Why should you spend time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament? If you want to have an intimate friendship with Jesus, you two need to spend time together. What should you say? Talk with him as you would with any good friend. Tell him how your day is going. Share your fears and dreams. Wait in expectant silence for his reply. Listen to him ‘with the ear of your heart.’
Don’t be afraid to sit in companionable silence. Close friends don’t need to always be talking. Soak up the ‘son-light.’ The Trappist mystic Thomas Merton once watched another monk trying to find the best words with which to address God. He laughed and told him, “Why do you struggle so hard to pray? Look at the apple. It doesn’t fight to turn red. It just hangs in the sun and ripens.”
Sitting in silent contemplation of his face softens your soul’s edges so you can embrace him with love in the Eucharist. It gives you the strength to face the person you hide from everyone, even yourself, because you are ashamed for being so weak and broken. You gaze on him, who has known the worst things that one man can do to another, and know that he loves every part of you. You begin love yourself.
Sometimes I think about how Jesus was left to pray alone in Gethsemane. His best friends couldn’t stay awake and share in his grief. It puts my own hardships in perspective and teaches me how to bear my little crosses and turn them into blessings. A little humility is good for a friendship.
Sitting with Jesus helps you hear the quiet voice of your conscience. Cardinal Ratzinger said when we look on Jesus’ face which was reviled, abused, spat on, and beaten, we see reflected the violence of this world; we see mirrored the true nature of our collective sins. We look at this unflinchingly and begin to reform our relationships with each other.
Don’t worry if you can’t turn off your brain. Let your thoughts flow through your mind without trying to control them. Ride above the current and keep your focus on Jesus. If a thought keeps intruding, perhaps the Lord is directing your attention to it. Work it through, and then return to silent companionship.
I guess the best reason to spend time with Jesus is that he wants to spend time with you. The gospel singer Larnelle Harris tells why he prays every day, in a song called I Miss My Time With You. To hear the entire piece click onto YouTube:
. . .
I miss my time with you … those moments together.
I need to be with you each day
And it hurts me when you say you’re too busy
Busy trying to serve me.
How can you serve me when your spirit’s empty?
There’s a longing in my heart
Wanting more than just a part of you.
It’s true, I miss my time with you.
. . .
—Blog by Postulant Therese Carson