Eucharistic Adoration

Eucharistic Adoration

Pray ! Pray ! Pray ! For
The Pope, the Church
Our Priests and Vocations
The Family and the Right to Life
Our Country and Our Leaders
And that which weighs heavily on your heart.

Guidelines For Chapel Conduct: Respect for Our Lord is displayed in the following ways:

Genuflect upon entering the presence of the Lord.
Be mindful of proper, respectful attire.
No talking, maintain an austere reverence in the presence of Our Lord.
If you need to talk to someone in the chapel, leave the chapel and hold your conversation outside.
No spontaneous unscheduled events or sermonizing is allowed.
Adoration is a peaceful, private time for each adorer.
Never eat or drink in the chapel. Chewing gum or candy is not respectful either.
No radios, No CD or tape players and No cellular phones are to be used in the chapel.


Rules For Chapel Conduct: The following Chapel Rules are to be observed by all adorers.

Please remember to sign in for your hour of adoration at the beginning of your assigned hour. That way the person before you will know that you are in the chapel and they are now at liberty to leave.
Check the sign-in sheet before you leave the chapel to make sure the person who is scheduled for the next hour is in the chapel before you leave. If the person after your hour does not show up and you choose to be the substitute for the next hour, sign your name on the sign-in sheet and put the word (substitute) after your name. This will let the Coordinator know an unscheduled absence took place which he needs to know so it does not happen to you again.
Nothing is to be placed on the altar of repose.
Spiritual reading material provided is never to be removed from the chapel.
No material of any kind is to be placed in the chapel unless authorized by pastor
Know the procedures for contacting a substitute.


Conversations with God
You open the door to the adoration chapel and walk in. You have just stepped into the Real Presence, i.e., the presence of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the fullness of His divine and human natures. This is Jesus Who was sent by the Father to redeem us. He is also our Teacher who teaches us about the Father, the Holy Spirit, ourselves, and how to live our lives. He is the One Who is the origin of all truth. Indeed, He is Truth itself. He knows everything about us. And He loves us unconditionally. He is the source of all miraculous healings and cures. All we know about Him is what He has revealed to us.
The One Who has created everything that we see, hear, feel, smell and taste has humbled Himself to be present in the Tabernacle or in a Monstrance under the outward appearance of bread so that we can dare to approach His unequalled Magnificence. This is a mystery far beyond our comprehension! Nothing compares to the magnitude of this single act of His Divine and human Humility through which He offers Himself out of His Divine and human Love for us as He did on the Cross. He is The Real, True, Living Presence, body and blood, soul and divinity, waiting for you, in the adoration chapel.
Why do the people come here? For many reasons, but most have come before their Creator to build stone by stone and with His assistance a solid and enduring relationship with Him. For some it is a tremendous struggle until they realize that Jesus Himself provides the foundation, the stones and the grace to persevere. All that we are expected to supply is the labor of cooperation and self-surrender. The more diligent we are in our labor, the greater the structure, the greater the structure the greater the reward. What is the reward? It is a closer more intimate relationship with God. The closer we get, the greater our joy will be.
What kinds of labor are performed to build this relationship with God? We begin by offering, on a regular basis, an hour of our time; perhaps once a week to be in the Eucharistic Presence of the Lord and to do one or more of the following:

WORSHIP - We worship God through an act of our will when we decide to be in His Most Holy
Presence. We also worship God through our physical positions as well as our prayers. When you enter a holy place, such as an adoration chapel dip your fingers in holy water and make a devout sign of the cross saying the words “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” as you perform the physical act of making the sign of the cross - On your knees to pay God the respect He alone deserves. For the elderly or infirm, a bow or simple acknowledgement of His Presence will suffice to pay respect to their Creator. According to the fervor of your reaction to being in the Eucharistic Presence of our Lord and Savior, a bow from the kneeling position or complete prostration, when room permits, is a most pleasing acknowledgement to the Presence of the Supreme Being.
We also worship God by reading the many beautiful prayers of praise contained in the Book of Psalms. Other prayers that pay homage to God may be found in your favorite prayer book. In addition, we may worship Our Lord by our own spontaneous prayers that come from the heart as a reaction to the Greatness of God. These are genuine acts of praise meant for Him alone.

