Eucharistic Adoration?

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skeyes said:
jasev, I invite you to take a few minutes and enter an Adoration Chapel. You don’t have to prepare, you don’t have to say anything, just take the time. Jesus, present in the Blessed Sacrament, is a huge reason for me being Catholic. I have witnessed miracles during Eucharistic Adoration. Jesus is calling us all from the Blessed Sacrament. Perhaps you asking about it is your first response to His call to come Home.

In Christ,
Stan
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Stan, thanks for the kind words. I’ll probably take you up on this.

Do you typically have to call ahead or speak to anyone before/when entering… or do you just walk in and quietly and reverently sit?
 
If it’s a Perpetual Adoration chapel, it will be open 24/7 (unless Mass is going on), so you can just walk in. The people already there won’t give it a second thought, as it’s encouraged for people to stop in anytime, even if they’re not the ones scheduled for the hour.

In Christ,

Ellen
 
jasev said:
Stan, thanks for the kind words. I’ll probably take you up on this.

Do you typically have to call ahead or speak to anyone before/when entering… or do you just walk in and quietly and reverently sit?
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All are welcome. Just silently enter and take a seat.

The Eucharist begins as unleavened bread. It is not always in wafer form. The wafer form is the most common, however, since it can be mass produced.
And yes, I did read your apology. You were seeking information.
 
jasev said:
Hi Holly,

I’m guessing you have not read this thread all of the way through. I have apologized for this a number of times on this thread already. Again - a complete blunder on my part, I get that now. It was in no way intended to be offensive. Apologies, again. If I were able to go back and edit the OP to correct the language, I would!

Honestly though, it is from Roman Catholics that I’ve heard the term “wafer.” Obviously they did not know better… but how was I supposed to know they did not? Even on sites like Wikipedia the sacramental bread under the heading of the Catholic Church is called a “round unleavened wafer.” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communion_wafer . Can one of you please go to Wikipedia and correct this before another unassuming non-Catholic mis-uses this word? Or, at least put in a word of caution as to the kind of reaction this will cause when referring to the sacrament as a “wafer”??

People, please don’t get me wrong - I’m not at all trying to justify this terminology, in fact, I’ve been quite apologetic for the offense. I’m simply pointing out that before jumping all over someone for not using the correct terminology please recognize that they are probably just confused not being a jerk on purpose.
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Jasev, I cringed when I saw Holly’s response, realizing that she had probably not seen your profuse apologies! I did go back and check out the Wikipedia entry under “Communion_Wafer” and saw that, for the most part, the term they used was “host,” which is actually much more acceptable.

The term “wafer” is actually quite acceptable when talking about the UNconsecrated host. They are actually small wafers made of flour and water. It is when they have been consecrated by a priest that they become our living Savior.

So, when you asked if we sit and stare at the wafer, there was the almost visceral response from some who thought you were deliberately being disrespectful. We understand now that you truly didn’t know.

So, I will echo what Stan said…go visit a Eucharistic Adoration Chapel and sit quietly. No reservations needed. Nothing is needed except a heart open to Our Lord.

Let us know if you ever get there!
 
ATL_Granny said:
Jasev, I cringed when I saw Holly’s response, realizing that she had probably not seen your profuse apologies! I did go back and check out the Wikipedia entry under “Communion_Wafer” and saw that, for the most part, the term they used was “host,” which is actually much more acceptable.

The term “wafer” is actually quite acceptable when talking about the UNconsecrated host. They are actually small wafers made of flour and water. It is when they have been consecrated by a priest that they become our living Savior.

So, when you asked if we sit and stare at the wafer, there was the almost visceral response from some who thought you were deliberately being disrespectful. We understand now that you truly didn’t know.

So, I will echo what Stan said…go visit a Eucharistic Adoration Chapel and sit quietly. No reservations needed. Nothing is needed except a heart open to Our Lord.

Let us know if you ever get there!
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I wanted to add my own thoughts to the above response to Jasev,
There are certain OP’s to which I will not respond. At first glance I thought this would be one of them. The question about whether or not we “stare at the wafer” at first blush appeared antagonistic. It did not take long to see this was not the case.
As a non-Catholic, how could you be expected to know that we see Christ when we gaze upon the Eucharist? That’s why the analogy of star crossed lovers works so well.

On the first Friday of the month, in many parishes around the world, there is Eucharistic Adoration. It will begin with a Benediction after the daily Mass. Individuals, in pairs, volunteer to spend an hour in Adoration ensuring that the Eucharist is never left unattended. Anybody else can come and go as they choose. At the end of the time set aside for Adoration there is Reposition. If you come during the Benediction or Reposition, just follow what everybody else does. Kneel when they kneel. Don’t worry that you don’t know the words to the songs, usually in Latin, or the prayer responses.
 
