“The Eucharist,” the Catechism says, “is the source and summit of Christian life.” And rightfully so! For in the Blessed Sacrament, we encounter Christ himself.

While our schedules may impede us from attending daily Mass, he still waits for us in the tabernacle. Throughout the centuries, countless holy men and women have themselves experienced Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and related them through writing. Here’s what the Saints have to say about Eucharistic Adoration:

• This is the wonderful truth, my dear friends: the Word, which became flesh two thousand years ago is present today in the Eucharist. St. John Paul II

• “Many people nowadays say, ‘I wish I could see his shape, his appearance, his clothes, his sandals.’ Only look! You see him! You touch him! You eat him!” St. John Chrysostom

• “We must always have courage, and if some spiritual languor comes upon us, let us run to the feet of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and let us place ourselves in the midst of the heavenly perfumes, and we will undoubtedly regain our strength.” St. Padre Pio

• “Heaven for me is hidden in a little Host Where Jesus, my Spouse, is veiled for love. I go to that Divine Furnace to draw out life, and there my Sweet Saviour listens to me night and day.” St. Therese of Lisieux

• “Gaze upon him, consider him, contemplate him, as you desire to imitate him.” St. Clare of Assisi

• “We must visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament a hundred thousand times a day.” St. Francis de Sales

• “Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament has His hands full of graces, and He is ready to bestow them on anyone who asks for them.” St. Peter of Alcantara

• “The soul hungers for God, and nothing but God can satiate it. Therefore He came to dwell on earth and assumed a Body in order that this Body might become the Food for our souls.” St. John Vianney

• “Good friends find pleasure in one another’s company. Let us know pleasure in the company of our best Friend, a Friend who can do everything for us, a Friend who loves us beyond measure. Here in the Blessed Sacrament we can talk to him straight from the heart.” St. Alphonsus de Liguori

• “The devotion to the Eucharist is the most noble because it has God as its object; it is the most profitable for salvation, because It gives us the Author of Grace; it is the sweetest, because the Lord is Sweetness Itself.” St. Pius X

• “When you look at the Crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host you understand how much Jesus loves you now.” St Teresa of Calcutta

• “Every Holy Hour we make so pleases the Heart of Jesus that it is recorded in Heaven and retold for all eternity!” St. Teresa of Calcutta

• “The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time you will spend on earth. Each moment that you spend with Jesus will deepen your union with Him and make your soul everlastingly more glorious and beautiful in Heaven, and will help bring about everlasting peace on earth.” St. Teresa of Calcutta

• “He remains among us until the end of the world. He dwells on so many altars, though so often offended and profaned.” St. Maximilian Kolbe

• “A thousand years of enjoying human glory is not worth even an hour spent in sweetly communing with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.” St. Padre Pio