Rape in the Bible?

On March 18, the first Mass reading happened to be one of my favorite Biblical stories. This passage from the Book of Daniel speaks volumes to the nature of sin, lust, sex, innocence, justice, human nature, and more. Please take time to read this Biblical story; it is quite remarkable. When you are done, I would also encourage you to read this blog titled, The Anatomy of a Sin as set forth in a lesser known Biblical passage. Monsignor Pope really breaks down the lessons from this story in steps that we take so often to fall into sin, because sin really is a process that becomes habit-forming once you have practiced taming some of your inhibitions. Ideally, if you can recognize these steps, perhaps you might find yourself in one of them and find it (it=God’s grace) in you to turn around and turn back to Him.

 

In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim, who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah; her pious parents had trained their daughter according to the law of Moses. Joakim was very rich; he had a garden near his house, and the Jews had recourse to him often because he was the most respected of them all. 

That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges, of whom the Lord said, “Wickedness has come out of Babylon: from the elders who were to govern the people as judges.” These men, to whom all brought their cases, frequented the house of Joakim. When the people left at noon, Susanna used to enter her husband’s garden for a walk. When the old men saw her enter every day for her walk, they began to lust for her. They suppressed their consciences; they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven, and did not keep in mind just judgments.

One day, while they were waiting for the right moment, she entered the garden as usual, with two maids only. She decided to bathe, for the weather was warm. Nobody else was there except the two elders, who had hidden themselves and were watching her. “Bring me oil and soap,” she said to the maids, “and shut the garden doors while I bathe.” 

As soon as the maids had left, the two old men got up and hurried to her. “Look,” they said, “the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us; give in to our desire, and lie with us. If you refuse, we will testify against you that you dismissed your maids because a young man was here with you.”

“I am completely trapped,” Susanna groaned. “If I yield, it will be my death; if I refuse, I cannot escape your power. Yet it is better for me to fall into your power without guilt than to sin before the Lord.” Then Susanna shrieked, and the old men also shouted at her, as one of them ran to open the garden doors. When the people in the house heard the cries from the garden, they rushed in by the side gate to see what had happened to her. At the accusations by the old men, the servants felt very much ashamed, for never had any such thing been said about Susanna. 

When the people came to her husband Joakim the next day, the two wicked elders also came, fully determined to put Susanna to death. Before all the people they ordered: “Send for Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah, the wife of Joakim.” When she was sent for, she came with her parents, children and all her relatives. All her relatives and the onlookers were weeping.

In the midst of the people the two elders rose up and laid their hands on her head. Through tears she looked up to heaven, for she trusted in the Lord wholeheartedly. The elders made this accusation: “As we were walking in the garden alone, this woman entered with two girls and shut the doors of the garden, dismissing the girls. A young man, who was hidden there, came and lay with her. When we, in a corner of the garden, saw this crime, we ran toward them. We saw them lying together, but the man we could not hold, because he was stronger than we; he opened the doors and ran off. Then we seized her and asked who the young man was, but she refused to tell us. We testify to this.” The assembly believed them, since they were elders and judges of the people, and they condemned her to death. 

But Susanna cried aloud: “O eternal God, you know what is hidden and are aware of all things before they come to be: you know that they have testified falsely against me. Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the things with which these wicked men have charged me.”

The Lord heard her prayer. As she was being led to execution, God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel, and he cried aloud: “I will have no part in the death of this woman.” All the people turned and asked him, “What is this you are saying?” He stood in their midst and continued, “Are you such fools, O children of Israel!
To condemn a woman of Israel without examination and without clear evidence? Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her.”

Then all the people returned in haste. To Daniel the elders said, “Come, sit with us and inform us, since God has given you the prestige of old age.” But he replied, “Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them.” 

After they were separated one from the other, he called one of them and said: “How you have grown evil with age! Now have your past sins come to term: passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent, and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says, ‘The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.’ Now, then, if you were a witness, tell me under what tree you saw them together.” “Under a mastic tree,” he answered. Daniel replied, “Your fine lie has cost you your head, for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him and split you in two.” Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought. Daniel said to him, “Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience. This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel, and in their fear they yielded to you; but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness. Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together.” “Under an oak,” he said. Daniel replied, “Your fine lie has cost you also your head, for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two so as to make an end of you both.”

