord Present Here Among Us! Father Ignatius John Schweitzer, O.P gave birth to Godhead Here in Hiding Whom I Do Adore – Lay Dominicans Reflect on Eucharistic Adoration last year when he invited the Lay Dominicans of the Province of St. Joseph to share their thoughts on the Eucharist and Eucharistic Adoration. He did this not knowing how many would respond or in what genre they would write. As a result of Father’s invitation, we now have a symphony of diverse reflections – from the simple to the sublime. Each reflection is a gem in its own right. Each one an invitation to a greater belief in, and reverence for, God’s Presence among us. As Father Ignatius states in his Introduction to the book: “The Lay Dominicans in this book have discovered the secret! They have discovered the all-surpassing treasure and value and meaning we have in our Eucharistic Lord in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and Adoration. Their d...

My fellow Dominicans and friends. It is here! The book we have been working on for months – our humble contribution to the current efforts at Eucharistic Revival - Godhead Here in Hiding Whom I Do Adore – Lay Dominicans Reflect on Eucharistic Adoration. Today, Friday, September 8, 2023, in one united act of love, we are urging each of you, your family and all our Dominican brothers and sisters around the world to go on Amazon.com,  click this link and get a copy of this book. If you intend to purchase more than one copy, it would be more helpful for our getting noticed on Amazon if you buy 5 copies individually, for instance, rather than buying 5 copies at once. Pass this request on to everyone you know and love. Stop what you are doing now and pass this on to the members of your fraternity and your family and friends. We want Amazon.com, indeed the world, to take notice of this simple book    –   not to bring attention to ourselves – but for the Glory of God...

“While no one suggests that Christ is more present in the exposed sacrament than in the tabernacle, this physical visibility can be a powerful aid in learning to be attentive to the Lord in prayer . . .exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is an extension of the Mass. It prolongs the Mass. . . (and is) a means to drawing the adorer into a deeper life of prayer, a more intimate relationship with Christ.”  (Father Gabriel O’Donnell, O.P.)

(Image Source: Unsplash,com ) "When you come into My presence to adore Me, and prefer Me to the other things that solicit your attention and make claims upon your time, I am consoled and glorified. The proof of friendship is the choice of one's friend over all else. I want you to prefer Me, to give Me time that could be given to other persons and things. In so doing, you will show Me your love and offer Me the consolation of a true friendship. I would ask this preferential love of all My priests. Friendship, if it is to thrive, must be practiced. This is as true of friendship with Me as it is of human friendships. I wait for the companionship of My priests." ( In Sinu Iesu - When Heart Speaks to Heart -   The Journal of a Priest )