TEMPORAL PETITIONS - When family, friends, acquaintances or we ourselves need or want things that are of this world such as:
*a cure for illness like from physical and mental diseases,
*a healing like from deformities or accidents,
*a necessity like a job, food, clothing, shelter, etc.,
*a favor like a sunny day, rain, house, car, test, safe trip, etc.,
*a holy cause like vocations to the religious life, an end to abortions, the intentions of the Holy Father, etc.,
*a special want for a heart's desire like to meet a mate, make a decision, etc.,
*help to overcome a bad habit
then we prayerfully Implore Our Lord and ask for what we want, even if it takes a miracle, but only if it is God's Will that our request be answered.

SPIRITUAL PETITIONS - Not only do we have a body but we also have a soul which needs spiritual nourishment to achieve its ultimate goal, Heaven and the Beatific Vision. Petition God to raise you to the level of holiness He has waiting for you and you alone. Plead with Him to teach you how to know, love and serve Him. Ask for an increase in graces in all the virtues so that you may imitate Our Blessed Mother in the perfection in which she practiced them. Call upon the angels and saints to intercede before the Throne of God for ourselves and others.
Pray for the sick, the dying and those who are homeless or in prison to keep Satan from snatching them away in their moments of despair and confusion. Pray for the spiritual well-being of family, friends, acquaintances and even strangers openly living in mortal sin who will surely go to Hell without your petitions to God on their behalf. Never forget to include the poor souls in Purgatory in your offering of prayers to God. They, in turn, will become petitioners for you. When you earnestly plead for others, you are twice blest for God not only hears the invocation but He also hears the voice of the supplicant.

THANKSGIVING - Everything is a good that comes from God and belongs to God. The roads, cars, streetlights, family, friends, clothes, food, trees, grass, sky, mountains, you name it, God created it. Oh yes! So and so is written as the inventor of this gadget or that machine but every inventor was given the talent to invent from God. We owe thanks to God for everything we have and enjoy all day long when we truly comprehend this, we will realize our arrogance for thoughts we have about "our accomplishments" or "our possessions". For in truth we are nothing and owe all that we are and have to God and God alone. Since there is nothing we have that is ours, there is no way we can possibly repay Our Lord for His generosity. However we can and should, at the very least, acknowledge His gifts to us and demonstrate our gratitude through prayers of thanksgiving for the many gifts we receive in abundance daily from Him.
We even need to be thankful for the crosses God sends to us. It is our obligation to accept our crosses because they are God's Holy Will for us. They are visible signs of His love that He gives to each of us. These sufferings, united to Christ, are our opportunities to grow in holiness. How many times have we heard from the greatest of saints about the enormous value of suffering. Why so? Because through our sufferings we grow ever closer to God. And the closer we get to God, the greater our joy will be for all eternity. As Jesus accepted His Father's Will and the cup of suffering in the garden so should we. (Matthew 26:39).

FORGIVENESS - Appeal to God's Divine Mercy. In the "Diary" of St. Faustina, Jesus says; "…I am Love and Mercy itself. (1074) … Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. (699) … My mercy is greater than your sins and those of the entire world. (1485) … I let my Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance, thus opening wide the source of mercy for you. Come, then, with trust to draw graces from this fountain. I never reject a contrite heart. (1485)… The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy. (723)".
When we ask for forgiveness and mercy, we are told by Jesus that we have to forgive and be merciful to others, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-15).
Jesus tells us to forgive without limit when He told Peter he must forgive His brother, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven." (Matthew 18:21). God wants us to approach His Divine Mercy and obtain sacramental forgiveness by going to Confession to reconcile our relationship with Him. It is through the sacrament of reconciliation that we receive God's forgiveness for our sins as well as an abundance of graces to help us to maintain our relationship with Him. When we lose God, we lose our joy.

REPARATION - Many horrible sins are committed against Jesus Christ who offered Himself as a victim for the reparation of sins. Sins of blasphemies at war with the Holy Name, invalid and graceless Holy Communions, sacrileges that oppose and profane the Sacred Host, infidelity and unfaithfulness of and abuse toward His love for us, disobedience to His Holy Laws, and hostile contempt towards His Holy Presence. Although God in His Divine Mercy forgives us our sins, we still have to repair for whatever damage those sins may have caused. We need to make amends for the wrongs or injuries committed against God. We do this through prayer, penance and sacrifice.

OFFERING & SACRIFICE - When the heart is moved with gratitude, we are prompted to respond in ways that we know are pleasing to God. It becomes easy to practice the gift of charity because He Who is Almighty has done something great for me and I feel His Love yet I am not worthy of it. Let me make a personal offering of my time or talents, or money to someone less fortunate. Let me make a sacrifice of something which I sense has value, and never thought I could live without. Let me reach out and touch someone because I have been touched and I know I will never be the same. Like Mother Teresa, let me do something beautiful for God. Physical actions united to Christ and performed for the love of God are prayer.

