I don’t remember when I first heard about Eucharistic Adoration or even the first time I experienced it. I went to Catholic school for eight years in the 1980s, and it never came up. After going to public high school, I attended many Catholic retreats in college and spent three years very involved at the Newman Center on campus, and…nothing. Maybe there was some mention of it that just never stuck, but it certainly wasn’t a common devotion in the circles I was part of.
Perhaps it was considered old-fashioned.
Well, apparently, everything old is new again.
Shortly after Kim and I were married, I vaguely remember her parents being involved in the ground floor of establishing a perpetual adoration chapel in their parish.
Once adoration landed on my radar, I remember being extremely intimidated by it. What’s the point, exactly? How do you do it? How do I keep from doing it wrong? How much kneeling is involved? (Answers to these and many other questions here.)
I also remember when Kim and I felt a call to commit to a weekly hour when a Perpetual Adoration Chapel was established in Madison, Wisconsin. It seemed like a big step and a lot to ask. I was busy traveling around the country as a speaker. We were still figuring out our business and didn’t have much extra time on our hands. We didn’t have kids yet, but we were hoping to, and that seemed likely to throw a wrench into the works.
I simply didn’t think it was realistic or even possible to commit to an hour a week.
I’ve never been so glad to have been so wrong.
We ultimately signed up for an hour with two friends. We figured that between the four of us, at least one could make the weekly commitment. It didn’t take long for me to realize that there was nothing to be intimidated by, there’s no one right way to do it, and once you get the hang of it, the hour goes by extremely fast.
Now I can’t imagine my life without it.
It’s hard to explain the clarity, insight, and peace that come from spending time before the Blessed Sacrament. I wish I could convince everyone I know to cast their cares to the wind, take an hour a week, and trust Jesus to change their lives for the better.
Because He will.
It’s not just my opinion. Here are some saints on the topic:
“A Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament is worth more than a thousand years of human glory.”
–St. Padre Pio
“Each time you approach the Blessed Sacrament remember that Jesus has been waiting for you for twenty centuries for this personal visit from you.”
–St. Josemaria Escriva
“The only time our Lord asked the Apostles for anything was the night He went into agony. Not for activity did He plead but for an hour of companionship.”
–Venerable Fulton J. Sheen
“The future belongs to those who worship God in silence. Jesus Himself is calling you to spend one special specific hour with Him each Week.”
–St. Pope John Paul II
“There is no doubt that a flood of graces will descend upon your family and the world if more souls would become docile pupils of adoration.”
–St. Pope John XXIII
“Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is the best time you will spend on earth!”
–St. Teresa of Calcutta
We are still thirty-four hours short of covering every hour for the new adoration chapel in Sheboygan County.
If people knew the power of that consistent hour spent with Jesus, not only would we have every hour filled, we’d need a bigger chapel.
Of course, the idea of Eucharistic Adoration hinges on the belief that somehow, as incredible as it is to believe, the tiny white host is in fact the body, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ himself. This is a central tenet of the Catholic faith, and a topic beyond the scope of this little post. It’s a difficult truth to accept. (It was why many of His followers walked away when Jesus talked about it in John 6:60-71.)
My challenge for you is this: try it. What do you have to lose? Sit there in the silence and ask Jesus to show you the truth. He is not afraid of your doubt.
We all complain about how busy, noisy, and demanding our modern world is. Through Eucharistic Adoration, Jesus invites us to spend an hour with Him in the quiet, where we can hear the still small voice of God, often drowned out by the cacophony of daily life.
Whether you live in or far beyond Sheboygan County, find a place to experience Adoration this week.
The same Jesus who turned five loaves of bread and two fish into enough food to feed thousands is ready and willing to multiply your single hour into something incredible.
Leave a Reply