The whole assembly cried aloud, blessing God who saves those who hope in him. They rose up against the two elders, for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury. According to the law of Moses, they inflicted on them the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor: they put them to death. Thus was innocent blood spared that day. Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62

 

Heartbroken

I read a news story today about a newborn baby that was found dead in an Indianapolis creek. It was horrendous, and this story ripped my heart apart.

 

I’m heartbroken for the baby, who didn’t know love in his short life. Whose life was taken by the “choice” of someone else. Who was never given a voice to say, “I want to live!” and who didn’t have someone else to speak up for him. Who died a death worse than a pet… a death in cold, dirty water, either drowned, starved, or frozen as winter keeps its hold this March.

 

I’m heartbroken for the mother. How callused, numb, and dead inside did she have to be to kill her own child? To feel a new life inside of her as she nourished him for 9 months. To hear his cry as he greeted the world. To hear him cry one last time as she laid him down in that cold, dirty creek… and then walked away. Ignoring the baby’s only words for, “Mommy, I’m cold and I’m scared!” This mother has to always live with the fact that she made the “choice” to let her baby boy die. She has to live with the fact that she is not simply childless, but that she is the mother of a dead child. Her “choice” will just send her farther and farther into darkness.

 

I’m heartbroken for abortion supporters, who are unaware that this is what they support. Why is this mother any different than the ones who kill their babes in the womb? What if this mother’s excuse was to have mercy on a child that she could not afford, and to prevent this child from possible suffering and poverty? Or maybe this baby was disabled in some way, and so to keep him from challenges and struggles, she killed him instead. Is this excusable because her intent was good, that she “mercifully” killed her own? Is her intent still valid even though she killed her baby after he was born rather than before? Does it even matter that this baby is dead because his mother did not want him? If it is not wanted, then it doesn’t deserve to live—isn’t that the justification for abortion?

 

What difference does it make to kill a baby—for any reason—in the womb rather than outside of it?

 

Abortion supporters turn a blind eye to the baby (even though they claim to care about the child’s potential life) and consider themselves to be the saviors of the mother. If they really loved the mother, then they would not want her to go through such a traumatizing and life-ending ordeal (literally for the baby, figuratively for the mom). They would love the mother enough to support her and her child, rather than just make her the mother of a dead child. They would not wish the nightmares and pain and guilt upon her. They would not wish the typical, subconscious response of behaviors like alcoholism, drugs, or just generally losing hope and joy for life. They would not wish to put her very life in danger, as abortions can be extremely dangerous and have severely injured and killed many women. They would not wish to risk her future fertility or health, as having abortions have been linked to infertility and breast cancer later in life. They would not wish that the mother would distance herself emotionally from her current or future children, feeling guilty for taking the life of one of her own and not ever feeling worthy of being loved by the children that she spared from her “choice.” This is misguided love for the mother, thinking that she can just get rid of an unplanned problem and continue on with a happy, normal life.

 

I’m heartbroken for blindness and hardness of heart. I’m heartbroken for those who I know personally—and I know they are good and beautiful souls—but they unknowingly support all of this. “Mercy killing.” That is not mercy… do you know what true mercy is? “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do…”

 

I cannot judge and I cannot forgive. All I can do is what I have been commanded to do: love. I love all the little babies, born and unborn. I love the mothers, the ones who joyfully announce the life within them and the ones who are scared to death, not knowing what to do about the life within them. I love them so deeply, even if I never meet or know any of them. I love my brothers and sisters who support abortion. I love them to death and pray for them. I pray hard, with my knees to the ground and tears in my eyes. These, too, are God’s children. Some of them are even Christians, but who do not acknowledge “the Lord, the giver of life.” These, too, are my loved ones who are blind. Blindness to Truth breaks my heart more than anything.