TESTIMONIALS - God is a living God. He is here today physically present, body and blood, soul and divinity, in the Holy Eucharist. This is the same God who walked among the people 2000 years ago and performed miracles, cured the sick, healed the blind and lame, cast out demons, forgave sins and taught people how to live their lives. He is still doing the same things today.
People committed to adoration found themselves healed spiritually or physically or their lives were visibly improved in some manner or another. All they know is they needed something, they prayed to God for it and received it. These are the people who will stand there and tell you about the goodness of the Lord. They are ready to proclaim what has happened to them to anyone who is willing to listen. Like the one leper out of the ten that Our Lord cured (Luke 17:12-19), these people not only came back to give thanks to the Lord but they are ready and willing to proclaim it to the world. By their testimonies, their faith increases not only for themselves but for those who see and hear them.

SILENCE - We pay homage to God when we practice silence in His Presence. It is probably difficult for most of us to allow silence to take over, to "just be". To pay no attention to our sense of sight, hearing and smell, to allow no internal words to surface, to not even have a thought, to just sit or kneel before the monstrance and wait, preferably with our eyes closed. It is in the glow of this silence that God speaks to our heart. There are no words to describe the communication which takes place in our inner being when we experience it; we know the value of silence. We feel a wonderful closeness to Him whom we love. We sense peace. It is not necessary to fill our time before the King of Kings with constant prayer. It is considered adoration when we care enough to come into the chapel just to be with Him. Simply being consciously in the presence of God is a form of prayer.

CONTEMPLATION - For a long time, contemplation was considered to belong to the domain of those in religious life, especially for the monks and cloistered orders. Not any more. Contemplation is for all of us who seek a closer, more personal relationship with Jesus. When you diligently seek to stay in the state of grace through the frequent reception of the sacraments of reconciliation and communion, you become more disciplined, more faithful to your conversations with God. Your prayer life will gradually deepen whenever you enter into contemplation. Always ask Jesus to help you. Start with whatever causes you to focus on God. It could be a holy image, a favorite prayer, or maybe a reading from a spiritual book. Place yourself in a state of humility. Abandon the world around you. Empty yourself of ego and all that identifies you with the world. Dismiss your cares and charges and yield your will entirely to Him. Be dependent upon Him and open your heart wide to wait for the Spirit of the Lord to come to you. God initiates the moment. When it arrives you will want it to last an eternity. You will return often to contemplation, to the joy of the closeness to God in prayer.
From here on, what you started to build stone by stone gradually takes on the shape and form of a beautiful structure. By your perseverance and labor you have bridged the gap between Heaven and earth. Contemplation has elevated you into a meaningful relationship with God.
When we leave the adoration chapel, we are to carry the joy of our relationship with God to everyone we meet. We are expected to evangelize, to speak to everyone about God. He wants us to act as His representative on earth so that others are able to find Him through us. It is through our deeds of corporal and spiritual works of mercy that others will discover God. Then in return, we too will begin to see God in others. Pray for those who walk away from the challenge to develop a relationship with God.