Your question offended me not at all - zero. Jesus Christ is really present in what you called “a wafer”, and so He should not be referred to as “a wafer”, for Our Lord is neither cookie nor cracker. The content and form of your question seems to me to be sufficiently reverent that I suspected no sort of disrespect on your part. Perhaps we Catholics ought all to be offended by our own failure to educate the masses better, so that thoughtfully and respectfully inquisitive people like you do not, from a bit of innocent ignorance, mistakenly appear to be offensive when you intended no such thing.

The most important thing to understand about the Eucharist in a Catholic Church is that such is the actual, real, true substantial body of Jesus Christ. It is not a mere symbol, and it is NOT both bread and Jesus Christ. The consecrated host, by the actions of a Catholic priest through the power of the Holy Spirit, has ceased to be bread, and is an entirely different substance, namely the Body of Jesus Christ. Our Lord may appear in any form He wills, and in The Eucharist it obviously is His Will that He appear in the form of bread. Form is not substance. That He appears in the form of bread does not change the fact that His substance includes Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, nor does the form of bread change the fact that He is genuinely awesome.

I don’t presume to explain the Will of God, but I think He might choose to appear in this way to remind us all of how humble He is willing to be for us. I can not imagine a more humble form in which we could actually receive Jesus Christ into our own bodies. Much like He suffered for us as humbly as possible, He now offers Himself bodily to each of us, in communion with the whole Church, in the humblest form possible.

If you keep all of this in mind, what we Catholics accept the Eucharist to be - the Body of Christ, it is unlikely that you ever would be truly offensive to any of us, which I believe you have not been. I don’t mean to question the sensitivities of others, as it is right staunchly to defend the dignity of Our Lord. Personally, I liked that your question was clear, and that you cared enough about the matter to ask. I hope you will remember that when our Catholic eyes perceive a small white consecrated host, we know that what we actually are beholding is Jesus Christ - actually and substantially. Thanks for caring enough to ask!
 
Church_Militant said:
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. 👍
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CM,

Thanks for the link to the article by Fr. John Hardon. I had never read that one before. Needless to say, Fr. Hardon’s article provides some great historical context.

God bless.
 
I love Adoration 🙂

When Im there, I just adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament or do prayers of reparation (this is something I want to do more.) It’s really powerful because Jesus is physically present there… it’s beautiful 🙂

God bless
 
Here’s a question I just randomly thought of:

In some churches/cathedrals, the tabernacle is kept in a side chapel, which is also where Adoration will occur. What is the difference in…“presence” between sitting before the tabernacle (with the Host in it), and with the Host exposed in the monstrance? Are we only in the presence of Jesus when the host is exposed in the monstrance, and not when it’s in the tabernacle?
 
TheosisM said:
Here’s a question I just randomly thought of:

In some churches/cathedrals, the tabernacle is kept in a side chapel, which is also where Adoration will occur. What is the difference in…“presence” between sitting before the tabernacle (with the Host in it), and with the Host exposed in the monstrance? Are we only in the presence of Jesus when the host is exposed in the monstrance, and not when it’s in the tabernacle?
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we are in Jesus’ presence either way… sometimes Adoration can be more powerful, or personal, but He’s present in both. Praying before the Tabarnacle can be a really good way to ‘visit’ Jesus throughout the day as He’s alone in the Church, and offer prayers of reparation.

God bless
 
Monica4316 said:
we are in Jesus’ presence either way… sometimes Adoration can be more powerful, or personal, but He’s present in both. Praying before the Tabarnacle can be a really good way to ‘visit’ Jesus throughout the day as He’s alone in the Church, and offer prayers of reparation.

God bless
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thanks!
 
jasev said:
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.
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I wont and cant speak for others but will share what Adoration means to me.

It means the next closest time I have with the Lord outside of the partaking of the Eucharist. It’s another time for me to sit and be present with Him.

I have a particular devotion to the Agony in the Garden and the idea of spending one hour with Him comes from that.

Im serious about discipleship with Him. It’s not a simply a phrase I let slip thru my lips. But it is a sincere and earnest desire of my heart. I have had some profound experiences with Adoration, the biggest being with my devotion to Archbishop Sheen and his own personal love and devotion of a Holy Hour. Every day of his 60 years of priesthood, he spent an hour in devotion to our Blessed Lord.

It’s why I trust the Bishop so much. His discipleship wasnt lip-service…it was the real deal. 👍
 
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