God created us to praise, reverence, and serve Him for the salvation of our souls.
Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul. All other things on the face of the earth are created for man to help him fulfill the end for which he is created. From this it follows that man is to use these things to the extent that they will help him to attain his end. Likewise, he must rid himself of them in so far as they prevent him from attaining it. (The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, St. Ignatius of Loyola, 47)
Visit Jesus outside of Mass; make contact with the wellspring of grace.
The Eucharist is a priceless treasure: by not only celebrating it but also by praying before it outside of Mass we are enabled to make contact with the very wellspring of grace. … “In the course of the day the faithful should not omit visiting the Blessed Sacrament, which in accordance with liturgical law must be reserved in churches with great reverence in a prominent place. Such visits are a sign of gratitude, an expression of love and an acknowledgment of the Lord’s presence”. (Mysterium Fidei, Pope Paul VI, 25)
Reverence to Jesus in the Eucharist wherever He is.
Lavrans went by the well-trodden path over the fields to Rommundgaard. The moon was dipping behind the hills now—but thousands of stars glittered above the white mountains…. He hoped that the priest might be at home…
But when he was come in between the fences near the farm, he saw a little taper coming towards him. Old Audun was bearing it—when he marked that there was someone on his path, he rang his little silver bell. Lavrans Bjorgulfson threw himself on his knees in the snowdrift, by the path.
Audun went by bearing the taper and the bell that still tinkled gently. Behind him came Sira. Eirik a-horseback. He lifted the pyx high in his hands when he came by the kneeling man—looked not to right or left but rode calmly past, while Lavrans bowed himself down and stretched his two hands up in greeting toward his Savior.
…Lavrans said the prayers for the dying before he rose from the snow and went homewards. Even so, this meeting with God in the night had strengthened and comforted him much. (Quoting from Kristin Lavransdatter, Sigrid Undset, The Hidden Manna, O’Connor, 190)
Maintain a balance between intimacy with God and reverence toward His transcendence.
It is fundamentally important to remain in the intimacy of God and of his extraordinary simplicity, I would even say “familiarity” toward us, yet also to understand the meaning of transcendence, the immensity that surpasses us and calls us in one and the same movement. Only this balance can lend to our relation with God its full depth, because the ineffable miracle of divine intimacy comes precisely from his transcendence. How can what is infinite not only come to meet us but also form an intimate relation with what is finite, its creature? (The Power of Silence, Cardinal Sarah, 206)
Silence is always reverential
God is silence, God is love. We approach love as something sacred, with dignity, respect, and adoration. To me it seems strange to try to create tangible relations with the divine that are devoid of reverence.
The silence that brings us close to God is always a respectful silence, a silence of adoration, a silence of filial love. It is never a trivial silence. (The Power of Silence, Sarah, 206)
Kneeling is a sign of adoration; otherwise, make a sign of reverence.
When the faithful communicate kneeling, no other sign of reverence toward the Blessed Sacrament is required, since kneeling is itself a sign of adoration. … When they receive Communion standing, it is strongly recommended that, coming up on procession, they should make a sign of reverence before receiving the Blessed Sacrament. (Eucharisticum Mysterium, Vatican II, n. 34)
Wonder over God’s perfect humility and divine condescension.
What wonderful majesty! What stupendous condescension! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord of the whole universe, God and the Son of God, would humble himself like this and hide under the form of a little bread, for our salvation. (Second Letter–Letter to All Clerics, St. Francis of Assisi, Adoration, Guernsey, 62)
Humility in approaching God.
“Come to me,” You say, “all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you” (Mt 11:28). Oh, how sweet and kind to the ear of the sinner is the word by which You, my Lord God, invite the poor and needy to receive Your most holy Body! Who am I, Lord, that I should presume to approach You? Behold, the heaven of heavens cannot contain You, and yet You say: “Come, all of you, to Me.” (Imitation of Christ, a Kempis, 212)
Renew our appreciation and gratitude of Jesus present in the Eucharist.
Oh, the blindness and the hardness of the heart of man that does not show more regard for so wonderful a gift, but rather falls into carelessness from its daily use! If this most holy Sacrament were celebrated in only one place and consecrated by only one priest in the whole world, with what great desire do you think, would men be attracted to that place, to that priest of God, in order to witness the celebration of the divine Mysteries! (Imitation of Christ, a Kempis, 216-217)