Holy Hours of Adoration
What
is Eucharistic Adoration? Catholics believe that during the Mass
which we attend each week (for some of us daily), the priest (during
the consecration) speaks these words as he holds the communion host,
"...He took bread and gave you thanks. He broke the bread, gave
it to his disciples, and said: Take this all of you, and eat it:
this is my body which will be given up for you". When the priest
says "this my body", it is at that instant when, through the
miracle of transubstantiation, the bread and wine which we offer as
the bloodless sacrifice to our Lord truly become the Body, Blood ,
Soul and Divinity of Jesus. It is His true Presence in the form of
bread and wine. It is Christ.
Perpetual Adoration is when the priest takes a consecrated host, such as the one described above, and places it in a monstrance. (monstrance comes from the Latin "monstrare" to show, to expose to view.) The monstrance is then placed in front of the tabernackle (an ornate box which holds the monstrance and any consecrated hosts) or on the altar of the church or chapel for adoration.
What do you actually do during adoration? You may sign up to be an "adorer" which allows you to schedule yourself for one or more hours per week to pray before the very presence of Our Lord, exposed in the monstrance. It means that you can have some time alone with Jesus to recite your favorite prayers, read the bible, contemplate acts of faith, hope, charity, thanksgiving, reparation, pray a rosary or do whatever type of prayerful devotion that suits you before Our Lord. You can just sit and say nothing simply keeping Him company, just as you would with a dear friend.
Twelve Reasons From The Teachings Of The Church For Wanting To Spend
One Hour With Jesus In The Blessed Sacrament
1.
You are greatly needed!
"The Church and the world have a great need of Eucharistic
Adoration." (Pope John Paul II, Dominicae Cenae)
2.
This is a personal invitation to you from Jesus.
"Jesus waits for us in this Sacrament of Love." (Pope John Paul II,
Dominicae Canae)
3.
Jesus is counting on you because the Eucharist is the center of
life.
"Every member of the Church must be vigilant in seeing that the
sacrament of Love shall be at the center of the life of the people
of God so that through all the manifestations of worship due Him
shall be given back ‘love for love’ and truly become the life of
our souls." (Pope John Paul II, Redeemer of Man)
4.
Your hour with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament will repair for evils
of the world and bring about peace on earth.
"Let us be generous with our time in going to meet Jesus and ready
to make reparation for the great evils of the world. Let your
adoration never cease." (Pope John Paul II, Dominicai Cenae)
5.
Day and night Jesus dwells in the Blessed Sacrament because you are
the most important person in the world to Him!
"Christ is reserved in our churches as the spiritual center of the
heart of the community, the universal Church and all humanity, since
within the veil of the species, Christ is contained, the Invisible
Heart of the Church, the Redeemer of the world, the center of all
hearts, by Him all things are and of whom we exist." (Pope Paul IV,
Mysterium Fidei)
6.
Jesus wants you to do more than to go to Mass on Sunday.
"Our communal worship at Mass must go together with our personal
worship of Jesus in Eucharistic adoration in order that our love may
be complete." (Pope John Paul II, Redeemer of Man)
7.
You grow spiritually with each moment you spend with Jesus!
"Our essential commitment in life is to preserve and advance
constantly in Eucharistic life and Eucharistic piety and to grow
spiritually in the climate of the Holy Eucharist." (Pope John Paul
II, Redeemer of Man)
8.
The best time you spend on earth is with Jesus, your Best Friend, in
the Blessed Sacrament!
"How great is the value of conversation with Christ in the Blessed
Sacrament, for there is nothing more consoling on earth, nothing
more efficacious for advancing along the road of holiness!" (Pope
Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei)
9.
Just as you can’t be exposed to the sun without receiving its
rays, neither can you come to Jesus exposed in the Blessed Sacrament
without receiving the Divine Rays of His Grace, His Love, His Peace.
"Christ is truly the Emmanuel, that is, God with us, day and night,
His is in our midst. He dwells with us full of grace and truth. He
restores morality, nourishes virtue, consoles the afflicted,
strengthens the weak." (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei)
10. If Jesus were actually visible in church, everyone would run to
welcome Him, but He remains hidden in the Sacred Host under the
appearance of Bread, because He is calling us to faith, that we many
come to Him in humility.
