Transformed by Grace
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament changes us by making us like God in three different ways: in our human nature, in the life of grace, and for glory. In the spiritual tradition of the Catholic Church adoration of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament is considered an act of the virtue of religion. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “To adore God is to acknowledge him as God, as the Creator and Savior, the Lord and Master of everything that exists, as infinite and merciful Love.” St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest doctors and spiritual masters of the Church, teaches that when we love someone or something as a god or as God, we become like the one we love. Allow me to explain.
A virtue is an intentional disposition for doing good promptly and joyfully. Every virtue that is infused into our souls at Baptism has, as a gift from God, a spiritual dynamism within us. At the same time, every virtue infused into our souls requires that it be exercised in order to mature—much like a muscle that will atrophy if not exercised. The interior dynamism of the virtue of religion regards the most essential relationship to the human person, namely, one’s relationship to God. While the virtue of faith is about believing in God, the virtue of religion is about how we give God what is due to Him as our Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.
We can understand the Catechism and the effects of worship and adoration in three ways: in nature, by grace and for glory:
Nature – Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament helps us become like God, who is perfect goodness and perfect love. The first step in becoming like God, or deified, is recognizing God as our Creator, we ourselves as created by God, and our human nature as bearing an intrinsic order toward its final end. Our rational (human) nature is created with a desire and need for relationship and justice, with an orientation toward the common good. It is also attracted to a right ordering of all creation. Natural virtues are “those things which are done by us,” and they make not just what we do stable and good, but the possessor (or acting person) of the virtue good too. If virtue makes the one who possesses it good, then our rational nature becomes more like God (the good loved), by increasing in goodness. By the virtue of religion, those who worship and adorer God recognize the supreme perfections in their Creator. In contrast, worshipping creation or created goods falsely elevates the created goods as if it had divine power and likens devotees to the object of their worship (we see this all too often). Human nature is limited, and wounded by the effects original sin. It is for this reason that the grace of God is necessary for us to reach eternal life.
Grace – In baptism we (our nature) received the grace of God, which both reorders our relationship with God and helps us to keep it ordered to God. We were created for a purpose or end, which is the beatific vision of God, but we lost the ability to reach this end by original sin. Jesus Christ, being both human and divine, is the only way we can attain our eternal live in Heaven, and in the sacraments he shares with us the grace that elevates and heals our ability to be and live in such a way as to attain that end. By the virtue of religion, our worship and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament strengthens the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity in our souls. Each of these reunite us to God in our worship and adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist, giving us the strength and grace to live and act as followers of Christ. In fact, the more we worship God, the more we become like God.
Glory – Each of us has been created to glorify God, “I have created him for my glory."
Natural, or acquired virtues, which are built by the repetition of acts, have the civil good as their ultimate end, and do not increase after death when the body can no longer act. Infused virtues, on the other hand, are infused into our souls directly by God, and have a heavenly good as their end, are increased by God, and are given that we might grow in likeness to God, know and love Him as his children. Both prepare us for Heaven, but only the likeness to God that we become through the infused virtues (faith, hope, charity, temperance, fortitude, justice, and prudence) will remain in Heaven.
Preparation for Heaven
Our adoration of the Eucharist changes us and prepares us for Heaven. The Catechism also explains that adoration turns the gaze of our mind and heart to God and his works and blessings in our lives. When we see how God has created us to receiving his blessings, be healed and elevated by grace, and permitted an active participation in preparing for Heaven, I think an appropriate response IS adoration. Adoration, “exalts the greatness of the Lord who made us and the almighty power of the Savior who sets us free from evil. Adoration is homage of the spirit to the “King of Glory,” respectful silence in the presence of the “ever greater” God.”
Sr. Mary Joanna Ruhland, RSM is a Religious Sister of Mercy of Alma, Michigan.