"The worship given to the Trinity of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit... must fill our churches also outside the timetable of Masses... This worship must be prominet in all our encounters with the Blessed Sacrament... Adoration of Christ in this sacrament of love must also find expression in various forms of Eucharistic devotion; personal prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, hours of adoration, periods of exposition -- short, prolonged, and annual (Forty Hours) -- Eucharistic benediction, Eucharistic processions, Eucharistic Congresses.... Let us be generous with our time in going to meet Him in adoration and in contemplation that is full of faith and ready to make reparation for the great faults and crimes of teh world. May our adoration never cease."
Saint John Paul II
What is Eucharistic Adoration?
- It is the adoration of Jesus Christ present in body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Holy Eucharist.
- People come to worship continually throughout an extended period of time in this consistent place before His Presence for prayer, peace, and quiet.
Why is it important?
- Adoration gives to God what belongs to Him alone. It is a supreme form of reverence, glory, and honor.
- Adoration is creation’s attempt to reach out, with the help of God’s invitation and grace, to become holy in the presence of God.
Why devote an hour with our Lord regularly?
- He has asked us to!
- “Could you not watch one hour with me?”
- “Behold this Heart which has so loved men and which is so little loved in return…I thirst to be loved by men in this sacrament of My love.”
- He is the source of live-giving grace.
- He restores morality, nourishes virtues, consoles the afflicted, and strengthens the weak.
- He wishes to console us: “Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid!”
- No less than His contemporaries inPalestinewho adored and implored Jesus for the favors they needed, so we should praise and thank Him, and implore Him for what we need.
- Only John had the courage to follow Jesus all the way to the cross. Be willing to keep Jesus company for one hour each week, and you too will be known as “the Apostle whom Jesus loves.”