"The Blessed Sacrament is the ‘Living Heart’ of each of our
churches and it is our very sweet duty to honor and adore the
Blessed Host, which our eyes see, the Incarnate Word, Whom they
cannon see." (Pope Paul VI, Credo of the People of God)
11. With transforming mercy, Jesus makes our heart one with His.
"He proposes His own example to those who come to Him, that all may
learn to be like Himself, gentle and humble of heart, and to seek
not their own interest but those of God." (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium
Fidei)
12. If the Pope himself would give you a special invitation to visit
him in the Vatican, this honor would be nothing in comparison to the
honor and dignity that Jesus Himself bestows upon you with the
Invitation of spending one hour with Him in the Blessed Sacrament.
"The Divine Eucharist bestows upon the Christian people the
incomparable dignity." (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei)
Twelve Biblical Reasons For Wanting To Spend One Hour With Jesus In
The Blessed Sacrament
1.
He is really there!
"I myself Am the Living Bread come down from Heaven." (Jn 6:35)
2.
Day and night Jesus dwells in the Blessed Sacrament because of his
Infinite love for you!
"Behold I will be with you always even to the end of the world,"
because "I have loved you with an everlasting love, and constant is
My affection for you." (Mt 28:20; Jer 31:3)
3.
The specific way that Jesus asks you to love Him in return is to
spend one quiet hour with Him in the Blessed Sacrament.
"Where your treasure is, there is your heart...." "Could you not
watch one hour with Me?" (Mt 6:21; 26:40)
4.
When you look upon the Sacred Host, you look upon Jesus, the Son of
God.
"Indeed, this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks upon
the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life. Him I will
raise up on the last day." (Jn 6:40)
5.
Each moment that you spend in His Eucharistic Presence will increase
His Divine Life within you and deepen your personal relationship and
friendship with Him.
"I have come that you may have life, and have it more abundantly."
"I am the Vine and you are the branches. Whoever remains in Me and I
in Him shall bear much fruit because without Me, you can do
nothing." (Jn 15:5)
6.
Each hour you spend with Jesus will deepen His Divine Peace in your
heart.
"Come to Me all of you who are weary and find life burdensome and I
will refresh you..." "Cast all of you anxieties upon the One who
cares for you..." "My Peace is My Gift to you." (Mt 11:28; 5:7; Jn
14:17)
7.
Jesus will give you all the Graces you need to be happy!
"The Lamb on the Throne will shepherd them. He will lead them to the
springs of life-giving water." (Rev 7:17)
8.
Jesus is infinitely deserving of our unceasing thanksgiving and
adoration for all He has done for our salvation.
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive honor, glory and
praise." (Rev. 5:12)
9.
For Peace in our country!
"When My people humble themselves and seek My Presence... I will
revive their land." (2Chr 7:14)
10. Each hour you spend with Jesus on earth will leave your soul
everlastingly more beautiful and glorious in heaven!
"They who humble themselves shall be exalted...." "All of us, gazing
on the Lord’s glory with unveiled faces, are being transformed
from glory to glory into His very image." (Lk 18:14; 2Cor 3:18)
11. Jesus will bless you, your family and the whole world for this
hour of faith you spend with Him in the Blessed Sacrament.
"Blessed are they who do not see and yet believe..." "Faith can move
mountains..." " What is needed is trust... " "Behold I come to make
all things new." (Jn 20:29; Mk 11:23; Mk 5:36; Rev 21:5)
12. Each moment you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament brings
joy, pleasure, and delight to His Sacred Heart!
"My joy, My pleasure, My delight is to be with you." (Prov 8:31)
Eucharistic Adoration
By: Pope John Paul II
I
encourage Christians regularly to visit Christ present in the
Blessed Sacrament, for we are all called to abide in the presence of
God. In contemplation, Christians will perceive ever more profoundly
the mystery at the heart of Christian life.
Teach young people the value of Eucharistic Adoration.
I
urge priests, religious and lay people to continue and redouble
their efforts to teach the younger generations the meaning and value
of Eucharistic adoration and devotion. How will young people be able
to know the Lord if they are not introduced to the mystery of His
presence? Like the young Samuel, by learning the words of the prayer
of the heart, they will be closer to the Lord, who will accompany
them in their spiritual and human growth. The Eucharistic mystery is
in fact the "summit of evangelization" (Lumen Gentium) for it is the
most eminent testimony to Christ's resurrection.
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