Adoration for the layperson?

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TrueLight said:
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply there was an issue. There isn’t for me.

I just thought the OP had a good question. I have only been in adoration in churches, and in those cases, the monstrance was on the Altar, behind the rail. So there is still the impression of no one going near it except for the priests and altar boys.

I’m just curious as to how one maintains that same sense of reverence when the monstrance and Eucharist are right there in your face.

And yes, I know Christ is supposed to be accessible. I’m coming from Evangelical Protestantism after all. :D, where we have a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ”.

I just see a disconnect between the two.
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I guess those of us with no altar rail see no disconnect. I have to admit that the only time I attend adoration is on Holy Thursday and then it’s not Exposition. I see no difference between Jesus in the Tabernacle behind the altar and Jesus in the Tabernacle on the altar in the chapel for the occasion.

Exposition occurs once a month in my parish and is such a mishmash of things that I don’t attend. I prefer sitting quietly reading my Bible in His presence to the incessant activity/talk that occurs at Exposition. There isn’t a minute for private prayer or reflection. It’s a rush to cram everything in, including the Anointing of the Sick to the same people every time.
 
I absolutly love our 24 hour adoration chapel, as do many of the people in my parish! I’ve received so much Grace from being able to pray there and some miraculous things have happened to myself and my friends after praying in the chapel.
 
TrueLight said:
Interesting. Do traditional parishes not have 24-hour adoration? I have no idea. 🤷
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My FSSP parish has adoration twice a week, but only for select hours. My OF parish does have 24 hour adoration.
 
tomch said:
As I read the Old Testament, the temple had appropriate areas for Gentiles, women and children, etc. The Holy of Holies (where the Lord dwelt) was restricted, and the priest entered but once per year - and only after careful preparation. In our little prayer chapel, I get the feeling that I (an ordinary layperson) have entered into the Holy of Holies -which is not my place. It just doesn’t feel appropriate anymore.
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I vaguely remember hearing a homily in which a priest explained that the reason that the curtain in the holy of holies tore in two when the Savior died was to indicate that the relationship between God and man was restored.
 
tomch said:
The monstrance is placed on a low altar - so that when I kneel on the kneeler, I actually am looking “down” on the Lord, which has bothered me somewhat. Kneeling on the floor is an alternative.
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And there’s the rub.

The bread, in the monstrance, is a god, correct?

Then why remove things from the setting that cue people that this is so?

Like, you believe your god is present and is on display, so you remove railings to keep people at a respectful distance and which symbolize that this situation is special, not mundane. Put him into a side room. Let lay people go in the ‘sacred’ area and handle him, in full view of worshippers. Stop genuflecting. Just a bow will do, etc.

You can’t have it both ways: A populist church which still has religious awe for the object of worship.
 
TrueLight said:
I’m just curious as to how one maintains that same sense of reverence when the monstrance and Eucharist are right there in your face.
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For me there is no issue with sense of reverence.

My parish has perpetual adoration and I am a committed adorer and hourly coordinator for one of the 24 hour periods. As I said, there is no issue. Proximity or access has no bearing on reverence. When I walk into Church and see the candle lit, Christ is present and I stand in the throne room. It is the same thing when I walk into the adoration chapel. Whether the throne room has six fold-out chairs or is St. Peter’s Basillica, it doesn’t matter to me.

That Christ would come to me, a sinner, in such a humble form and in a humble room, and allow me to worship and adore him is a great gift. And if you saw some of the adoration shapels I have seen, you would immediately have no issues with reverence. Carved Cherubim all around the walls, the workds HOLY HOLY HOLY carved into the altar, and Christ enthroned in a solid gold monstrance held by four silver Seraphim. It is truly amazing.

-Tim-
 
OP, your line of thinking regarding thw Holy of Holies is not unfounded, but remember than when Christ died, the temple veil was “rent in twain.” 👍
 
at our parish we have a 24 hour adoration chapel. i volunteer one hour a week to be present with Jesus and i wish i had time to volunteer another hour or two. my Catholic faith has deepened since i began attending adoration and also my relationship with Christ.
it is my favourite hour of the week other than attending Mass.
 
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