Blessed James Alberione made several holy hours daily, and he left us a particular “way”–you might call it his own “secret”–for making a holy hour, based on the Eucharistic liturgy of the Mass. (Thankfully, he’s shared it with all of us!) I’ve been making a daily Hour of Adoration using this method for over 25 years, and it is simple, easy to remember, and completely adaptable to whatever I’m going through at the moment. Blessed James divides the hour into three “moments” or parts that focus on our relationship with Jesus as our Truth, Jesus as our Way, and Jesus as our Life.
Here is a short description in his own words:
In the Pauline Family, the general way of making the Visit is according to the devotion to Jesus our Master, Way, Truth, and Life.
a) We come to the school of Jesus Truth.
We start with spiritual reading…a passage from the Gospel, from the Letters of Saint Paul, or from a book on ascetical or mystical theology, etc. Then we reflect and ask for an increase of faith and light…
b) We make the examination of conscience, contemplating the divine model, Jesus Way….
We look at our image in his light, and we compare ourselves to him, especially in regard to the virtue we want to acquire and the resolutions we have made. We go over the details of the day. Then we offer acts of thanksgiving and of sorrow; we pray an act of contrition; we express whatever springs from the above considerations, and we conclude with a more intense desire for perfection and to practice our resolution.
c) We pray to Jesus Life for habitual grace and for actual graces. We pray the Rosary, make a spiritual communion, renew our baptismal promises…
We pray with Jesus, with Mary, and with Saint Paul. We offer the best prayers for ourselves and for the world–often using prayers from the Liturgy; at other times we make our own personal prayers. Many requests concern our particular necessities and those of others…
The Pauline way of making a Holy Hour bears wonderful fruit in our day-to-day lives, because in it we open our minds, wills, and hearts, to receive Jesus’ light, grace, and love. I’ve written a lot about Pauline adoration; you can find more resources here and in my latest book, Soul of Christ: Meditations on a Timeless Prayer.
Credits:
Photo by Saint John’s Seminary on Unsplash