 

Words do little for the blind and hard of heart. But that doesn’t mean I still can’t try, especially for those that are outside of my current community. But wherever I go, I will pray. Wherever I am, I will show love. Through God’s grace, I find more and more courage to be there, in the community, in front of the abortion clinics, if only just to show someone that I care. That I’m not judging, and that I love them. Whoever “them” is: the mother, the baby, the baby’s siblings, the father, the grandparent, the aunt or uncle, the abortionist, the clinic employee, the abortion supporter, etc. More people are affected by abortion than just the baby and the mom. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Yes. As our [blind, very pro-abortion] President said to the Sandy Hook community: 

“And we know we can’t do this by ourselves.  It comes as a shock at a certain point where you realize, no matter how much you love these kids, you can’t do it by yourself.  That this job of keeping our children safe, and teaching them well, is something we can only do together, with the help of friends and neighbors, the help of a community, and the help of a nation.  And in that way, we come to realize that we bear a responsibility for every child because we’re counting on everybody else to help look after ours; that we’re all parents; that they’re all our children.”

 

 

I’m heartbroken, but I’m not without faith, hope, or love, which only grow stronger with time.

 

 

“So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

1 Corinthians 13:13

I'm in love!

Yes it has only been one day since I laid eyes on him and vicariously met him, but I am smitten. My spirit joins with millions of others who are rejoicing today, thanking God for our new pope, Pope Francis, and thanking the Holy Spirit for guiding the cardinals to choose him.

 

From Catholic Memes.
How can you not love this man?!

Why am I so in love? “Let me count the ways…” Where do I begin? Let’s start with my first impressions from his greeting on the balcony. His body language, to me, spoke many words. He seems somewhat shy, introverted, perhaps a little socially awkward, deeply humble, and one who doesn’t want to be the center of attention. I, myself, identify with many of these traits (although, Christ-like humility is a life-long learning process..). In being able to identify myself with him, I cannot imagine how truly uncomfortable and terrifying it would be to overlook a crowd of over 150,000 people who are all there to see you and only you. Not only that, but hundreds (thousands?) of video cameras were there to transmit your greeting all over the world. You know your face was going to be on the front of every major newspaper, TV and radio broadcast, and social media page around the globe. I can’t imagine the kind of courage it takes to face such a challenge, but these words ring louder to me than ever before: “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME.” In his greeting, I saw the perfect embodiment of this Bible verse. Speaking of Christ and Pope Francis’ body language--his shirking humility also screamed to me, “Please don’t glorify me. Glorify Jesus! Don’t look to me. Please look to Jesus!” As John the Baptist put it simply, “He must increase; I must decrease.”

 

Second, I was deeply moved by his simple greeting, and the common theme through his entire greeting: prayer. He first asked us all to pray with him for Pope Emeritus Benedict with an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. Then he asked us to always pray for each other, and for brotherhood throughout the whole world. Before he blessed his adoring crowd, he asked them to first bless him. As he bowed, he asked for all to pray silently for him, and you could certainly hear a pin drop as an enormous crowd suddenly and simultaneously bowed their heads as silent voices lifted up to Heaven, and undoubtedly, graces fell back down to earth. Then he gave us all his blessing and bid us farewell. Prayer, prayer, prayer. This man is certainly tuned in to communication with Heaven.


Next, I’m in love with his bold choice of a papal name: Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi. A simple, poor, humble servant, but one who was fearlessly on fire with love for the Gospel. There is so much symbolism and potential for the future that we can speculate from what we know about St. Francis. We know that when St. Francis was praying one day, he heard God say, “Francis, rebuild my Church.” While I prefer the optimistic side of life, because God is Hope and my hope is in Him, I can’t deny the fact that there are flaws in His Church. Afterall, it is an organization run by flawed, sinful humans. But we have a Church that needs fixings, from the Curia to the invasion of secularism, and everything in-between. Maybe Pope Francis heard this call. There is also a quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, where he said, “Preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words.” Even researching just a little bit of Jorge Bergoglio’s life, you would assume that this is essentially his life motto. He is a true, humble servant of Christ, who truly believes that he is not more important than anyone else. You can’t really say enough about him. Finally, in relation to St. Francis of Assisi, who is typically depicted with a bird, the Sistine seagull may or may not have been a coincidence (or “God-incidence)… Who knows.

