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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.
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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.
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The Importance of Eucharistic Adoration and Prayer
“The worship given to the Trinity of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit... must fill our churches also outside
the timetable of Masses…This worship must be prominent in all our
encounters with the Blessed Sacrament… Adoration of Christ in this
sacrament of love must also find expression in various forms of
Eucharistic devotion: personal prayer before the Blessed Sacrament,
hours of adoration, periods of exposition – short, prolonged, and annual
(Forty Hours) - Eucharistic benediction, Eucharistic processions,
Eucharistic Congresses… Let us be generous with our time in going to
meet him in adoration and in contemplation that is full of faith and
ready to make reparation for the great faults and crimes of the world.
May our adoration never cease.”
Pope John Paul II
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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)
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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)
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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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