HOLY HOUR of Eucharistic Adoration
Why a HOLY HOUR before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament?
PERHAPS MANY still ask that question. To it there is basically only one answer: Jesus Christ, the God-Man, is present....
He is present in that special Eucharistic manner of transubstantiation in which the very substance of the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
St. Thomas taught that the Eucharist is the greatest of miracles ever worked by Christ, to perpetuate his Passion and Sacrifice with us and to be specially present to each individual.
Christ is present there for us, to manifest his great love for us. St. Thomas says, "He cares for us and is there." If we care for him, we would also be there for a Holy Hour or some other form of Eucharistic adoration. Christ had asked this of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque as he had asked the apostles in the Garden of Olives: "Can you not watch one hour with me?"
Vatican II insists that the Christian life is incomplete if it is not Eucharistic. In the Decree on Priests (No. 5) the Council wrote: "Every ministry of the Church and every work of the apostolate are linked with the Holy Eucharist and are directed to it." Of course, this refers primarily to the Eucharistic sacrifice and the Council said so in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (No. 11): "Taking part in the Eucharistic sacrifice, which is the apex and fount of the whole Christian life, the faithful offer the Divine Victim to God and offer themselves with it."
However, it is in the Eucharist that Christians will find unity in Christ: "In the Sacrament of the Eucharistic Bread, the unity of all believers, who form one body in Christ (1 Cor. 10,17) is both expressed and brought about." (Consti. on the Church No. 3)
To stress that this did not refer only to the Eucharistic Sacrifice and the reception of Holy Communion but also to Eucharistic adoration, Pope John XXIII, who called the Council, arranged for the canonization of Blessed Julian Eymard, the apostle of Eucharistic adoration, for the solemnities of the closing of the first session of the Council, that he was to be an example and model of true Catholic renewal.
I
The first suggestion is: divide the Holy Hour into four 15 minute periods. It is essential to take sufficient time to really visualize the purpose in each period. Do not proceed till you have made that particular purpose clear and definite.
The second suggestion is for that first 15 minute period: dedicate it to a realization of who is present in the Holy Eucharist. Of course you know the answer to that, but think of it until there is in your soul a response of wonder ("is it possible?" "how can that be?" and yet "it is true") and admiration (how wonderful: Jesus is really, truly present here!).
Think of the marvel of this great reality: Christ, the God-Man, is truly present in his divinity as well as his humanity, body and soul. Even: substantially present—the substance of the bread and wine changed into the body and blood of Christ.
Try to realize also how different this presence of Christ is from the presence of God in the whole world, or in us by grace, or in the Church, or in the words of the Holy Scriptures. This is a unique substance, substantially special and different from his presence anywhere else. It is the mystery of his total presence in the great mystery of his love: the incarnation now transubstantiated. This is not just the presence of God but the presence of God as the God-Man via the substance of bread and wine changed into the Body and Blood of Christ.
Consider who he is as God: the Creator; as God-Man: our Redeemer, our Savior-Brother, our Lord and King.
Push your thoughts to search out the meaning of these truths and let your soul rest in the wonder of his loving presence here—for you. Be quiet and listen, too, because God wants to speak to your heart.
If perhaps words of admiration and wonder do not come to you, use the words of some familiar prayers and songs of adoration and praise that you can usually find in any missalette available in most churches. For example: "Down in Adoration Falling," "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name," the "Holy, Holy, Holy" of the Mass, "Now Praise We All Our God," or any Benediction hymn. However, rely on yourself—do not move too quickly to these texts.
These words should be read slowly, with great, deep understanding and always in relation to Christ present before you in the tabernacle: you directing your praise to him who is truly present there! Do not hurry, thinking that you have to finish all or any of these hymns and prayers. Remember that Christ himself said, "Do not prattle on . . . in sheer multiplication of words . . ." (Mt. 6, 8). Make sure that they express the thoughts and desires in your own heart.
II
A suggestion for the second 15 minutes: devote the time to thoughts and prayers of thanksgiving to God as you grasp the wonder of who is present Really: God is with us! the Emmanuel of Christmas.
Momentarily give some fresh thought to the fact: God is with us in this special, most remarkable way. Now let words of thanksgiving rise up in your soul, or just simply give thanks to God for his presence here in such a remarkable way. Thank God for the great Sacrament of the Priesthood and for vocations by which he perpetuates his presence in the Holy Eucharist.
In a parallel situation think of our Blessed Mother's joy when she realized that Christ, the great Messiah, was present within her, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Make her words of the Magnificat your own as you realize that Jesus is equally present here. There hidden in a human body; here hidden under the form of bread. Or with Simeon break out in that beautiful exclamation of delight and contentment when he realized whom he was holding in his arms: "Now, Lord, you may dismiss your servant in peace . . ." or read the words of the joy of Zachary when he could again speak to proclaim the wonder of the presence of the one who would prepare the way of the Lord. Or use the text of Ps. 148.
You might also take some time to recall and thank God for other special blessings and wonders of God: your family, vocation, gift life, opportunity to be in his Presence, special friends, etc. Thank him for his love for you, for his unfailing help in trials and difficulties. Do you really believe that? Think about it till you can really say that in sincerity and heartfelt conviction: that God does love you!

III

A suggestion for the next 15 minutes. Dedicate this to petition. First of all, ask Jesus here present in the Holy Eucharist for the grace that is dearest to him, the grace he wants most for you: the great blessing of redemption and eternal salvation. Just think, for some time what that means . . . for you, for each member of your family, your friends, people of you neighborhood and parish, for all mankind. Think of how marvelous that would be if all would be so blessed: to be in heaven for all eternity! Pray for that! Beg for it: the fulfillment of Christ's greatest intention, the fulfillment of his greatest hope and desire and the main reason for his coming, for which he is preset here. "Come to me all you who labor and al burdened and I will refresh you." For this he was in agony.
Pray for conversions. Pray for particular people, those who are away from the Church and the Sacraments. Pray for the sick and lonely, the discouraged, our youth, the unborn, our country, its leaders. Pray for our Holy Father, and for all priests and religious that they may be so influenced by grace that they will be effective instruments doing the work of God. Pray for vocations to complete the work of Christ. Pray for the grace to know the will of God always in your own life. Pray for peace, God's peace in the hearts of all.

