One practical way St. Faustina consoled Jesus was by her frequent practice of Eucharistic adoration.
In the context of our Christmas theme, Eucharistic Adoration is like imitating Mary and Joseph. Just as they consoled Jesus by their very presence, gazing at Him with wonder and love, so too can we console Jesus by the gift of our presence.
When we approach Eucharistic Adoration in this way, we are clearly choosing to spend time with our Lord not to consume from Him but rather than console Him. Just as no one would spend time with a baby with an expectation to have a reward other than to fall in love, the same should be true for us. We should spend time with Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration not for any benefit we can receive but rather for the benefit of what we can give Jesus – our acts of love.
This was St. Faustina’s approach to Eucharistic Adoration. She writes: “I will spend all my free moments at the feet of [Our Lord in] the Blessed Sacrament” (224).
How we spend our free time is one of the clearest signs of what or who we love or at least consider important and worthwhile. It’s just a simple fact of life.
St. Faustina also got in the habit of making short visits for Eucharistic Adoration: “After dinner, I went into the chapel for a five-minute adoration” (167). Sometimes, we think that we have to spend a long time in Eucharistic Adoration if we are going to go. But that is not the case. Short frequent visits are also very beneficial to console our Lord and progress is the way of love.
St. Faustina writes: “O Jesus, Divine Prisoner of Love, when I consider Your love and how You emptied Yourself for me, my senses fail me. You hide Your inconceivable majesty and lower Yourself to miserable me. O King of Glory, through You hide Your beauty, yet the eye of my soul rends the veil. I see the angelic choirs giving You honor without cease, and all the heavenly Powers praising You without cease, and without cease they are saying: Holy, Holy, Holy. Oh, who will comprehend Your love and Your unfathomable mercy toward us! O Prisoner of Love, I lock up my poor heart in this tabernacle, that it may adore You without cease night and day. I know of no obstacle in this adoration, and even though I am physically distant, my heart is always with You. Nothing can put a stop to my love for You. No obstacles exist for me. O my Jesus, I will console You for all the ingratitude, the blasphemies, the coldness, the hatred of the wicked, the sacrileges. O Jesus, I want to burn as a pure offering and to be consumed before the throne of Your hiddenness. I plead with You unceasingly for poor dying sinners” (80).
Reflection Questions: How do you spend your free time? What are the top 3 things that you go to when you get some free time to yourself? Do you enjoy spending any free time in Eucharistic Adoration? If not, why? If yes, is it to console Jesus?
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