THURSDAY DEVOTION:
DEVOTION TO JESUS TRULY PRESENT IN THE HOLY EUCHARIST

Dear brethren in Christ, Happy Thursday!

Thursday is the day of devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist as it is when this Sacrament was instituted by Our Lord for the very 1^st time during the Last Supper.

As such, the entire Catholic Church in its tradition has dedicated this day to grow in our adoration, love and devotion to Our Lord Jesus Christ, really, truly and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist.

There are many ways to grow in one’s love and devotion to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist:

• One can go to Holy Mass;
• make a visit to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament;
• One can spend some moment in intimate prayer with Our Lord who awaits for us in the Tabernacle…

St. Josemaria taught people this wonderful Thursday devotion as well. He encouraged them to meditate in their prayer the Hymn, “Adoro te devote” composed by St. Thomas Aquinas. There are many translations of this hymn originally written in Latin. Nevertheless, for those who wish to have this prayer, here is a literal English translation:

I devoutly adore you, O hidden Deity,
Truly hidden beneath these appearances.
My whole heart submits to you,
And in contemplating you, It surrenders itself completely.

Sight, touch, taste are all deceived in their judgment of you,
But hearing suffices firmly to believe.
I believe all that the Son of God has spoken;
There is nothing truer than this word of truth.

On the cross only the divinity was hidden,
But here the humanity is also hidden.
I believe and confess both,
And ask for what the repentant thief asked.

I do not see the wounds as Thomas did,
But I confess that you are my God.
Make me believe more and more in you,
Hope in you, and love you.

O memorial of our Lord’s death!
Living bread that gives life to man,
Grant my soul to live on you,
And always to savor your sweetness.

Lord Jesus, Good Pelican,
wash my filthiness and clean me with your blood,
One drop of which can free
the entire world of all its sins.

Jesus, whom now I see hidden,
I ask you to fulfill what I so desire:
That the sight of your face being unveiled
I may have the happiness of seeing your glory. Amen.

Cordially inviting you to visit and like our FB page in http://www.fb.com/CatholicsstrivingforHoliness or sign-up to our website,www.catholicsstrivingforholiness.com, so we can have a wider apostolic reach and thus help more people in their Christian life. Thanks! Fr. Rolly A., priest of Opus Dei.

PHOTO SOURCE: MINE.