Opera Omnia

27. THE VISIT TO THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

The soul is taught by the Lord gradually. There are persons who did not have a high spiritual education, but who understand spiritual matters very well. It was attested by the Divine Master: Father, to you I offer praise, for what you have hidden from the learned and the clever you have revealed to the merest children.¹ Even among the children, farmers, students, doctors, there are those who at times understand spiritual matters quite well, because Jesus continues to be the Master and where the Priest cannot arrive, the greatest and eternal Priest can always come: Jesus.

Remain in humility, always in humility, it is the condition to obtain graces, all the graces.
Direct yourselves towards the Most Holy Eucharist and then, the Lord shall mark out the way for you. When the person is docile, when he/she thinks of being unkind, ungrateful and asks for pardon: Propitius esto,¹ when one sincerely says: Jesus, I wish to be of one heart with you, but I am not good at all! Jesus, draw me to you, but see how imperfect I am, then Jesus is so kind to draw this person to himself with ineffable attractions. The confessor has the duty to only say: this is from God, this is not from him.

Souls must always be guided so as not to follow a false light.
As we preach, we tell you the method, the general way, but we cannot nor should we substitute the Divine Master. It is he who speaks to the heart and who calls. Listen with great faith when he speaks, let yourselves be attracted by him. He chooses the humble souls. Once I am lifted up from earth, I will draw all men to myself.¹ Follow Jesus, but never take risks through methods of prayer unchecked by the confessor. After recognizing the divine voice, St. Paul was also docile to follow what Ananias ² had told him.

The Lord disposed that the Priest be the director of souls and he speaks through the Priest. Express your thanks, tell him what you ought to, submit your prayer to him. However, such communication is not to be continuous; once or twice a year is enough. The confession is weekly, while for spiritual direction, once or twice a year can be sufficient.
The spiritual direction of a Professed Sister is one thing and that of the novice and the postulant is another; it shall also be different between the temporary professed and the perpetual professed. In the final Profession, the way is already marked and the sister must have understood the love of God, hence, she goes on and makes progress, checking whether illusion gets into the way.
It is Jesus who draws the person to himself, who takes him/her into his heart and talks to him/her with confidence. Whoever wants so many words and sentiments in confession, impedes the way. Can you not hear that it is Jesus who wants to reveal himself to you, that the Holy Spirit wants to be your Teacher?
Consider well what it means to be perpetually professed; think of the grace of Profession that brings you to intimacy with God. There should be no intermediaries between the Bridegroom and the Bride.

The Visit to the Most Blessed Sacrament can be individual prayer and can be apostolate.
Adoration is your main duty and apostolate; all the graces are gathered here for you. The graces of Communion are prepared and developed in Adoration; so with the graces of the Holy Mass.
The Adoration is the principal means for you to obtain every grace and to make it bear fruit.

Adoration is made in Christo et in Ecclesia.¹ (In Christ and in the Church).
In Christ. The more the Disciple resembles her Master and is united with him, the more she is perfect. In going to school, the more the student grasps the knowledge of the teacher, the more she learns. The Disciple is really such, when she allows that which the Divine Master possesses enter her head and heart. Take note that it should need the whole life to understand that which Jesus possesses, for it is infinite and eternity would not suffice.
Jesus Christ adores, thanks, satisfies, implores the Father on the altar. With him, for him, in him, the (P)Disciple adores, thanks, makes reparation, implores, identifies herself in him; she becomes his lips, his heart, his life.
Your offering is not like that of the simple Christian; it is and must be the offering of the Bride. You belong to him and only to him! As much as possible, get into Christ, in his thoughts, in his perfect Adoration, in the praise he gives the Father, until you can really say: Vivit in me Christus² (Christ lives in me).
Christ, God-Man offers all that pleases the Father from the Tabernacle. Your Adoration shall be more perfect, the more you conform yourselves to him. Hoc enim sentite in vobis quod et in Christo Iesus³ (Your attitude must be that of Christ). May you have the same sentiments of Jesus.
In participating in the Holy Mass, nothing exceeds this identifying oneself with Christ, Victim and Priest. He is the Prayer par excellence.

