Day 36: Beauty of Her Devotion
Author: Abbey Foard
November 17, 2021
By Abbey Foard
DSM
Executive Director
St. Thomas Aquinas’ (1225-1274) hymn, Adoro te Devote, captured me
with its melody when I heard it almost a decade ago (listen to a contemporary
setting of the melody
here).
Hidden
God, devoutly I adore Thee,
truly
present underneath these veils:
all my
heart subdues itself before Thee,
since it
all before Thee faints and fails.
Ah, this 'hidden' God, who implores us to seek Him passionately, before
whom hearts melt in submission and surrender.
Though sometimes He seems veiled, He meets me when I seek Him. A
most faithful presence, He is deep. Responsive. Communicative. Real. Ever
new. My life is defined by moments of
Jesus-encounter. My wholeness hinges on His Real Presence. I became Catholic
this year and I am moved by His invitations to encounter Him in new dimensions
of prayer.
At the start of this fast, the Lord
invited me to intercede for a specific breakthrough in my life. I learned of a Novena
(from the Latin word for nine)—a prayer that focuses on a specific intention
for 9 days (or in my case, 9 weeks), usually through the intercession of one or
more saints. This particular Novena invited the intercession of St. Anthony of
Padua, a man known for deep prayer and miracles that Jesus wrought through his
gift of intercession. I imagined him in heaven, delighting in interceding for
me. He was ready to pray for my breakthrough!
Last Tuesday I knelt to pray.
Immediately (and in such a way that I knew I had not manufactured as the vision
came so quickly!) I had a picture of Jesus and St. Anthony together. They were giddy
with excitement, working with intention and pleasure. I knew instinctively they
were preparing something for me. I was a little girl with two adoring big
brothers readying a gift for the sister they loved. Their joy astounded me. Their intentionality comforted
me.
Every week I have interceded with this Novena.
The words are simple. Clear. I move in faith, not desperation. My heart is bare
and increasingly open in trust. The Lord is stirring up an adoring heart. The
One who longs to satisfy my hunger and thirst is peeking through the veil to
reveal His glory.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ hymn concludes with
the same thought:
Contemplating,
Lord, Thy hidden presence,
Grant me
what I thirst for and implore,
In the
revelation of Thy essence
To behold
Thy glory evermore. Amen!
‘Jesus, rouse the gift we are. Help us to attend to the treasure
you summon from the trash. Free us from our constant faultfinding and free us
for vestiges of paradise in our memories and in our lives today. We refuse the
liar who tries to rewrite Eden out of our histories. Unite us to the home of
our original dignity.’
‘Jesus, have mercy on us as Your Church. We have abused weaker
members, including children, and protected ourselves. We have violated the most
vulnerable. In Your mercy, free us to superabound with justice. Grant us
Kingdom discernment and courage to reform ourselves. May our repentance grant
us Kingdom authority to strengthen the weak, discipline violators, and restore
the violated.’
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