Introduction to the Visit to the Blessed Sacrament

Holy faith teaches, and we are bound to believe, that in the consecrated Host Jesus Christ is really present under the appearances of bread. But we must also understand that he remains there upon our altars as on a throne of love and mercy, to dispense graces and to show the love he bears us, by choosing to dwell day and night thus hidden among us. It is well known that it was especially for this purpose that Holy Church wished to institute the feast of the Blessed Sacrament with a solemn octave and with so many solemnities of processions and expositions of the Blessed Sacrament that are practiced during that time, so that men by their homage, thanksgivings, and acts of love might be grateful to acknowledge and honor this loving presence and dwelling of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the altar. O God, how many insults and contempts this lovable Redeemer has had to suffer, and must suffer every day, in this Sacrament from those very men for love of whom he has remained on earth upon the altars! He himself complained of this to his dear servant Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque, as related by the author of the book on Devotion to the Heart of Jesus. One day, while she was before the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus showed her his Heart on a throne of flames, crowned with thorns and surmounted by a cross, and then spoke to her thus: Behold this Heart which has so loved men and has spared nothing, even to the point of consuming itself, to show them its love; but in return I receive from the greater part of men nothing but ingratitude, by the irreverences, coldness, sacrileges, and contempt they show me in this Sacrament of love. And what is most painful to me is that these are hearts consecrated to me. Then Jesus asked her that the first Friday after the octave of the Blessed Sacrament be dedicated to a special feast in honor of his adorable Heart, in which his loving souls should seek to make reparation by their homage and affections for the contempt he has received from men in this Sacrament upon the altars. And he promised most abundant graces to those who would render him this honor.

This makes us understand what the Lord once said through his prophet, that he finds his delight in being among men: Deliciae meae esse cum filiis hominum (Prov. VIII, 31); for he cannot bring himself to leave them, even though abandoned and despised by them. And this likewise shows how pleasing to the Heart of Jesus are those who often visit him and spend time keeping him company in the churches where he dwells in the Sacrament. He commanded St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi to visit the Blessed Sacrament thirty-three times a day; and this dear spouse of his obeyed him well, drawing as close to the altar as she could, even bodily, as is recounted in her Life. But let all those devout souls who often go to spend time before the Blessed Sacrament speak, and let them tell of the gifts, the lights, the flames they receive there, the paradise they enjoy in the presence of this sacramental God. The servant of God, Fr. Luigi La Nusa, a great missionary in Sicily, was even as a young layman so enamored of Jesus Christ that he seemed unable to tear himself from the presence of his dear Lord, such were the delights he experienced there; so much so that when his director ordered him under obedience not to remain more than an hour, when the hour ended, in obeying he showed -- says the author of his life -- the great violence he did to himself in tearing himself from the breast of Jesus Christ, just as a baby shows when torn from its mother's breast while most eagerly nursing; and having to depart, it is said that he lingered on his feet gazing at the altar and repeating various bows, as if he could not take his leave of his Lord, whose presence was so sweet and pleasing to him. -- Likewise, St. Aloysius Gonzaga was given the obedience not to linger before the Blessed Sacrament, and as he passed by and felt himself drawn to remain there by the sweet attractions of his Lord, he tore himself away with great effort, saying to him with tenderness of love: Recede a me, Domine, recede. -- Here too St. Francis Xavier found refreshment from the many labors he undertook in the Indies: while he spent the day helping souls, at night he spent his time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. The same was the practice of St. John Francis Regis, who, finding the church doors sometimes locked, consoled himself by kneeling before the door, in the rain, in the cold, to pay court even from a distance to his sacramental Consoler. St. Francis of Assisi, in every trial he endured, would go immediately to share it with Jesus in the Sacrament.

