“Of all devotions, that of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the greatest, after the sacraments, the one dearest to God and the one most helpful to us.”
– St. Alphonsus Ligouri
The Church celebrates the feast day of St. Alphonsus de Liguori (Bishop, Moral Theologian, Confessor and Doctor of the Church) on August 1. He is a patron saint of confessors, vocations and moral theologians, as well as those who suffer from arthritis and rheumatism. He lived from 1696-1787. He is the founder of the Most Holy Congregation of the Redeemer (the Redemptorists).
A very prolific writer about the Catholic Faith, he found his vocation during one of his many hours adoring Our Lord and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1871.
Here are some of St. Alphonsus de Liguori’s quotes about the importance of Eucharistic Adoration in our lives (source – St. Francis Perpetual Adoration chapel):
“The Holy Eucharist” (Visits To The Most Blessed Sacrament And To The Blessed Virgin Mary: For Each Day Of The Month) by St. Alphonsus Ligouri
- “Oh, how sweet a joy it is to remain with faith and tender devotion before the Eucharist, and converse familiarly with Jesus Christ, who is there for the express purpose of listening to and graciously hearing those who pray to him.”
- “In a quarter of an hour’s prayer, spent in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, you will perhaps gain more than in all the other spiritual exercises of the day.”
- “Certainly amongst all devotions, after that of receiving the sacraments, that of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament holds the first place, is the most pleasing to God, and the most useful to ourselves.”
- “Our holy faith teaches us, and we are bound to believe, that in the consecrated Host, Jesus Christ is really present under the species of bread. But we must also understand that He is thus present on our altars as on a throne of love and mercy, to dispense graces and there to show us the love which He bears us, by being pleased to dwell night and day hidden in the midst of us.”
- “There it was (in Eucharistic Adoration) that St. Francis Xavier found refreshment in the midst of his many labours in India; for he employed his days in toiling for souls, and his nights in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. St. John Francis Regis did the same thing; and sometimes finding the church closed, he endeavoured to satisfy his longings by remaining on his knees, outside the door exposed to the rain and cold so that at least at a distance he might attend upon his Comforter concealed under the sacramental species. St. Francis of Assisi used to go to communicate all his labors and undertakings to Jesus in the most Holy Sacrament.”
- “Be also assured that Jesus Christ finds means to console a soul which remains with a recollected spirit before the Most Blessed Sacrament, far beyond what the world can do with all its feasts and pastimes.”
- “What shall we do, you sometimes ask, in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? Love him, praise him, thank him and ask him for things. What does a thirsty person do when he sees a pure clean fountain?”
Other St. Alphonsus Ligouri Eucharistic Adoration Quotes:
- “Frequent visits to Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar are a great help to the souls that love Him.”
- “To souls enamoured of God, hours spent before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament appear moments.”
- “You may be sure that of all the moments of your life, the time you spend before the divine Sacrament will be that which will give you more strength during life and more consolation at the hour of your death and during eternity.”
- “Withdraw yourself from people and spend at least a quarter of an hour, or a half-hour, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Taste and see how sweet is the Lord, and you will learn from your own experience how many graces this will bring you.”
- “True, Our Lord hears our prayers anywhere, for He has made the promise, “Ask, and you shall receive”, but He has revealed to His servants that those who visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament will obtain a more abundant measure of grace.”
- “The sovereigns of the earth do not always grant audience readily; on the contrary, the King of Heaven, hidden under the Eucharistic veils, is ready to receive anyone…”
- “Nothing in the world can set hearts ablaze with love for God like the Blessed Sacrament. That is why this divine bread has been pictured as a furnace of love. Saint Catherine of Siena saw far-reaching flames coming from this furnace of love and spreading throughout the world.”
- “Good friends find pleasure in one another’s company. Let us know pleasure in the company of our best Friend, a Friend who can do everything for us, a friend who loves us beyond measure. Here in the Blessed Sacrament we can talk to him straight from the heart.”
- “We can open our souls to Him, tell Him what we need, beg him for powerful graces. We are perfectly free to approach the King of the universe with full confidence and without fear.”
- “Jesus tells us that where person esteems his treasure to be, there also does he keep his affections. Therefore the saints, who neither esteem nor love any other treasure than Jesus Christ, centre their hearts and all their love in the Most Blessed Sacrament.”
- Nowhere have holy souls made more admirable resolutions than here at the feet of their hidden God. Out of gratitude to my Jesus, veiled in this great Sacrament, I must declare that it was through this devotion, visiting Him in the tabernacles, that I withdrew from the world where, to my misfortune, I had lived until the age of twenty-six. Happy will you be if you can separate yourself from it earlier than I did and give yourself wholly to that Lord who has given Himself wholly to you.”