IV

Dedicate the last 15 minutes of the Holy Hour to atonement. Why atonement? A look into one's own conscience and the conscience of the world gives the answer. A mere glance at headlines and you see insults, blasphemies, defiance thrown by man into the face of God. These will make you shudder unless your heart is cold and uncaring. The injuries of man to man when Christ commanded: "Love one another." The ignoring and deliberate pushing aside (for sophisticated, selfish reasons) God's commandments of respect for life. Think of the sins of injustice that cry to heaven for vengeance, the sins of the modern Sodom and Gomorrah that defy the wrath of God. There are also the slurs and insults against the virginity and Immaculate Conception of our Blessed Mother. There is much need for atonement for the sins of disregard, of refusal to recognize and obey the Holy Father, Christ's own spokesman and Vicar on earth. Think and you will know many, many more reasons for atonement and for begging God's pardon and mercy.
You might wish to express your thoughts of sorrow for all these evils ("sins" expresses it more accurately) by any traditional act of contrition or in the liturgical words of the "Lord, have mercy," the "Lamb of God" or the hymn "O Lord, I am not worthy." In the Litany of the Sacred Heart and the Litany of the Holy Name we find powerful and inspirational motives for praying for pardon and mercy in a great spirit of atonement. The Litany of our Blessed Mother is very appropriate, asking her under all her titles of honor and power to "pray for all of us." The Litany of the Saints and the Prayer to St. Michael could be expressive of the hopes in your heart.
A slow, thoughtful saying of the Rosary would be very helpful during any phase of a Holy Hour. With our Blessed Mother and with Christ present there before you in the Holy Eucharist, recall and consider those events in his life. Ponder all those things in your heart as you ask our Blessed Mother to pray for us.
Other Suggestions for Holy Hours
Holy Hours can also be made at home, either alone or with one's family. Unite yourself with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in the nearest tabernacle or in all the tabernacles of the world. Keep in mind that perspective of being in the presence of our Lord in the Holy Eucharist—perhaps even in some Communist country. Pray for the special problems or topics described above or others you are concerned about. You will find much motivation and inspiration for prayer. Feel free to break from any of these suggestions, ("structures") though at times you will find them helpful. Perhaps even your own inability or reluctance to pray can be a reason for prayer.
The aged, sick and handicapped are urged to make such a Holy Hour of prayer right there in their bed, chair, or home or hospital or wherever. They should unite their sufferings with Jesus crucified and with him atone for the sins of the world. So much suffering could be converted into blessings by such prayer.
Questions Frequently Asked Concerning Eucharistic Adoration
What is Eucharistic Adoration?
Eucharistic adoration is the recognition of and honoring this special presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
How can a Eucharistic Adoration program be started in a parish?
a) discuss this idea with your pastor, seek his advice, permission and support. b) try to find support and help from other interested people. c) arrange for pulpit and bulletin explanations and announcements; make mimeographed explanations available at the door or send them to the homes via the school children, with the support of the faculty. d) publicize each Eucharistic Adoration that is going to be held, inviting others to come. e) make it easy for individuals to sign up for particular hours for adoration if you are having any kind of a perpetual or partial adoration. f) obtain capable and reliable speakers if a homily or meditation is on your program.
What kinds of Eucharistic Adoration are there?
a) a simple, devout, very brief visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. b) a private or public (group) Holy Hour c) a traditional Thirteen or Forty Hours of Adoration in a parish. d) a 3 or 4 or 5 hour Eucharistic Vigil, usually by a larger group with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, perhaps with procession and other devotions. e) the all-night Eucharistic Vigil (watch) by a similar group, starting in the evening (8 or 9 p.m.) and ending with Mass in the morning (6 or 7 a.m.). f) perpetual adoration. Some parishes have an organized program of continual adoration with one or several present in church each hour, day and night. Individuals would take the same hour each month, each week, or more frequently. g) partial adoration. Same method as in "f" except that it would be only one day a week or month or perhaps only from morning (7 or 8 a.m.) to evening (6 or 7 p.m.).

This "little aid" has been written to show you that a Holy Hour is not so difficult. Further explanations can be had by writing to:

Franciscan Friars of Marytown Eucharistic Adoration Department 8000 - 39th Ave. Kenosha, WI 53140