Eucharistic adoration

Held every 3rd Thursday of the Month

From 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM

(Please consult current bulletin for any scheduling changes)

How to Spend an Hour in Eucharistic Adoration

O Come Let us adore Him!

“Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ”. St. John Paul II

What is Adoration? Adoration is one of the most beautiful ways to spend time in prayer – second only to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Adoration refers to time spent with Jesus in the Eucharist. As Catholics, we believe Jesus is truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity in the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist. Plainly stated, the Eucharist is Jesus. Usually the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, with the consecrated Host visible, within a golden or silver display case called a monstrance. Even when the Blessed Sacrament is not exposed, you can pray before Jesus’ presence in the tabernacle. Often, the faithful spend an hour in Adoration as Christ asked in Gethsemane, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?” It’s also practical, as Churches that have adoration, organize schedules so that the Blessed Sacrament is never left alone, and generally do so in one-hour increments.

Remember that the Lord is spending this hour with you. Let Him look at you. Begin adoring Him. If possible, on your knees rejoicing in your heart. As a groom staring at his bride walking up the aisle, as a mother gazing at her newborn, as a son or daughter returning home after a long journey, these are the ways we should approach our Lord. Anyone who ever fell in love knows the feeling of staring into the eyes of the other and wanting to just drink them up. So also, we should seek that level of intimacy, silence of the self, and joy when we come to adoration. If we don’t feel it, know that the Lord does. He is far more delighted to be in our presence than we could ever be at being in His.

Why should we go to Adoration? To learn how to sit at the feet of Jesus, to choose the better portion, and to help attune our ears to God’s words and our eyes to God’s gaze so we can do what we pray in the Our Father: “thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Sitting before the Eucharist is being granted an audience with the King of Heaven. Why would we keep away?

Don’t know what to do or say? All relationships start with being willing to participate, to spend time. Go and if it’s your first time sitting, let yourself sit and contemplate, this is Christ. This is what love looks like. We’re called — whether married, consecrated religious, or single — to be like Christ. Christ allows Himself to be broken, poured out to the last drop. As fallen creatures, we always tend to hold some of ourselves back in reserve. Sitting before the Eucharist will help us to understand that love is always service, love is always a gifting of the whole self.

We can also. Pray the Scriptures. Read them, steep in them, reflect on them. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see, read, hear and understand. Pray the Rosary. No one knows her son better than the Blessed Mother, and she can teach you how to gaze at her Son on the Cross, how to sit at the foot of Her son at the Mount, and how to kneel next to Him in adoration. Pray with Her, and she will help you to “do whatever He tells you.” Pour out your heart to Christ and ask His help, ask for forgiveness and intercede for others, make reparations for yourself, your loved ones and the whole world, sing praise to the Lord in your heart, express gratitude for all His blessings, adore Him.

You are invited to spend time with our dear Lord, remembering that “God will not be out done in generosity”!

St. Ignatius of Loyola.

He’s waiting for you.

Source: https://aleteia.org/2018/08/10/how-to-spend-an-hour-in-adoration/