Can we please talk about Eucharistic Adoration again...civilly?

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Tis_Bearself

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A couple years ago I had a thread on here about Eucharistic Adoration and basically asking (nicely, I thought) why Eastern Catholics don’t embrace this practice. Unfortunately, this seems to have always been a contentious topic and the thread quickly turned into people being short with each other and an Eastern Catholic clergyman even came into the thread to berate me over supposed misdeeds of the Latin Church which had nothing to do with Eucharistic Adoration and which weren’t the subject of this thread.

Please understand the following:
  • I am NOT trying to say the Western Catholic Church is “right” or “good” and the Eastern Catholic Church is “wrong” or “bad”
  • I am NOT trying to argue that the Eastern Catholic Church should necessarily change their practice to do more Eucharistic Adoration
  • I do NOT want to discuss other things not related to Eucharistic Adoration that one church supposedly did, or does
  • I simply want to understand why the Eastern Catholic Church prefers not to adopt this practice of Eucharistic Adoration.
I myself get a lot out of adoring Jesus as an adult. I was raised doing it, so to me it is a normal practice and while as a child I thought it was a bit dull and didn’t quite understand why we had to sit in a room with the Eucharist for an hour, as an adult I have found that it has positive effects on me, such as the reduction of anxiety, feeling less alone, providing a good environment for concentrating in prayer that can’t always be found elsewhere, etc. When my husband died I was offered all kinds of counseling and such, it was like people just assumed I would need therapy, but I did not see how that would help and I found I got a lot more out of sitting with Jesus. I know Jesus is always around and can sit with me on my living room couch at home too, but there’s something about being around the Real Presence, whether exposed or in the tabernacle, that seems to provide an extra something. I have also noticed that many Western Catholic saints had a devotion to the Eucharist and I suspect they felt the same.

I know in the secular world, people would say things like “placebo effect” and “learned response” and “all in your mind” but I’m pretty sure Archbishop Sheen would say something very different and I trust him more than The Secular World, especially since he spent all day in The Secular World of television and still held these views on the Eucharist.

So with all this in mind, why is this practice only for us Western Catholics, and what do Eastern Catholics do instead for the same purposes?

Again: I am NOT looking to bash any Eastern Church nor to revisit past wrongs/ bad behaviors of the Western Church or any church, nor to discuss things not related to Eucharistic Adoration except as they pertain to answering my question above.

Would appreciate any civil and reasonable replies.
 
A couple of random thought from an Orthodox Christian:
  1. A little bit of googling seems to indicate Eucharistic Adoration wasn’t really a thing in the West until starting in the 13th/14th centuries; well after the schism had separated East & West. The Western practice that developed was never part of Eastern devotion.
  2. Your question is one I’m curious about. My own hypothesis, based on nothing other than my very limited knowledge is to have a suspicion that the East’s much much stronger theology of the Icon plays into this. One thing I was taught is that the saint depicted in the image is really and truly present to us through the image. Applying that to Christ, He is fully present in His icon.
  3. I also think there is a matter of practicality related to the East’s use of leavened bread for the Eucharist. It’s not exactly easy to prepare a loaf of prosphora to be dried out (or whatever needs to be done to preserve a large enough piece for adoration) so that mold doesn’t become a problem. I do know that a very small piece of the Eucharist is held in reserve for the sick or for other emergencies, but not a piece any larger than a crumb.
  4. As to why Eastern Catholics would be hesitant to adopt the practice of Eucharistic Adoration, they’ll have to answer definitively. I’ve seen it expressed related to different topics that successive Popes have called on Eastern Catholics to restore to themselves an authentic Eastern practice.
 
I don’t really have any meaningful contributions here, but don’t the Maronites do Eucharistic Adoration?
 
Thanks, that’s the sort of discussion I was looking to have.

I have definitely considered #3 re the physical nature of EC Eucharist.

I don’t know anything about #2 but would be interested to hear more thoughts from EC’s on that. Western Catholics like to have statues of Jesus, Mary and Saints but we do not generally believe that Jesus, Mary or the saint is present to us via that image. A handful of images have had miracles occur in their presence or the image itself is miraculous in some way, so those do seem to be channels for God’s grace in some fashion but we don’t place them on the same level as the Eucharist.
 
I think there in general is more of a focus in the East of consuming the Eucharist, rather than viewing it. The “Holy Mysteries” are to be concealed, not looked at in the open.

I hope that makes some kind of sense. I’ve attended Adoration in Latin Rite Churches and find that it an be very fulfilling, so I’m not in any way knocking it.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Would appreciate any civil and reasonable replies.
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Once I asked an Orthodox priest this question and his response was simple. In the Bible when Jesus instituted the Eucharist and in each area in the Bible about the Eucharist (both pre-figurement in the OT Passover & also included in St. Paul’s writings), we are commanded by Jesus (or His Prophet or His Apostle) to Eat & Drink the Eucharist, but He never commanded us or asked us to worship the Eucharist. Just eat & drink. That’s it.

I just went to Adoration after Mass yesterday with my husband, my visiting mother in law & our youngest child. Adoration only available at a parish far from our home. My mother in law was telling my husband how in Jilquilpan, Mexico & surrounding towns every single Catholic parish has a perpetual Adoration Chapel. That’d be nice to have in the U.S., too. I’m not sure how many other Catholic Rites are in Michoacan, Mexico besides Roman Catholic? And whether all Catholic Churches there having Adoration Chapels apply to them, too?
 
