Why Pray in His Presence?

 Why Pray in His Presence?

Why go to church or a chapel with the Blessed Sacrament to pray?  Why can’t I just pray at home?

The main reason is because it speaks volumes of love to Our Lord.  You know the saying about ‘actions & words’.  “Of all devotions, that of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the greatest after the sacraments, the one dearest to God and the one most helpful to us” (St Alphonsus Liguori).  Jesus made it clear in Gethsemane that the presence of His friends brought comfort. (Mt 26:38)  In His humanity, He likes to be with those He loves as much as we love to be with family.  Texting, phone calls, or face-time are all nice, but they don’t compete with actually being together.

Jesus manifests His great love for us by being Truly Present.  He humbles Himself to become our food, and by waiting patiently in the monstrance in the hope that we’ll come and visit Him.  He’s called the “Prisoner of Love”, for He’s chosen too imprison Himself thus for us.  This is the one corporal work of mercy we can perform directly for Jesus: visit the imprisoned.

(Eight Ways of Loving God - Jeanette Flood)