(Mary, the Mother of God 2019: This homily was given on January 1, 2019
at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 67:2-8; Galatians
4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21.)
[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Mary, the Mother of God 2019]
When did Adoration of the Body and Blood of Christ take
place for the first time? And who were
the first adorers? Since Eucharistic Adoration
as we know it today didn’t begin until the Middle Ages, many historians would probably
say the first instance of men and women adoring the Lord’s Body and Blood took
place sometime between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, in a monastery or
convent somewhere in Europe.
But they would be wrong—by over a thousand years! In reality, the very first time people adored
the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ was on Christmas
Day, in the hours after Jesus was born.
And the first adorers were none other than our Blessed Mother and St.
Joseph—who were joined later on by the shepherds we heard about in today’s
gospel. And the adoration they engaged
in was, at least in part, nocturnal—something
we’re starting here at St. Pius on the first Friday of every month, beginning
this Friday.
How timely!
Fr. Dean Perri came up with this insight, and he shared it
with me the other day. And it makes
perfect sense, does it not? In fact,
isn’t this how we portray Mary and Joseph and the shepherds in many of our
crèche scenes (like the one we have here at St. Pius)? Jesus is there in the manger and his mother
and foster father are kneeling beside
him, their heads bowed in prayer. Some
of the shepherds are usually portrayed in that same pose.
They’re all adoring the Son of God, the Savior, who has
just been born into the world.
So here’s a way that we can all imitate our Blessed Mother,
whom we honor in the Church on this New Year’s Day: We can resolve to make Adoration
a part of our life (if it’s not already).
And we can begin this Friday, by coming here to church to spend some
time (an hour if possible) in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, which will
be exposed in the monstrance on the altar from 8pm until the Saturday morning
Mass, which will begin at 8am. We have
all the hours covered by at least one person; so if you didn’t sign up for an
hour already you can come anytime during that 12 hour period.
What do you do during Adoration—besides praise and adore
Jesus (which would certainly be enough!)?
But what else can you do?
Actually, you can do many things.
I made a list the other day of some possibilities:
- · You can read the Bible (which, generally speaking, Catholics need to do more often). My suggestion is to start with the New Testament; it’s easier to understand.
- · You can pray a Rosary
- · You can tell your problems to the Lord, and then try to listen for his response—which might come in a Scripture passage you read.
- · You can pray the Liturgy of the Hours or some devotional prayers.
- · You can intercede for all the people you’ve promised to pray for, or who’ve asked for your prayers.
- · You can read a spiritual book that will help you to grow stronger in your faith.
- · You can reflect on your life and try to discern God’s will on some personal matter. (That’s a very important thing to do in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.)
Or you can just sit quietly in the presence of your Lord
and Savior and try to open your heart to his grace. This is something my grandfather, Nick
Suriani, used to do. My grandparents’ house
was located directly in back of Holy Angels Church in Barrington, and my
grandfather would often walk over during the day and make visits to the Blessed
Sacrament. Well one afternoon Fr.
Giudice happened to meet my grandfather as he was making one of his many
visits, and he asked him, “Nick, what do you do when you come here to church
during the day?”
My grandfather said, “I sit here and look at God, and God
looks back at me.”
Contemplative saints like John of the Cross and Teresa of
Avila couldn’t have said it any better!
My grandfather found strength in Adoration—which definitely
helped him to deal with the crosses he experienced in his life, especially the
deaths of three of his four children.
Both my grandparents lived well into their nineties, but they lost three
children to cancer before the age of 60—including my father, who died at the
age of 46.
Adoration of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ was good
for my grandfather, as it was good for Mary and Joseph, and as it’s been good
for millions of other believers throughout the centuries.
May it also be good for us—beginning this Friday.
