The Capacity for Silence
The Holy Father took the opportunity provided by the feast of Corpus Christi to speak on the importance of Eucharistic Adoration. I have written on the Eucharist before, and can say nothing other than if one loves Christ, than one must, as He said, do as He commands. In the Gospel according to Saint John, chapter 6, we find Christ commanding the Eucharist. The Church obeys through the celebration of Holy Mass and the practice of Adoration. It is essential to the life of the Church and the life of the Christian, and needs to be promoted without fail! We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and
Silence, too, during adoration also benefits the soul. It is nothing other than spending time with the Beloved. As one simple soul said, in response to a question as to what he did during adoration, "He looks at me, and I look at Him." Words are not always necessary when one is with the Word, simply to be with Him is enough. Mother Theresa had some amazing words on silence:
restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.
Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart.
Now, in the spirit of the silence called for, I will stop typing!
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God love you,
Father V.
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VATICAN CITY, JUN 10, 2007 (VIS) - At midday today, Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square below.
In his remarks, the Holy Father spoke of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, which many nations including the Vatican celebrated last Thursday, and which others have liturgically moved to today. This Feast invites us, he said, "to contemplate the supreme Master of our faith: the Blessed Eucharist, the real presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the altar.
"Each time a priest repeats the Eucharistic sacrifice," he added, "he lends his voice, hands and heart to Christ, Who wished to remain with us and to be the pulsating heart of the Church. But even after the celebration of the divine mysteries, the Lord Jesus remains alive in the tabernacle and, for this reason, a special form of praise of Him is Eucharistic adoration." Outside Mass, this practice "prolongs and intensifies the events of the liturgical celebration, and makes it possible to welcome Christ truly and profoundly."
Benedict XVI went on to mention the fact that "in all Christian communities a Eucharistic procession takes place today, a unique form of public adoration of the Eucharist, enriched by the beautiful and traditional expressions of popular devotion.
"I wish to take the opportunity of today's Solemnity to recommend the practice of Eucharistic adoration to pastors and faithful. ... I am happy to note that many young people are discovering the beauty of adoration, both alone and in company. I invite priests to encourage youth groups to this end, but also to accompany them to ensure that community devotion is always appropriate and dignified, with suitable moments for silence and listening to the Word of God.
"In modern life, so often noisy and dispersive, it is more than ever important to recover the capacity for inner silence and prayer. Eucharistic adoration enables this to happen, not only around 'me,' but also in the company of the 'you' full of love that is Jesus Christ, 'God close to us'."
