Down in Adoration Falling...

This past weekend, while returning from a visit to Nashville to see Derek Webb in concert, I was blessed with the opportunity to visit Jesus at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama.

There are a lot of things to say about the shrine. To me, one of the most remarkable things is its location. It is, literally, in the middle of nowhere. As one who has been to the Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal, I must admit I was shocked that such a beautiful and fruitful place for Catholic worship was available a mere 3 hour drive from my home, as opposed to a far-off (and expensive-to-visit) European location.

I personally (though I may be biased) don't think the Shrine is comparable to the beauty, size, and age of Fatima, but considering it is "middle-of-nowhere" Alabama, I'm impressed. Being there in the sweeping courtyard, I felt for a moment that I was back in Portugal, viewing the Basilica for the first time. Cliched it may be, it sent shivers up my spine.

Clearly, there are a number of differences, but the air felt much the same. Words fail me to properly convey the exact feeling. Perhaps my journal entry from July 12, 2005 can help to provide a more accurate description, though I apparently faced the same failure of words. While standing in one of the archways adjacent to the Basilica, I wrote this:

"It is hard to describe the strange calm that overcomes me as I lean against the pillars of the outdoor walkway at the Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima, listening to the gregorian chants coming from hidden speakers.

The light breeze blows my skirt and hair as I look out at Amanda and CeeCee crawl on their knees, side by side, to the chapel of Apparitions. Many others are following this same path; some using every ounce of willpower they have to keep going, even to the point of bruises and knees so bloody that they leave shining amber puddles everytime they move forward.

The sun is at my eye level, making it difficult to continue looking out at the many pilgrims that have come to celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima tomorrow. My hands folded, kneeling on the base of the railing, I pray for all those dear to me."

The disjointed writing clearly struggles to describe something so great that the senses are too feeble, and thus fail... and that brings me to my next subject.

Inside the main church of the Shrine, Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar is exposed in an absolutely monstrous monstrance (if one can forgive the play on words!) He is surrounded in splendor that is fit for a king-- and rightly so-- He is the King of all!

But while gazing at Jesus in this grand receptacle, I realized that despite the surrounding grandeur, the Jesus I knelt in the presence of is no less the same Jesus that I adore weekly at Spirit and Truth. What power there is to be seen in that! Jesus is there; in every tabernacle, in every monstrance. He is the same; constant, divine, and loving. I am overwhelmed by His vast greatness and humility.

Christ, in all his Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, chooses to present Himself to us in the form of a small wafer of Bread. What a great and precious gift. He is so mighty, yet humbles himself so that we might share in Communion and have Eternal Life!

Tantum ergo Sacramentum

veneremur cernui:

et antiquum documentum

novo cedat ritui:

praestet fides supplementum

sensuum defectui.

Genitori, Genitoque

laus et iubilatio,

salus, honor, virtus quoque

sit et benedictio:

procedenti ab utroque

compar sit laudatio.

Amen.