 

Finally, I am in love with the effect he has on people. Just like a warm, sunny, early spring day can bring out the best spirits in people, so too does Pope Francis seem to bring about a softened heart in others. I typically dread reading Catholic news on secular media websites because they usually have said something wrong. I dread even more when I scroll to the bottom and read the comments from anonymous people with inflated “keyboard courage.” I have read some of the most hateful, evil, and vile things about the Catholic Church from these comment boxes. So today, I held my breath as I looked through these comments, but I was completely taken aback by what I saw. Comment after comment seemed to say something like, “I’m not a Catholic, but I really like this guy and I wish him the best.”--WHAT?! Are these even the same people?! My heart swelled as I read through many, similar comments of just simple, kind words for our new Holy Father from people on “the outside.” Pope Francis, in his Christ-like humility, pure love, and his proof that he can “walk the walk” instead of just “talk the talk” seems to be a breath of fresh air in this world that is hostile to Christianity, and especially Catholicism. It seems as though the Holy Spirit has truly chosen a Supreme Pontiff, or literally, a Supreme Bridge-Builder. My hopes are so high. The more I learn about him, the more excited I get. I pledge my full obedience to him.
“Francis, rebuild my Church.”

 

I’m in love.



To learn more about him, check out some of the standing facts about Pope Francis, as well as blogs and news bits that trickle in daily from New Advent.

HABEMUS PAPAM!

WHAT a day! What an emotional roller coaster of a day! I am SO blessed and joyful to be Catholic!

Today's second round of votes in Rome time actually came over my lunch break. I had a live, streaming video of the chimney at the Sistine Chapel on the corner of my computer screen--you know, just in case. It was only the second day of the Conclave so I did not expect to see the white smoke today. I was, however, oddly entertained by the world's [now] most famous bird.

But then shortly after, as I was in the middle of work and lunch, I saw it. I saw the white smoke! I think my jaw slapped the floor and I was in some sort of time-is-standing-still disbelief. But it kept coming out white and my soul leaped with joy!! "HABEMUS PAPAM!" We have a pope!!

Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth;

break into song; sing praise.

Sing praise to the LORD with the lyre,

with the lyre and melodious song.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn

shout with joy to the King, the LORD.

Psalm 98:4-6

 

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my savior

Luke 1:46-47

 

The bells tolled with exuberant joy! The growing crowd of well over 100,000 people was alive and I could feel their energy! All eyes turned from the billowing white smoke to the balcony where the new pope would be presented to us. We waited about an hour in anxious anticipation to see our next Holy Father, the next Peter, our next shepherd.

 

Pope Francis! Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina! A Latin American pope and the first ever from the western world! The first Francis pope! The first Jesuit pope! This is just too unreal.

He seemed to be off the radar from most sources I have been reading for the last month; so honestly, this was the first that I was hearing about him. And as he stepped onto that balcony and looked at the enormous, adoring crowd, he actually looked a bit like a deer in headlights. For a moment, his facial expression read, "What have I just gotten myself into?" I imagined him in the Room of Tears, dressing for his appearance, just in total shock. Yesterday he was just an Archbishop in Buenos Aires, ready to get back home. Today, he is the Vicar of Christ. The successor to St. Peter. The visible head of the Church, which is the bride of Christ. He is now the leader of an entire country, Vatican City. He is the shepherd to over 1.2 billion Catholics. He is an extremely humble man and now the whole world is looking to him. Deer in headlights look?--You betcha.

 

 

I have been extremely struck by the heavy media coverage of the papal resignation and Conclave. Why all of a sudden, does the liberal, secular media want to talk only about the Catholic Church? Sure, too many of their articles and news bits had that secular slant, continuing to negatively shape opinions on our beautiful Church and spreading lies. Perhaps it is the work of Satan, always looking to attack that which threatens him the most. What could possibly threaten him more than Christ's One, True Church? The one that Jesus Himself founded, and continually offers Himself in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and promised to protect to the end of time? Of course the Evil One will do all he can to take Her down... but in a way, and which is usually the case, I think his plan backfired. All eyes, all around the entire world, were on the Vatican today. All ears were turned to the Catholic Church. Even if most people live their lives as if God didn't exist, and either ignore or forget about Him every single day, today they couldn't avoid it. The news was everywhere, and God's Hands were all over this. Many of them probably hardened their hearts and will go about their business tomorrow--but maybe some listened. Maybe some heard. Maybe some were captivated by the Church's ancient traditions, or by the pure joy from the crowd, or by this institution that seemed to be "not of this world." Maybe some started to realize why the Catholic Church has stood strong for 2,000 years, or that the visible, physical world is completely related to the invisible, spiritual world. (The visible sign of white smoke represented the Holy Spirit's guidance and the cardinals' cooperation with Him.)