Not every Latin parish even offers it nowadays. When I was growing up, my parish had it for a few years in the 70s as the pastor was older. It then went away for about the next 35 years and only returned within the last few years. The parishes that manage to have it consistently are usually very large and/or have religious living on site or nearby who can cover shifts. Many parishes only manage one day a week and 40 Hours Devotions once a year, plus Holy Thursday after Mass for a couple hours.

There is a belief that if a parish has adoration regularly, some sort of merit or benefit will flow to the parish, like it will be protected from closing, so many parishes are turning to it for that. Some other parishes have built very elaborate adoration chapels that go 24/7 and often have security systems and the works.
 
The situation in Mexico sounds like the European cities I’ve been in for the mostly Catholic countries. In places like Poland or Austria it’s no problem finding Adoration and the chapels are sometimes very crowded.
 
I once made the trip to the Latin parish I mentioned specifically to see if they had Adoration, but it was for some strange reason closed even though it’s a big cathedral. The guy at the gate couldn’t help me either, he only spoke in Italian, was very deaf, and just waved at me dismissively when I couldn’t get my question across.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
A handful of images have had miracles occur in their presence or the image itself is miraculous in some way, so those do seem to be channels for God’s grace in some fashion but we don’t place them on the same level as the Eucharist.
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I probably overstated things slightly. Although we see those depicted as being present, I wouldn’t say icons are on the same level as the Eucharist. I should probably read up more on the acts of the seventh Ecumenical council as well as the works of St. John of Damascus who wrote so strongly in defense of the veneration of images and whose work was so instrumental for the fathers of the seventh council.
 
I am a little surprised by this post and the tone it takes.

Adoration of the Holy Eucharist is part of the praxis of the Latin (a.k.a.) Roman Catholic Church. It has not always been so.

It is not part of the praxis of the Eastern Catholic churches. I do not understand why you cannot accept this fact. I do not believe that the Eastern Catholics need to defend their reasons for not adopting a practice that is Latin.

For the avoidance of doubt I am not against Adoration and, indeed, go to Adoration.
 
TomH1 said:
It is not part of the praxis of the Eastern Catholic churches. I do not understand why you cannot accept this fact
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Asking a question means “I cannot accept this fact”? It’s fine with me if they don’t want to do it. I don’t go around forcing my practices on others, unlike a large percentage of other people on this forum.

I just want to understand why not. This forum is called “Catholic Answers” - I thought it was a place for people to ask questions and discuss without being chastised for not “just accepting” whatever it is. I’m fine with it “not being part of the praxis”, my question is simply WHY.

Sorry, but your response is not helpful, and is the most negatively toned thing in the thread. I’ll be putting you on ignore so I can concentrate on the posters who are actually engaging in civil discussion and not trying to make me feel bad for even asking the question. I’m trying to learn here, not criticize.

In the future, it might be nice if you would provide a charitable explanation and not just assume bad faith on the part of the asker and go on the defensive. I thought we were all Catholics here. I’m certainly not trying to attack your Catholic church when it’s in communion with mine. I also don’t think I said anything critical of EC’s who do not do it.

Have a nice day.
 
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@Tis_Bearself
I am glad that you asked this question. I know so little about Eastern Catholic devotions and their Divine Liturgy. It is really wonderful to learn more.
Isaac14 said:
One thing I was taught is that the saint depicted in the image is really and truly present to us through the image. Applying that to Christ, He is fully present in His icon
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This is a beautiful thought. I want to hang an icon of Jesus above my daughter’s crib. It is comforting to think He would be present watching over her!
 
I’m glad you found it a helpful question.

I grew up in an area with many Eastern churches. Because my ancestry is 100 percent Western European, I (and my parents) had very little knowledge of them. I was rather surprised to find out that some of them are even in communion with Rome. I am trying to visit all of them eventually for a liturgy. So far I have been to three: Maronite, Syro-Malabar, and Ukrainian Catholic. Lots more to go.
 
TomH1 said:
I am a little surprised by this post and the tone it takes.

Adoration of the Holy Eucharist is part of the praxis of the Latin (a.k.a.) Roman Catholic Church. It has not always been so.

It is not part of the praxis of the Eastern Catholic churches. I do not understand why you cannot accept this fact. I do not believe that the Eastern Catholics need to defend their reasons for not adopting a practice that is Latin.
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Exactly. And as already mentioned, Eastern Christians go by what Jesus commanded, i.e., to eat and drink the Eucharist, but not to worship the Eucharist.
 
Just to clarify, we are not “worshipping the Eucharist”, we are worshipping God whom we believe is really and truly present in the Eucharist.

I am making this post primarily because people who aren’t Catholics read these threads and I don’t want someone to get the idea that Latin Catholics are making an idol out of a host.

By the way, AINg, are you a Catholic? Your profile says “Christian”, which I always assumed meant Protestant. If you are not an Eastern Catholic, it would be good if you’d say so, as I am not interested in perspectives from people other than Catholics on this thread, especially when it comes to people proclaiming “What Jesus Commanded” (often a sola scriptura perspective from Protestants).

Such perspectives create confusion, especially when the person making statements is not clear about their exact religion.
 
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I’m Byzantine Catholic and I see nothing wrong with the question. And I think you’re reading into it a negative tone that isn’t there.
 
TomH1 said:
I am a little surprised by this post and the tone it takes.
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The tone is peasant. I don’t understand how you took this post as an attack? I am curious about Eastern Catholic and Orthodox customs myself so I am really glad this thread is here.
 
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