Eucharistic Adoration?

[jasev]

Greetings,

I have a few questions about Eucharistic Adoration. Taking into account that this means of communication leaves a lot to be desired and that some people seem to be a bit defensive here… let me please note upfront that I mean no disrespect or judgement in asking the following. Just looking to understand.

1. What are Catholics doing when practicing Eucharistic Adoration? Do you sit and look at the wafer in a monstrance? Pray? What is the objective of doing this?
2. What is meant by Perpetual Adoration? When I’ve heard this mentioned it sounds like there are some Churches which perpetually have a wafer on view and there must always be someone present to adore it. Why must someone always be present? What does this accomplish?
3. Do Eastern and/or Oriental Orthodox do this too? If not, why not?

Peace.

 

[spockrates]

Good questions. I think it’s a matter of personal preference, as I’ve had several fellow Catholics (I’m a new Catholic) recommend I go to an Adoration Chapel and pray, but have not given me much guidance beyond this.

 

[HereticalTheist]

Greetings,

I have a few questions about Eucharistic Adoration. Taking into account that this means of communication leaves a lot to be desired and that some people seem to be a bit defensive here… let me please note upfront that I mean no disrespect or judgement in asking the following. Just looking to understand.

1. What are Catholics doing when practicing Eucharistic Adoration? Do you sit and look at the wafer in a monstrance? Pray? What is the objective of doing this?
2. What is meant by Perpetual Adoration? When I’ve heard this mentioned it sounds like there are some Churches which perpetually have a wafer on view and there must always be someone present to adore it. Why must someone always be present? What does this accomplish?
3. Do Eastern and/or Oriental Orthodox do this too? If not, why not?

Peace.

For one thing jasev referring to Our Lord Jesus as “the wafer” is deeply and unspeakably offensive. The proper and respectful term that I would implore to adopt in similar contexts in the future is “The Blessed Sacrament”, or “The Host”.

Furthermore, there no fixed forms. We go to adoration to be in the literal presence Jesus Christ, who is, as he assured us, present in the Blessed Sacrament “Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity”. For me personally it is a very intense time of personal prayer, when I can open up to My Lord who is physically directly before me on the altar, for my eyes to see and my heart to rejoice.

 

[davidv]

Greetings,

I have a few questions about Eucharistic Adoration. Taking into account that this means of communication leaves a lot to be desired and that some people seem to be a bit defensive here… let me please note upfront that I mean no disrespect or judgement in asking the following. Just looking to understand.

1. What are Catholics doing when practicing Eucharistic Adoration?

Adoring God, in the person of Jesus, who is present under that appearance of bread.

Do you sit and look at the wafer in a monstrance?

Yes.

Pray?

Yes.

What is the objective of doing this?

To adore God.

1. What is meant by Perpetual Adoration?

The Eucharist is available 24/7.

When I’ve heard this mentioned it sounds like there are some Churches which perpetually have a wafer on view and there must always be someone present to adore it. Why must someone always be present? What does this accomplish?

Profound respect.

1. Do Eastern and/or Oriental Orthodox do this too? If not, why not?

Peace.

I don’t know.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

…let me please note upfront that I mean no disrespect or judgement in asking the following. Just looking to understand.

If you mean no disrespect, then it would be good to use words that are respectful.

1. What are Catholics doing when practicing Eucharistic Adoration? Do you sit and look at the wafer in a monstrance? Pray? What is the objective of doing this?

The wafer? No. It is our Lord under the appearance of bread.

I will assume that you didn’t know how profoundly disrespectful it is to refer to the Eucharist as “the wafer.” Now you know.

 

[curlycool89]

1. What are Catholics doing when practicing Eucharistic Adoration? Do you sit and look at the wafer in a monstrance? Pray? What is the objective of doing this?

As pointed out above, it is Jesus truly present under the appearance of bread (although, I think a little more charity would have been a better response).

What do you do? I can’t speak for everyone, so I’ll just speak for myself mainly. Pray, think, adore. We have a quick 1/2 hour adoration at my college chapel, and usually there’s also a little praise singing too. I’ve had some larger life questions floating through my head lately, and adoration is a really good time to just sit and think in the Lord’s presence.

I think I’ve heard that people will also pray the rosary or the liturgy of the hours while they’re there. Pretty much, just sit and talk to God.

 

[jasev]

I sincerely and humbly apologize for any disrespect. I really, really, did not mean any disrespect to referring to the Eucharistic bread as “the wafer.” I thought it was a wafer and I thought that is what Catholics called it.

For those whom I have offended, I am truly sorry.

In spite of my blunder, I appreciate the responses so far. I don’t know that I fully understand yet, but thank you again for the responses.

 

[JimG]

Our parish has a perpetual adoration chapel adjoining the main church. The Eucharist is exposed (in a gold vessel called a monstrance) 24 / 7 except for Sunday mornings when the chapel is used as a cry room for the Sunday Mass.

