Let the reflections of the Lay Dominicans of St. Joseph Province in Godhead Here in Hiding Whom I Do Adore draw you into the arms of your Eucharistic and ever-present Lord:

“O dearest Jesus, I am so very grateful for the times that I spend with You in Adoration. You have chosen to be a prisoner of the tabernacle for my sake, but You are not restrained there. Whether I kneel or sit, You are so very close to me, indeed, right by my side. I feel Your Presence with me. I am so blessed to have these encounters with You. What a privilege it is for me! Then I remember that so many of Your flock do not realize that You are waiting for this intimacy with them.

Please, Lord, Your world needs You. Your people need You desperately. Many are lost and hurting. Good Shepherd, many have wandered from the fold, caught up in the distractions of the world. Let Your children experience Your Presence in their lives. Call them back home. Heal them in the manner that they need to be healed. Restore them to right relationship with You.

Advent is a season of joyful anticipation of Your coming, and I pause then to reflect on Your three-fold coming that we celebrate. I call to mind Your first coming into our world at Bethlehem, when You entered human history as a Child, God enfleshed, fully God and fully man. I consider how You come to every open heart that welcomes You.

With each day that comes, You continue to invite Your children to welcome You, and for those that receive You, their hearts become Your dwelling place. It is a great mystery, and I seem to have known from my youngest years that You were with me and that You loved me. I cannot say when You entered the stable of my heart, but since You still reside there, every day should be Christmas for me to celebrate Emmanuel, God-with-us. I also ponder Your final coming, when You will come in power and glory to establish Your kingdom for eternity. May I be found worthy when You return.

During the Advent season, I reflect on the use of the wreath and candles representing hope, peace, joy, and love to mark the passing of time as we draw closer to Christmas. Enlighten us, Blessed Lord, to come to see You as the Person who not only brings hope, but is Hope, the One Who is the lifter of our heads. Let us come to know You as the Person who is Peace, in whom all turmoil is put to rest, and replaced by peace. May we come to understand You as the Person who is Joy, our true source of joy and lasting happiness that will never end.

Dearest Jesus, you are Love. You are the One who has loved each one of us unto death. You have laid down Your life for each one of us, and even for those who do not accept You. Your love is so great, and you desire each of us so passionately, that had it been for my poor soul alone, You would have offered Yourself totally for me. And, it was not just for You to die, but You gave Yourself over to indescribable torture. Your precious Blood poured out upon Your creation by the brutalities inflicted by the crown of thorns, beatings, and scourging. It is so difficult to realize that my sins brought You to this, dearest Lord, and You embraced it all for love of me. How wonderful it is that You believed me to be worthy of Your very life!

Please increase the love that I have for You in the Blessed Sacrament, and grant me, every time that I am privileged to receive Your Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity at Mass, the same love, desire, and awe that Blessed Imelda Lambertini exhibited.

May my brothers and sisters all receive the grace to recognize You in the breaking of the Bread.”

Mrs. Melanie Von Gunten OP, St. Thomas Aquinas Fraternity, Zanesville, OH