“Most of us have probably heard and experienced the old adage that no matter what return we make to God for the generous gifts and blessings He has bestowed on us, we can never outdo His generosity. And this truth not only extends to the financial and physical gifts that we make, but most especially to the spiritual. The more time we spend in the Presence of our Lord in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, the more time He gives back to us and takes care of our many concerns and affairs. I have especially witnessed His abounding liberality during night-time Adoration. In giving up the precious gift of sleep, our Lord gives such special graces and blessings to the soul!
One such gift that I received came on the heels of a temptation and desire to quit night-time Adoration. It’s just too hard, I reasoned, and I need to be prudent. Not long after this urge to pull back, the Lord enlightened me with a beautiful image. For many years I had gotten up at all hours of the night to comfort and nurse my children when they were infants. Now, since my children were older, the Infant Jesus was calling me to get up in the middle of the night to come and comfort Him!
What joy becomes mine as I come into His Presence in the middle of the night and mystically take Him into my arms, telling Him how much I love Him, adoring Him, begging His pardon on behalf of all sinners, and asking Him to help me become a saint. I feel as if I am experiencing a little bit of that same joy that the Most Blessed Virgin Mary had as she cradled Him in her arms.
It is still very difficult most of the time to get up in the middle of the night, when all is dark and quiet and asleep. I think about how this often reflects my own poor soul and how it needs to be aroused from its sleepiness and brought into His Light, into His Presence. Now I know I need this night-time Adoration. The world needs it. The Church needs it. As I “cradle” the little Lord Jesus in my arms and try to kiss away the tears and the wounds that have been inflicted upon Him by our sins, I pray for all those who are asleep, that He will bestow upon their slumbering souls all the graces that they need to be awakened. When it comes to giving our time to Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration, whether by day or by night, He cannot be outdone in generosity.“
~ Anonymous