Preliminary Reflections of a New Man

As a new man here at the Saint Paul Seminary, I must say one of the best parts of this new life has been, inter alia, the new ease with which I can make a daily Holy Hour. During my process of discernment last year, I read a great deal about the importance of spending time in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. And for a few years now I have been making every attempt to include that practice in my spiritual life, but never did I succeed in making it a regularly scheduled daily event. Until now, that is. Most mornings, I can wake up early, get dressed, gulp down a quick cup of strong black coffee, and head into St. Mary’s Chapel (mere steps from my room) where Our Eucharistic Lord waits for me beginning at six o’clock. How comforting, edifying, humbling, to begin the day this way. These days I am finding it especially necessary to spend that hour with the Lord due to the many new responsibilities with which I’ve been entrusted in the last six weeks: academic studies, commitments to works of mercy, Spanish language tutoring, football practices, etc. Those who advise the practice of Adoration are quite right – one really does draw strength from the encounter. Now if only I can remember these sentiments when the alarm clock goes off at 5:15, and it’s getting toward the end of the week, and that extra hour of sleep seems so much more valuable!

Interestingly, my short walk to the chapel takes me right past the aforementioned portrait of the Angelic Doctor. When I remember to glance at him, St. Thomas silently reminds me of what I am about to do. In the painting, he holds open a book displaying verses of two of his famous Eucharistic hymns. Reading the words “Tantum Ergo Sacramentum…” and “Adoro te devote, latens Deitas…” one cannot help but be struck by the miracle he is about to experience – the Real Presence. Even if the caffeine hasn’t yet taken its full effect, and the eyes have to strain a bit to read them – those words mean a lot. I too look forward to the return of the portrait to its normal place.