If a parish is doing perpetual adoration, we do not leave Jesus alone. So someone is assigned an hour a week. That means you need at least 168 people (24 x 7) willing to be there at an assigned hour. If you can’t make it you get a substitute, or the person already there waits until someone else comes in.

What do people do while they are there? Pray–in any form they wish. Just sit and talk to Jesus, silently (or aloud if you are alone), kneel, sit, meditate, pray a rosary or a novena or free form prayer.

 

[jasev]

If I may, I have an additional question… assuming anyone will reply to me now!

What is the earliest recorded history of Eucharistic Adoration in the church Fathers? I don’t mean quotes substantiating real presence, e.g. Ignatius statement about the “medicine of immortality.” I’m looking for something unequivocally describing the adoration of the “consecrated host” (hopefully not nearly as offensive a way to describe this!).

 

[PatriceA]

I sincerely and humbly apologize for any disrespect. I really, really, did not mean any disrespect to referring to the Eucharistic bread as “the wafer.” I thought it was a wafer and I thought that is what Catholics called it.

For those whom I have offended, I am truly sorry.

In spite of my blunder, I appreciate the responses so far. I don’t know that I fully understand yet, but thank you again for the responses.

Even though you didn’t know about using the term “wafer”, I still appreciate that you want to know more why we do what we do and what adoration is all about.

 

[jasev]

Our parish has a perpetual adoration chapel adjoining the main church. The Eucharist is exposed (in a gold vessel called a monstrance) 24 / 7 except for Sunday mornings when the chapel is used as a cry room for the Sunday Mass.

If a parish is doing perpetual adoration, we do not leave Jesus alone. So someone is assigned an hour a week. That means you need at least 168 people (24 x 7) willing to be there at an assigned hour. If you can’t make it you get a substitute, or the person already there waits until someone else comes in.

What do people do while they are there? Pray–in any form they wish. Just sit and talk to Jesus, silently (or aloud if you are alone), kneel, sit, meditate, pray a rosary or a novena or free form prayer.

Jim, when you’re praying/talking to Jesus… are you talking to Jesus in under the form of the consecrated host… i.e. are you talking to the consecrated host? If this is somehow offensive for me to ask this, I apologize up front for not knowing how to ask this.

 

[JimG]

If I may, I have an additional question… assuming anyone will reply to me now!

What is the earliest recorded history of Eucharistic Adoration in the church Fathers? I don’t mean quotes substantiating real presence, e.g. Ignatius statement about the “medicine of immortality.” I’m looking for something unequivocally describing the adoration of the “consecrated host” (hopefully not nearly as offensive a way to describe this!).

The Catholic Encyclopedia online has a brief history of Eucharistic Adoration here. By the standards of the Church it’s a relatively recent devotion, beginning sometime in the 15th century.

 

[JimG]

Jim, when you’re praying/talking to Jesus… are you talking to Jesus in under the form of the consecrated host… i.e. are you talking to the consecrated host? If this is somehow offensive for me to ask this, I apologize up front for not knowing how to ask this.

Yes. Although it’s not necessary to stare continuously. You know he’s there, just a few feet away. You can talk to him without looking.

I am reminded of a story told me by a priest who had attended a religious retreat with a group of other priests. The question arose, “what do you do when you get lonely?” One pastor from a small isolated parish (which did not have an adoration chapel) said that when he got lonely in the middle of the night, he got up, went over to the church, unlocked the tabernacle, took out a consecrated host, put it in a monstrance, placed in on the altar, pulled up a chair, and began to talk. After talking things out for awhile, he didn’t feel lonely anymore.

Now, I’m sure that if a secular psychiatrist happened upon him sitting in a chair talking to what appeared to be a piece of bread, he might have gotten the wrong idea. But anyway, it helped the priest.

 

[Church_Militant]

I love adoration. It’s one of the best of times for me and if my parish or one close by had Perpetual Adoration, I’d be there many hours a week.

It’s peaceful…

It’s reverent…

It’s prayerful…

It’s powerful…because I am in the same miraculous Eucharistic Real Presence as at Mass.

It is meditative…in ways that are difficult to explain.

I pray…I think…I listen…I read my Bible…and I gather strength for my daily life from being there with Our Lord.

As to the history and origin of Eucharistic Adoration, I suggest that we start with this.

The Council of Trent.

By the sixteenth century, the whole spectrum of Catholic belief in the Holy Eucharist was challenged by the Reformers. As a consequence, the Council of Trent treated this subject exhaustively. Every aspect of the Sacrifice of the Mass, Holy Communion and the Real Presence was clarified and defined.

