“Adoration is not a luxury but a priority…” Benedict XVI, Angelus, 28 August 2005) “Adoration is of inestimable value in the life of the Church…” (John-Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 25)
“Eucharistic Adoration has for its object the divine person of Our Lord Jesus Christ present in the Most Holy Sacrament. He is alive, He wants us to speak to Him and He will speak to us. And this dialogue of love between the soul and Our Lord is the true Eucharistic meditation, it is adoration. Happy the soul who knows how to find Jesus in the Eucharist and in the Eucharist all things.” (Saint Peter-Julian Eymard)
Adoration is a way of bearing witness to our love for Jesus who in His great love remains with us day and night in the Blessed Sacrament. Has he not said: “Behold I am with you always” and “I have loved you with an everlasting love…” (Mt 28, 20; Jr 31, 3).
Eucharistic Adoration prepares for and prolongs the Eucharistic Celebration. (Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis, 66)
According to Pope Benedict XVI the two etymologies of the word “adoration” correspond to its two dimensions: “The Greek word is proskynesis. It refers to the gesture of submission, the recognition of God as our true measure, supplying the norm that we choose to follow. It means that freedom is not simply about enjoying life in total autonomy, but rather about living by the measure of truth and goodness, so that we ourselves can become true and good. This gesture is necessary even if initially our yearning for freedom makes us inclined to resist it. We can only fully accept it when we take the second step that the Last Supper proposes to us. The Latin word for adoration is ad-oratio – mouth to mouth contact, a kiss, an embrace, and hence, ultimately love. Submission becomes union, because he to whom we submit is Love. In this way submission acquires a meaning, because it does not impose anything on us from the outside, but liberates us deep within.” (Benedict XVI, Homily WYD, Cologne 2005)