- “My Jesus, what a lovable invention this Holy Sacrament is that You would hide under the appearance of bread to make Yourself loved and to be available for visits by anyone who desires You.”
- “My Lord Jesus Christ, who, for the love You bear to mankind, do remain night and day in this Sacrament, full of pity and love, awaiting, calling, and receiving all who come to visit You; I believe that You are present in the Sacrament of the Altar; I adore You from the depths of my own nothingness; I thank You for the many graces You have given me, and especially for having given me Yourself in this Sacrament.”
- “Loving souls can find no greater delight than to be in the company of those whom they love. If we, then, love Jesus Christ much, behold we are now in his presence. Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament sees us and hears us; shall we, then, say nothing to Him? Let us console ourselves in His company; let us rejoice in His glory, and in the love which so many enamoured souls bear Him in the Most Holy Sacrament. Let us desire that all should love Jesus in the Holy Sacrament, and consecrate their hearts to Him; at least let us consecrate our affections to Him. He should be all our love and our whole desire.”
- “O most compassionate Savior, be pleased to make me faithful to You and grant that I may also, by my example, excite others to keep You company in the Most Blessed Sacrament.”
- “If you desire to find Him immediately, see (that) He is quite close to you. Tell Him what you desire, for it is to console you and grant your prayer that He remains in the Tabernacle.”
- “You will find that all the Saints were enamoured of this most sweet devotion; since, indeed, it is impossible to find on earth a more precious gem, or a treasure more worthy of all our love, than Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament.”
- “Oh, what torrents of grace have the Saints drawn from the fountain of the Most Blessed Sacrament! for there Jesus dispenses all the merits of His Passion, as it was foretold by the Prophet: ‘You shall draw waters with joy out of the Saviour’s fountains’ (Is. xii. 3).”
- “Those persons are tenderly affected who go to Jerusalem… but how much greater ought our tenderness be in visiting an altar on which Jesus is present in the Most Holy Sacrament.”
Copies of his books are great additions to adoration chapel or parish or personal libraries.
Here are some of his masterpieces that we found online which you may want to consider purchasing:
Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin Mary (St. Alphonsus) – read online; or pdf here
The Holy Eucharist (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, epub, kindle format
The Holy Mass (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, epub, kindle format
The Holy Mass (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, epub, kindle format
The Holy Mass (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, kindle format
Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament for Every Day of the Month… (St. Alphonsus) – pdf
On the Passion of Jesus Christ (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, kindle format
The Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the Seven Last Words (St. Alphonsus) – pdf, text, kindle
The Passion and the Death of Jesus Christ (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, kindle; or pdf here
The Love Shown to Us by Jesus in His Passion (St Alphonsus) – audio
The Glories of Mary (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, kindle format; pdf also here; or audiobook here; audio also here (in various parts)
The Incarnation, Birth, and Infancy of Jesus Christ (St. Alphonsus) – pdf, text, kindle format
The Holy Name of Mary (from The Glories of Mary; St. Alphonsus) – pdf
The Life of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (Fr. A. Tannoja) – pdf, text, kindle format
The Life of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (Fr. A. Carroll) – pdf, text, kindle format
The Life of St. Alphonso Maria de Liguori – pdf: vol. I, vol. II, vol. III, vol. IV, vol. V
The Glories of Mary (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, kindle format; pdf also here; or audiobook here; audio also here (in various parts)
The School of Christian Perfection (St. Alphonsus) – read online
On the Vice of Impurity (St. Alphonsus) – read online
The Love Shown to us by Jesus in his Passion (St. Alphonsus) – audiobook
Dignity and Duties of the Priest (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, epub, kindle format
The Divine Office: Explanation of the Psalms and Canticles (St. Alphonsus) – pdf, text, epub, kindle format
The True Spouse of Jesus Christ (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf
The History of Heresies and Their Refutation (St. Alphonsus) – pdf, kindle format; or pdf here and here
Letters of St. Alphonsus de Liguori – pdf, text, kindle format: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4
Sermons for All Sundays in the Year (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf
Sermons upon Various Subjects (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf
This Is the Mass (Abp. F. Sheen, H. Daniel-Rops) – read online
The History of Heresies and Their Refutation (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, kindle format
The Divine Office: Explanation of the Psalms and Canticles (St. Alphonsus) – pdf, text, kindle format
The Way of the Cross (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf (or also here and here latin/english) or audio here or here;
The Seven Sorrows of Mary (St. Alphonsus) – pdf, text, epub, kindle format
Prayer
O God, who constantly raise up in your Church new examples of virtue,
grant that we may so closely follow in the footsteps
of the Bishop Saint Alphonsus in his zeal for souls
so as to attain the same rewards that are his in heaven.
Through Our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever.
Amen.
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