Dear friends,

In the midst of this rich season of remembrance, repentance, and preparation it is providential that we also anticipate the opening of our perpetual adoration chapel. Lent offers us a time to slow down and spend time with the Lord in the desert, and nothing facilitates this better than time spent before the blessed sacrament.

It can be easy to dismiss this opportunity, however, since we often brush off time with the Lord as unproductive or a waste of time. I believe this is due to a utilitarian mindset that forms how we approach our relationships and how we spend our time. If what I am doing does not in some way directly and immediately benefit me or provide some tangible reward, I will likely ignore it. This, sadly, is often the situation when it comes to our prayer. Considering this, I would like to make a case for spending intentional time with the Lord and more precisely, spending time with Him in adoration before the blessed sacrament.

I think one of the best places to start in considering the joys of Eucharistic adoration is by looking to the wisdom of the saints. Saint Alphonsus Mary Ligouri highlights the importance and beauty of spending time before the Blessed Sacrament as he says:

“Know for certain that the time you spend with devotion before this most divine Sacrament will be the time that will bring you the most good in this life and will console you the most in your death and in eternity. And know that perhaps you will gain more in a quarter of an hour of adoration in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament than in all the other spiritual exercises of the day.”

Here, Saint Alphonsus highlights the most profound aspect of Eucharistic adoration. It is not in doing but in being. When we place ourselves before the blessed sacrament, we place ourselves in the presence of the Lord, not a symbolic representation of Christ, but Jesus’ true presence, body, soul, and divinity. In doing thi,s we step out of the busy and hectic reality of our life and place ourselves before the Lord, not with an agenda, but simply to be with Him. If God is as good and loving as our faith suggests, why would we not make time for Him every once in a while to know and understand His heart?

There is perhaps a fear that you don’t know how to pray or that you would not know how to start a conversation with Christ. I think the best way to start is by just doing it. We now have the great gift of a perpetual adoration chapel as a fruit of our community's charity and desire to create a sacred space to directly encounter the Lord face to face. If you find that you want to grow in your relationship with the Lord, or perhaps you realize that you know about Jesus but don’t know Him in a relationship of divine intimacy, I would encourage you to consider signing up for one of the time slots for our adoration chapel. It is as simple as placing yourself before our Lord’s divine presence and, like sitting before a warm fire on a cold day, basking in the warmth of Christ’s radiant, sacred heart. Even thirty minutes of distracted prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament is worthwhile since it is time spent with the one who loves you the most.

I think a good image of the marvel of Eucharistic adoration can be found in this Sunday’s gospel, wherein Jesus allows James, John, and Peter to peer beyond the veil of Christ’s humanity and see Him in His divine glory. Just as Jesus reveals His glorious divinity in the transfiguration, He desires to reveal to our hearts His presence in the Eucharist. Although the Blessed Sacrament may appear mundane, by eyes of faith and a disposition of devotion, we approach the Eucharist as the three apostles approached Mount Tabor. It is in the time spent before the Eucharist that the Lord reveals Himself to us. Returning to the saints, we hear of these profound experiences in the late-in-life mystical experience of Saint Thomas Aquinas and the ecstasy of Saint Theresa of Avila. We also have the various Eucharistic miracles that give testimony to the True Presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. In all this, Jesus desires for us to spend time with Him, face to face, in the Eucharist. Jesus desires to spend time with us, His beloved. So why would we not take any opportunity available to place ourselves in the Lord’s true presence?

Please consider signing up for a weekly or even monthly hour of adoration.

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