Last Friday was First Friday of the Month. Here in our parish, our First Fridays are usually marked by a mass in the morning, a Eucharistic Adoration until 4:30 pm, bilingual confessions at 6:00 pm, another mass at 7:00 pm and the administration of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick after.
“What is Eucharistic Adoration?” This is a question we often hear from those new to the faith or searching for ways to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that, “Adoration is the first attitude of man acknowledging that he is a creature before his Creator. It exalts the greatness of the Lord who made us and the almighty power of the Savior who sets us free from evil. Adoration is homage of the spirit to the “King of Glory,” respectful silence in the presence of the “ever greater” God. Adoration of the thrice-holy and sovereign God of love blends with humility and gives assurance to our supplications.” (CCC 2628)
We can show our adoration to God in many ways, but in Eucharistic Adoration, we spend time adoring the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. We become present with the Lord and focus on actively listening to His word through prayer. The “Instruction on Eucharistic Worship,” issued by the Sacred Congregation of Rites on the Feast of Corpus Christi, May 25, 1967, reads in part, “The exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, for which either a monstrance or a ciborium may be used, stimulates the faithful to an awareness of the marvelous presence of Christ and is an invitation to spiritual communion with Him. It is, therefore, an excellent encouragement to offer Him that worship in spirit and truth which is His due.”
The saints encourage us to go to Adoration. St. Catherine Labouré testifies, “Whenever I go to the chapel, I put myself in the presence of our good Lord, and I say to him, ‘Lord, I am here. Tell me what you would have me to do’. And then, I tell God everything that is in my heart. I tell him about my pains and my joys, and then I listen. If you listen, God will also speak to you, for with the good Lord, you have to both speak and listen. God always speaks to you when you approach him plainly and simply.”
St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta says, “The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time that you will spend on earth. Each moment that you spend with Jesus will deepen your union with Him and make your soul everlastingly more glorious and beautiful in heaven, and will help bring about an everlasting peace on earth.”
St. Alphonsus Liguori exhorts, “Know also that you will probably gain more by praying fifteen minutes before the Blessed Sacrament than by all the other spiritual exercises of the day. True, Our Lord hears our prayers anywhere, for He has made the promise, ‘Ask, and you shall receive,’ but He has revealed to His servants that those who visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament will obtain a more abundant measure of grace.”
Ultimately, the grace of Eucharistic Adoration is that we become what God wants us to be, children of God; and the Lord calls us to Himself and he transforms us. Amen.