For our purpose, the Council’s teaching on the Real Presence was historic. It was the dawn of the most significant development of Eucharistic doctrine since apostolic times. Even a few sentences from Trent are revealing.
The other sacraments do not have the power of sanctifying until someone makes use of them, but in the Eucharist the very Author of sanctity is present before the Sacrament is used. For before the apostles received the Eucharist from the hands of our Lord, He told them that it was His Body that He was giving them.
The Church of God has always believed that immediately after the consecration the true Body and Blood of our Lord, together with His soul and divinity, exist under the species of bread and wine. His Body exists under the species of bread and His Blood under the species of wine according to the import of the words. But His Body exists under the species of wine, His Blood under the species of bread, and His soul under both species in virtue of the natural connection and concomitance which unite the parts of Christ our Lord, who has risen from the dead and dies now no more.
Moreover, Christ’s divinity is present because of its admirable hypostatic union with His body and soul. It is, therefore, perfectly true that just as much is present under either species as is present under both. For Christ, whole and entire, exists under the species of bread and under any part of that species, and similarly the whole Christ exists under the species of wine and under its parts.
Given this fact of faith, Trent could logically go on to declare that, “The only-begotten Son of God is to be adored in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist with the worship of latria, including external worship. The Sacrament, therefore, is to be honored with extraordinary festive celebrations (and) solemnly carried from place to place in processions according to the praiseworthy universal rite and custom of the holy Church. The Sacrament is to be publicly exposed for the people’s adoration.” Approved by Pope Julius III (October 11, 1551), these conciliar statements became the foundation for dogmatic and devotional progress ever since.

The History of Eucharistic Adoration - Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J.

There is an extensive article there that will be well worth your reading. Fr. Hardon, (God rest his soul) was a true evangelist and catechist.

 

[Nowhere_Man]

Greetings,

1. What are Catholics doing when practicing Eucharistic Adoration? Do you sit and look at the wafer in a monstrance? Pray? What is the objective of doing this?

 

[spockrates]

… No, they do not because Eucharistic Adoration was started around the time of the Reformation to combat the heresy that Christ wasn’t present in the Eucharist. Well, Eastern and Oriental Rites didn’t have this issue. In addition to this, they view the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments, especially the Eucharist) as something to be guarded against possible profanation; at least that is what I was told by an Eastern Catholic.

Nowhere Man (love your user name!):

Do you know if the decision to start Eucharistic Adoration was merely a reactionary one, or was there also some revelation of God given to a Pope, or a Church Council, or something?

 

[spockrates]

Has anyone had any unusual spiritual experiences during Eucharistic Adoration (any they would care to share, that is)?

 

[DebChris]

There are different levels of prayer. Most are familiar with vocal prayer, in which a person recites a formal prayer or uses words to speak directly to God. There is meditation in which a person reflects on the Gospel message or some other passage from the Bible. The deepest form of prayer is contemplation in which we sit in God’s presence.
Our relationship with God is a love relationship. For that reason, I will use the analogy of the love between a man and woman, a common analogy used.
When a man and woman first meet, they learn about each other through conversation. This would be like vocal prayer. Indeed, prayer is communication with God. As the man and woman take turns talking and listening, we are called to listen to God, not merely talk.
As the relationship deepens, they become more comfortable just being in one each other’s presence. They gaze into each other’s eyes and nothing can disturb this gazing. In the deepest conversation my husband and I had together, neither of us used words.

There is a story about a man who every day came simply sat at the back of a church. After a while he would leave. One day the priest approached the man and asked what he was doing. The man pointed to the crucifix and said, “I look at Him and He looks at me.”

Eucharistic Adoration moves us to contemplative prayer.

 

[spockrates]

There are different levels of prayer. Most are familiar with vocal prayer, in which a person recites a formal prayer or uses words to speak directly to God. There is meditation in which a person reflects on the Gospel message or some other passage from the Bible. The deepest form of prayer is contemplation in which we sit in God’s presence.
Our relationship with God is a love relationship. For that reason, I will use the analogy of the love between a man and woman, a common analogy used.
When a man and woman first meet, they learn about each other through conversation. This would be like vocal prayer. Indeed, prayer is communication with God. As the man and woman take turns talking and listening, we are called to listen to God, not merely talk.
As the relationship deepens, they become more comfortable just being in one each other’s presence. They gaze into each other’s eyes and nothing can disturb this gazing. In the deepest conversation my husband and I had together, neither of us used words.

There is a story about a man who every day came simply sat at the back of a church. After a while he would leave. One day the priest approached the man and asked what he was doing. The man pointed to the crucifix and said, “I look at Him and He looks at me.”

Eucharistic Adoration moves us to contemplative prayer.

Thank you, DC.

 

[Langdell]

jasev –

In understanding eucharistic adoration, it’s important to realize that what is adored is the bread after transubstantiation. Transubstantiation is the transformation of bread and wine into (literally) the Most Precious Body and Blood of Christ, who is God. Even though the bread (and wine) do not change to our senses, we believe, as one of the central tenets of Catholicism, that the bread and wine, after transubstantiation, are the Lord’s Body and Blood. That is why the Eucharist is accorded such deep respect, and why Catholics find a special blessing in being in its (His) presence.

Sorry for belaboring this point if you already knew it. I just wanted to point it out because eucharistic adoration can seem quite inexplicable if transubstantiation is not taken into account.

.