In the Church. I tell you of your other nobility that should make you joyful, if you will understand it well. There are religious women who recite the Breviary as a rule, especially those of the contemplative life.
You make your Adoration in the name of the Church. Man is created to praise God. We will continue to do this in Paradise and we will do it for all eternity. Ignorant as we are here on earth, we do not even understand that this is the true happiness; we are very dull, incline to evil!
From Adam on, men have committed many sins, humanity was stained and lost. Then, God willed that the Church, his virgin and immaculate Bride, would praise him through the lips of Priests and Virgins, of those who are appointed by the Church herself to do it. When you make your Adoration, you are representatives of the Church; pray in the name of the Church.
Put on your special habit for Adoration, in order to represent the Church better. Feel united with the Pope and the Hierarchy, of being in the heart of the Church. Understand their needs, their desires. What nobility, what an election! The earth shall not suffice to worthily thank the Lord.

Oh, if only you recognized God's gift!,¹ Jesus said to the Samaritan woman and the same Jesus from the Tabernacle repeats it to you: if only you recognized the gift of your vocation! You would answer him: Whom did you choose to raise to such dignity? Why did you come to take a miserable being like me? De stercore erigens pauperem.² (He raises the poor from the dust). De stercore (from the dust), the lily that Jesus chooses for himself, buds forth to glorify his goodness. In view of the perfume and purity of this lily which shall be all his, he does not smell anymore the stench of the dunghill of this world and of our miseries.
Recognize your dignity, your very sublime duty! Woe to you if you do not accomplish it well! You have to do much purgatory! However, you want to avoid purgatory; in the Adoration, you find the means to go immediately to Paradise after death.

Method. There are different methods for the Visit to the Most Blessed Sacrament.
There is that one of the four goals: to adore, thank, propitiate, implore.
There is that of the five goals: adoration, praise, petition, reparation, offering. In this method, the person ends up offering and placing all of oneself at the disposition of God's will for all life-time.
The method of the six goals: adoration, thanksgiving, propitiation, reparation, offering, petition for oneself and for all men. There are still other methods that divide the Adoration in seven, eight, up to eleven parts.

For you, the ordinary method is the Way, Truth and Life Method.
In the first part: read the Sacred Scriptures, consider the truth, read again that which was heard and meditated upon in the Exercises, let the truth enter the soul.
Make exercises of faith and implore the Lord to give us the gift of this virtue, that prepares us for the beatific vision. Ask that faith may spread in the world. Ut omnes errantes ad unitatem Ecclesiae revocare.¹
Ask faith for the Sisters, for the young ones in formation, for the aspirants, novices, in order that, they may grow in it and may have a true spiritual life and not just a mechanism that accumulates external practices.

In the second part, Jesus is presented to us as our model. He is the Model of all holiness. He was holy in mind, heart, deeds; he was holy in his infancy, in the private, public, family, social life.
Jesus is the religious who pleases the Father in everything.¹ Let us follow his footsteps.
In this part, the examination of conscience is made, our life is compared with that of the Divine Master, we ask for pardon, we humble ourselves, we make good resolutions.

In the third part, Jesus life is honored. Spiritual communion is made; graces, theological virtues, cardinal virtues, gifts of the Holy Spirit, the grace to always understand and observe the vows and the religious life better, are asked.
For the Visit of two hours, the Holy Rosary is recited to conclude every part.
Self-identification in Jesus Christ. It is an immense way and you can progress in it until you want.

There are things which are not said nor can be said in preaching, just like certain sentiments of our soul which are only addressed to Jesus. After bringing his Bride in the private cell of his love and intimacy, Jesus says things that are mysterious and reserved, as those described in the Song of Songs.¹
Follow also the teaching of St. Paul, the first mystic.