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Spiritual Adoration and the Analogy of Spiritual Communion

Writer's picture: Fr. Ave MariaFr. Ave Maria



I am sure that most of you have heard about the practice known as Spiritual Communion. Making an act of Spiritual Communion means uniting oneself to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (in one's intention) and, without receiving Him physically, asking Him to come into one's heart and soul as if one were making a physical act of Communion at Holy Mass. This practice has been recommended strongly by the Church, by her Saints, and by Our Lord Himself in various private revelations. The purpose of an act of Spiritual Communion is to unite ourself to Jesus at moments of the day when we are not able to physically receive Him at Holy Mass. Some of the Church's Saints have even said that the graces obtained from a good act of Spiritual Communion can be equal to the graces that we would obtain if we were to receive Our Lord sacramentally in the Holy Eucharist at Mass.


But while this practice of making acts of Spiritual Communion is generally known by the faithful, there is a similar type of spiritual exercise that is less well known and that pertains more directly to the practice of Eucharistic Adoration. We could call this: Making an Act of Spiritual Adoration. So what exactly is an act of Spiritual Adoration and how can it be useful in our spiritual life?


An act of Spiritual Adoration works exactly the same way as does an act of Spiritual Communion. The difference is that, instead of asking for the grace of Communion (that is, the grace of being able to receive Our Eucharistic Lord spiritually in our heart), one is petitioning God for the grace of Adoration: the grace of being able to adore Christ spiritually in the Blessed Sacrament. The way of doing this is by uniting oneself interiorly, through an intention of the will, to the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus Christ in a particular Tabernacle or church — or, more generally, to wherever Christ is present in all the Tabernacles of all the churches, chapels, and oratories throughout the world. The important part of this act of Spiritual Adoration is the intention of the will. Our will is a spiritual faculty of our soul and, as such, it is not bound by space or time.


When we make an act of Spiritual Adoration, we adore in spirit (that is, interiorly) Jesus Christ truly present in the Tabernacle. We unite ourself in spirit to Our Lord's Real Presence, and we spiritually place ourself where He is in order to worship and adore Him. Practically speaking, it can be useful to think and imagine in your mind the Tabernacle of your local parish church, or a Tabernacle in a beautiful church that you once visited, and place yourself there, in spirit, interiorly. The goal is to adore Christ where He truly is present.


One of the great benefits of this practice of Spiritual Adoration is that we can make use of it everywhere, no matter where we are, even if there is no church or Tabernacle before us or nearby. This is particularly useful when we cannot physically be before the Blessed Sacrament: just like an act of Spiritual Communion is especially useful when we cannot physically receive Jesus in the Consecrated Host.


An act of Spiritual Adoration is a true act of adoration or worship of God, for the simple reason that adoration is an act of love, and love transcends both space and time. I can love someone who is not physically in the room present before me, just as I can love a person who has left this life for eternity but whom I knew when that person was alive in this world. A deceased relative can still be loved by us, as can a far distant relative who has moved to another part of the world. Space and time are no obstacles to true love.


In a similar way, we can adore or worship Christ in spirit, wherever He is present in the Blessed Sacrament, even if we are not physically there. An act of Spiritual Adoration transcends the limits of space and time and allows us to love Our Eucharistic Lord always and everywhere.


Let us, then, make frequent acts of Spiritual Adoration throughout the day, uniting ourselves in our hearts to the Heart that so loved the world that It chose to remain here in this world sacramentally through the Blessed Sacrament. The beauty of Spiritual Adoration is that it can be practised when we are alone in our bedroom, when we are by ourselves in our office at work, or wherever else we may happen to be.


The feature image for this blog post shows a man on his knees at the foot of the bed, with his head bowed and his hands folded in prayer. And though, while he is physically present in his bedroom, his spirit is present where his thoughts are: that is, with Our Lord.


It is said of the Angels that since they are purely spiritual beings without a material body, their presence is localized to the place where they are acting. A guardian angel, for example, need simply think of the person who is under his charge in order to be present to that person. And while we cannot do this in the same way, nonetheless our thoughts do allow our spirit to be present in a different "space" than where our body is. So it is that every time we think of God, we are with God and are in His presence.


Acts of Spiritual Adoration enable us to be united to Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament throughout the day, such that Our Lord's promise made in the Gospel can be truly fulfilled: "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of time" (Mt. 28:20).


© AD MMXXV  Hostiam Immaculatam

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