The Catholic Church will never get its due recognition from the rest of the world--and that is okay, because Jesus told us that that would happen. There certainly will always be people who will never understand the beauty of our faith which knows no boundaries. But none of this ever discourages me. Nothing is more important to me in my life than my Catholic faith. Some days I feel like I could just burst with childlike joy just because I am Catholic. The Holy Spirit has lit my soul on fire and I am falling deeply in love with Him! The Church is getting stronger and signs of life are everywhere. 

And of course, she will continue to grow and strengthen evermore, with our new Supreme Pontiff, Pope Francis! God bless the pope!

 



First 7 Quick Takes Friday!

~ 1 ~

This is my first "7 Quick Takes Friday" as I am still relatively new to the blogging world. I have also spent quite a lot of time this week reading through Jennifer's blog, loving the conversion story from atheist to Catholic. I just love conversion stories! But I've also spent time this week trying to get the hang of the 7QTF :)

 

~ 2 ~

I am home sick from work today. I thought that my friends--water, sleep, and Airborne--were keeping my cold at bay, but boy was I wrong! After being lethargic all day at work on Thursday, I was even more frustrated that I wasn't sleepy at all last night. I went to bed around 8:30, but literally stared at the ceiling for almost 4 full hours, coughing, unable to breathe through my right nostril, and feeling the head cold travel to my ears. My dear, dear husband ran to the store at midnight to get me some nighttime cold medicine. What a saint! I slept soundly until 9:00 this morning. Lessons learned: don't be afraid to ask for help, and take it easy when you feel the cold coming on.

 

~ 3 ~

Big news today: the Cardinals have set a date for the Conclave!! Tuesday, March 12!! Ever since our dear Pope Emeritus announced his resignation back in February, I have had a certain Christmas song stuck in my head: "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." You see, my birthday is on March 13 so I keep singing, "All I want for my birthday is a white puff of smoke"! Now that the Conclave date has been established, the day before my birthday, I know it might be a long shot, but a possibility nonetheless!

 

~ 4 ~

In Montana, it's a pretty big deal when you can have nice weather in March... and by nice weather, I mean mostly sunny, not windy, and with temperatures in the 40s. That's exactly what we will have today, tomorrow, and most of Sunday. I always seem to get sick when the weather is great! I will just live vicariously outdoors through a few of my warm-looking photos.

 

 

~ 5 ~

I read this story today about a 16-year-old girl named Cassidy. This beautiful soul was born without eyes and a nose. It made me think of a couple things. For one, yes unfortunately this girl would have been a probable candidate for an abortion, and I thank God that her life was spared. It just amazes me that a child is a candidate for the death penalty because he or she is not physically "perfect" as we think they should be. For two, I was really moved by the fact that she said (because she goes to a blind school), "Mom, everyone here is blind, so I'm normal." Is this not how we should look at our fellow brothers and sisters? Without our organ-eyes which can only see the body, the shell of a person, and instead use our soul-eyes to see the souls of others? To see the beauty, the worth, the Divine, and the dignity inside each person? Our organ-eyes have a lot to learn from our soul-eyes on how to look at the whole world.

 

~ 6 ~

I'm pretty excited to think that I might get a few views on by blog today! The only place that I share my blog is on my personal Facebook page, so the incoming traffic stays pretty small and consistent. This is my first big step in connecting with other bloggers! So "HELLO" to you all!

 

 ~ 7 ~

It took me about 2 hours to get this blog published. Not because I didn't have anything to say, but because my computer AND internet are running ridiculously slow today! Learning patience with technology can be very trying. What is even more trying is the humility you feel once you realize how insignificant our "first world problems" are.





Having coffee with Jesus

For Lent this year, one of the things I gave up happens to be one of my favorite things: coffee. Oh how I just love coffee! Nothing beats the smell of it… especially when you take the raw green beans, roast them, and then immediately grind and brew them to get, literally, a fresh cup of coffee. This is how coffee is made in the Evans household, and I treasure it deeply.

