In the morning prayer Michaelites pray to the Guardian Angel:"You constantly look in the face of the Heavenly Father, to read from it his holy will". How much more those words refer to the St. Michael the Archangel, who is the prince of the heavenly host, who is the most perfect of spiritual beings! Moreover, in the hymn in honour of St. Michael we sing: "Welcome St. Michael, You who closely contemplate the indescribable beauty and goodness of God
" Therefore, what we can learn from St. Michael is the way of the quiet adoration, a contemplation of the face of God.
In our situation, it will refer specifically to the Eucharistic Adoration. Prayer of adoration is the most beautiful form of prayer, the most selfless and the most spiritually fruitful. This is a complete silence, wordless standing before the Lord. The world we live in is becoming louder and lauder and we need those moments and examples that teach us of the importance of being silent.
In Europe, thousands of young people go every year to Taize gatherings that take place between Christmas and New Year. Once, a journalist asked Brother Mark: "What is the difference between the crowd of young people exiting from the train stations with large backpacks and the young people going to the rock concerts?" He heard the answer: "They came for the silence."
The attitude of adoration that comes from silence and leads to silence is an attitude of worship towards the Creator. It is the first and fundamental act which occurs in almost all religions. Adoration very soon compels us to the act of faith - without faith it is impossible to remain in adoration for even 10 minutes. In adoration we must learn stillness, to let God look at me. A humble monk once confessed: "I usually do not do anything before the Blessed Sacrament, but I agree that he looks at me. Sometimes I even fall asleep for a while, but I do not feel guilty for that reason. Lord Jesus Christ knows I'm tired after work. His gaze renews my strength."
Adoration is not a simple prayer. We need to remember the words of Jesus to Saint Sister Fustina: "During the weeks you neither saw me nor felt my presence I was more profoundly united to you than at any times when you experienced ecstasy."
Fr. Waclaw Chudy, CSMA