But the devotion of St. Wenceslaus, king, to the Blessed Sacrament was especially tender. This holy king was so enamored of Jesus in the Sacrament that not only did he gather with his own hands the wheat and the grapes, make the hosts and the wine, and distribute them for use at Mass, but furthermore at night, even in winter, he would go about visiting the churches where the Blessed Sacrament was reserved; and from these visits his beautiful soul drew such flames of divine love that the warmth was communicated even to his body, so that when he walked upon the snow he took away its bitter cold. It is known, as the history relates, that a servant accompanied the holy king at night, and because the servant suffered greatly from the cold walking upon the snow, the king, having pity on him, ordered him to follow and place his feet nowhere but upon the king's own footprints, and thus it happened that the servant felt the cold no more. -- You will read in the Visits other examples of the love that souls enamored of God have had for lingering in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. But you will find that all the saints were in love with this most sweet devotion; since on earth we can find no fairer joy, no more lovable treasure, than Jesus in the Sacrament. Certainly among all devotions, this one of adoring Jesus in the Sacrament is the first after the sacraments, the dearest to God, and the most useful to us. Do not be reluctant, then, devout soul, to begin it yourself; and detaching yourself from the conversation of men, from this day forward spend some time every day, at least half an hour or a quarter hour, in some church in the presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament. Gustate et videte quam suavis est Dominus (Ps. XXXIII, 9). Try it and you will see the great profit you will draw from it. Know that the time you spend lingering with devotion before this most divine Sacrament will be the time that bears the most fruit in your life and will console you most at your death and in eternity. And know that perhaps you will gain more in a quarter hour of prayer before the Sacrament than in all the other spiritual exercises of the day. It is true that in every place God hears the prayers of those who pray to him, having promised: Petite et accipietis (Io. XVI, 24); but the Disciple teaches that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament dispenses his graces more abundantly to those who visit him. And Bl. Henry Suso likewise said that Jesus Christ upon the altars in the Sacrament hears the prayers of the faithful more than anywhere else. And where have holy souls ever made their finest resolutions, if not at the foot of the Blessed Sacrament? And who knows whether you too, before some tabernacle, may one day make the resolution to give yourself entirely to God? I must confess in this little book, at least out of gratitude to my Jesus in the Sacrament, this truth: it is through this devotion of visiting the Blessed Sacrament, though practiced by me with so much coldness and imperfection, that I find myself out of the world, where to my misfortune I lived until the age of twenty-six. Happy will you be if sooner than I you can detach yourself from the world and give yourself entirely to that Lord who has given himself entirely to you! I repeat, happy will you be not only in eternity, but even in this life! Believe me, all is vanity: banquets, plays, conversations, amusements -- these are the goods of the world, but goods all full of gall and thorns. Believe one who has experienced them and still weeps over them. And rest assured that the soul which with a little recollection lingers before the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus Christ knows how to console more than the world with all its banquets and amusements. Oh, what a beautiful delight it is to stand before an altar with faith and a little tender devotion, and to speak familiarly with Jesus Christ, who is there on purpose to hear and answer those who pray to him! To ask his pardon for the offenses given him! To present to him our needs, as a friend does to another friend in whom he has complete confidence! To ask him for his graces, his love, his paradise! And above all, oh, what a paradise it is to linger making acts of love toward that Lord who upon that altar is praying for us to the Eternal Father and is burning with love for us! For love is what makes him content to remain thus hidden and unknown and even despised by the ungrateful. But what need is there of more words? Gustate et videte.

As for the Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the opinion of St. Bernard is well known and commonly followed, that God dispenses no grace except through the hands of Mary: Deus nihil voluit nos habere, quod per manus Mariae non transiret. Hence Fr. Suarez attests that it is today the belief of the universal Church that the intercession of Mary is not only useful but also necessary for obtaining graces: Sentit ecclesia Virginis intercessionem esse utilem ac necessariam. And a great foundation for this is the observation that Holy Church applies to Mary the words of Sacred Scripture, making her say: In me omnis spes vitae et virtutis. Transite ad me omnes (Eccl. XXIV, 25-26): Come to me, all of you, since I am the hope of every good for you. Whence she then adds: Beatus homo qui audit me, et vigilat ad fores meas quotidie (Prov. VIII, 34): Blessed is the one who is diligent in coming every day to the doors of my powerful intercession, for finding me, he will find life and eternal salvation: Qui me invenerit inveniet vitam, et hauriet salutem a Domino (Prov. VIII, 35). Hence with good reason Holy Church wills that we all call her our common hope, greeting her: Spes nostra, salve.

Therefore, says St. Bernard (who went so far as to call Mary the entire reason for his hope: Tota ratio spei meae): Quaeramus gratiam, et per Mariam quaeramus. Let us seek graces and let us seek them through Mary; otherwise -- says St. Antoninus -- if we ask for graces without her intercession, we shall attempt to fly without wings, and we shall obtain nothing: Qui petit sine ipsa duce, sine alis tentat volare.

Read then, in the book of the Reciprocal Affections by Fr. Auriemma, the innumerable graces that the Mother of God has bestowed upon those who have practiced this most useful devotion of visiting her often in her churches or before her images; the graces she bestowed in such visits upon Bl. Albert the Great, upon Abbot Rupert, upon Fr. Suarez, in obtaining for them especially the gift of understanding, by which they became so celebrated in the Church for their learning; the graces she bestowed upon Brother John Berchmans of the Society of Jesus, who each day used to visit Mary in a chapel of the Roman College, professing to renounce all the loves of the world in order to love none other than the Blessed Virgin after God, and who kept written under the image of his beloved Lady: Numquam quiescam, donec obtinuero tenerum amorem erga matrem meam. The graces she bestowed upon St. Bernardine of Siena, who as a young man also went every day to visit her in a chapel near the city gate, saying that this Lady had stolen his heart, wherefore he called her his beloved and said he could not help visiting her often; and through her intercession he obtained the grace to leave the world and become that great saint and apostle of Italy that he became.

Therefore, do you also endeavor always to unite every day the Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Visit to the Blessed Sacrament, in some church or at least before some devout image of hers at home. And if you practice it with affection and confidence, hope to receive great things from this most gracious Lady, who has the custom, says St. Andrew of Crete, of rendering great gifts to those who offer her some small tribute of honor: Solet maxima pro minimis reddere.

Sweet Mary, my hope,

Who could ever forget you?

Have pity, O Queen, on me.