 

I’m not a huge coffee drinker in that I don’t drink 5, 6, 7+ cups of coffee a day. No, I typically just drink one or two cups a day. (I’m also sadly notorious for leaving just a few sips at the bottom of each cup, no matter how much or how little I have had…) But there’s just nothing like that sweet smell of hot coffee coming from the mug that you’re holding so thankfully in your hands.

 

And all the joys and pleasures that I get from a simple cup of coffee is what I gave up this year.

 

Just a month before Lent, I honestly thought that I wouldn’t be able to give up something that I loved so dearly and I tried to rationalize why I couldn’t give it up. But, as the Good Lord does, He was pursuing me to make real sacrifices this year. Sacrificing things I love, things I live with daily, and things that make the morning so worth waking up to.

 

And I think it is precisely for this reason: so that prayer and my relationship with Jesus becomes something that I so love, something that I live with daily, and something that makes the morning so worth waking up to.

 

We are about halfway through Lent now and it has been 22 days since I have had a cup of coffee. I miss it so much, but the hour has not yet come. For now, I will continue to wander through the desert with Jesus to finish out this Lenten season. My love for Him will keep growing, our relationship will get stronger, and He will keep teaching me along the way.

 

And then on that glorious, most holy Eastern morning, I will have my first cup of coffee since February 12, and in my heart, I will be sharing that coffee with Jesus. In my soul, we will be sitting together at a coffee shop, talking as friends do, speaking to the One I love, and sharing my deepest gratitude for His overcoming death, for His Passion which has made my salvation possible, for His Mercy that I rely on when I fall short and fall into sin, for His unconditional love which is His essence. And together on the third day we will celebrate His Resurrection, over a cup of coffee.

 

 

Why Adoration?

Why would we choose to go to Adoration? What makes it so special? Why is it any different than just praying at home, or even in an empty church or chapel?

 

 

Well that big, gold thing holds the answer.. literally. That “gold thing” is called a monstrance (from the Latin word “monstrare” which means “to show”). So, based on its name, this monstrance is showing something, but what? Well, in the middle of the monstrance is a glass circle, and visible through the little window is a consecrated host, the Eucharist--literally the flesh of Christ.

 

So when we go to Adoration, we literally are sitting in the presence of Christ’s true Flesh, His true Spirit sitting there, gazing upon us as we gaze upon Him. Truly seeing Him, and not just a picture or a statue. Christ is always around us in Spirit, but He is the Incarnation: He is the Word made Flesh. When we sit in Adoration, God isn’t just with us in Spirit, but He is with us in Body, too.

 

Sometimes it’s so hard to comprehend, because when you look at it, on the surface it just looks like a piece of bread. And it is. It does retain its physical properties of bread, but after it has been consecrated and inundated with the Holy Spirit, it becomes the flesh of Christ. Just like if you cut down an oak tree to make a table, it still retains its properties of being oak wood, but now it is a table. Or if you find a seashell and make it into a Christmas ornament (which I have done!), it is still a seashell, but now it has become an ornament. Same, too, for what we see is still bread, but thanks to the Holy Spirit, it is also the flesh of Christ.

 

And that’s really the only difference between Adoration and any other time for prayer, but it is a big difference. You literally get to sit in His spiritual and physical presence, to speak to Him and listen to Him.

 

It’s like talking on the phone with friends or family who are far away. Talking to them is great, but nothing beats actually being home and being in their presence. You might have the same conversations in person as you would on the phone, but it’s so much better to physically be around them. Or it’s sort of like having a long-distance relationship, rarely seeing your significant other, but always keeping in touch. But finally one day, always a great and much-anticipated day, he is in town and you get to go out on a date with your love. You get to see him, smell him, feel his love, energy, and spirit. And when you gaze upon him, and not just a still photograph or a blurry memory in your mind, you are reminded once again of how deep your love is, how blessed you are to know him, and how it feels to be loved by him.

 

 

And that is what Adoration is to us.

 

 

 

 

 

A few saints (and venerables) had exceptionally deep devotion to the Eucharist. Check out what a few of them had to say about it here.