Eucharistic Adoration

[Newbie2]

What is it that you personally get out of Eucharistic Adoration over and above that of say, praying or meditating in or near a closed tabernacle?

Reason I’m asking is that personally, I see no difference in whether I see the hosts or not. I’m not being critical of the practice, but rather am interested in what others get out of it.

 

[tbtcom1213]

At Eucharistic Adoration I have the divine privilege of seeing my Sweet Saviour in the Blessed Sacrament.

I get this opportunity every weekday afternoon. Most churches in Manhattan expose the Blessed Sacrament after the last afternoon Mass and then hold Benediction before the evening Mass if any.

It is wonderful to be in his presence especially when we are tired and wary. Our Lord says come to me you who are weary and I will give you rest from your burden.

 

[Cat]

I agree with tbtcom1213–I get to be with the Lord Jesus in Person, up close and personal. For an ex-evangelical Protestant, this is richness.

As many of you know, my husband and I were kicked out of our evangelical Protestant church. When I say “kicked out,” I mean that the church convened a tribunal of pastors, deacons, and laypeople, several of whom we had never met and who had never met us, and held a “trial,” laid false charges against us, and told us to leave the church. It was awful, nightmarish.

For a year after that night, I could not read the Bible because those people had used the Bible to justify their hideous treatment of us. They twisted verses and made us look like criminals, and it was all lies. As I ran out of the church after the tribunal pronounced their verdict, I saw a vision of a giant wall shearing apart and collapsing, and I KNEW that I was seeing the truth about sola Scriptura. This doctrine is Satanic, and using the Bible alone leads Christians to believe in lies and to believe in a fantasy Jesus that exists in their own heads and emotions.

So even though I had been evangelical Protestant all my life and had referred to the Bible as my sole authority, I could no longer read the Bible because I was afraid that I, too, would become like those cruel pastors and others who had treated us with such callousness. I was afraid of falling into a lie.

When I started looking into Catholicism, I had no trouble believing in the True Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament because I recognized Him. Then I learned about Adoration (our parish has a 24/7 Adoration Chapel). Eventually I worked up the nerve to visit the chapel and spend some time with Jesus.

And that’s when I started reading the Bible again, because I was in the Presence of Jesus Christ Himself, and I KNEW that I could trust Him to help me read the Bible and not fall into any false beliefs.

BTW, a year after we were kicked out of that evangelical church, one of the pastors, the woman who had been the prime instigator of the charges against us at the tribunal, was fired because she was caught in a lie, a bad lie. In spite of this, the church has never called us to apologize for what was obviously another one of her lies.

In case anyone wonders what the “charges” against us were, they had to do with authority issues. The woman accused us of undermining the authority of the pastors in the church. In reality, the church authority structure was fragmented and we had a very difficult time determining the “ladder of authority.” In every other evangelical church that we attended, this was very clear, and we knew exactly who was in charge of what. But not so in this church.

Here is an example of one of our “offenses.” The youth pastor forbade the girls and boys from sitting together. At the time, our daughter was dating a young man, and we approved of the relationship and wanted them to be able to sit together in church. So we went to the youth pastor and presented our case. We felt that it should be up to the parents to make decisions about children’s dating, not a church. We also felt that it was important for dating teenagers to learn how to worship and serve God together. Yes, we did tell the pastor that we would respect the “rule,” but we didn’t approve of it. (As it turned out, our daughter very seldom had time to attend the church, as she was a member of an elite skating team at that point. Also, her boyfriend was managing a McDonald’s and often worked on Sunday mornings.) At the tribunal, this incident was offered by our accusers as evidence that we did not respect church authority. (Our daughter eventually married the young man, BTW, after seven years of dating.)

 

[Newbie2]

At Eucharistic Adoration I have the divine privilege of seeing my Sweet Saviour in the Blessed Sacrament.

I get this opportunity every weekday afternoon. Most churches in Manhattan expose the Blessed Sacrament after the last afternoon Mass and then hold Benediction before the evening Mass if any.

It is wonderful to be in his presence especially when we are tired and wary. Our Lord says come to me you who are weary and I will give you rest from your burden.

Help me to understand how seeing a consecrated host is different than seeing an unconsecrated host. Is it that you KNOW that the consecrated host is our Lord?

 

[Newbie2]

Sorry, I just missed the cutoff for editing posts. I wanted to add:

In other words, I would like to know what people see in the difference between ***seeing ***the hosts in a monstrance and praying before a closed tabernacle. It seems to me that the only difference is seeing the hosts, since in both cases they’re consecrated. Does actually seeing them make that much difference?

Again, please, I don’t mean to be disrespectful but want to understand better why some prefer Eucharistic adoration to praying before a closed tabernacle.

 

[catholictiger]

What is it that you personally get out of Eucharistic Adoration over and above that of say, praying or meditating in or near a closed tabernacle?

Reason I’m asking is that personally, I see no difference in whether I see the hosts or not. I’m not being critical of the practice, but rather am interested in what others get out of it.

both are great things but i think adoration is the better of the two and the place where you can dive deeper into prayer.

now the mass beats both just saying

but back to adoration

i don’t know much of the theology behind the issue but i do know that adoration does seem to bring me deeper into my prayer.

ive experienced adoration many times in my life mostly at retreats and big conferences

but at these i have recieved gifts of the spirit. Laughter once, i rested in the spirit a couple times well a few times. gift of tongues once or twice.

but infont of the tabernacle closed i never recieved any of these gifts.

Christ is present in both but in adoration you are looking at christ and in the tabernacle you aren’t

 

[joe_cool]

Sorry, I just missed the cutoff for editing posts. I wanted to add:

In other words, I would like to know what people see in the difference between ***seeing ***the hosts in a monstrance and praying before a closed tabernacle. It seems to me that the only difference is seeing the hosts, since in both cases they’re consecrated. Does actually seeing them make that much difference?

Again, please, I don’t mean to be disrespectful but want to understand better why some prefer Eucharistic adoration to praying before a closed tabernacle.

I don’t mean to be disrespectful, either, but I want to understand better why some prefer to speak face-to-face rather than through closed doors.

In all seriousness - I think the benefit is multifold - on one hand, you have a matter of discipline, and when you move past that, you have something on which to focus your meditation.

We, being human, struggle between two completely opposite tendencies, especially as we deal with conversion: the law laid on our hearts, and the propensity of the flesh toward sin. We’ve learned over the course of our entire lives that nothing is true that cannot be tested - that what our senses tell us is absolute… and to a certain extent, this is true: for example, your senses can accurately guide you through a cafeteria line as you look for desirable cuisine. You can trust your senses here. There is, however, a line: a point at which your senses cannot help you, and will only serve to lead you astray. You cannot see, smell, touch, or taste God. When they say “taste and see the goodness of the Lord” it is not in the same sense as “taste and see these delicious butterscotch cookies”. So in this sense, it can be spiritually beneficial to gaze upon the Blessed Sacrament… because in doing so, we are choosing truth over perception. It is for this reason that I was taught when receiving on the tongue, to close my eyes: because I should not be focusing on the priest, or his hands, or the accidents of bread or wine - that there is nothing spiritually beneficial to this.

There becomes a point when the senses are no longer an obstacle, and then there are still benefits to Adoration: I like to spend time contemplating the institution of the Eucharist, and how brilliant Christ was for doing this, and what a powerful and wonderful thing it is, that we have so widely available the Most Blessed Sacrament… That we are so blessed to so easily and so frequently able to sit in front of the tabernacle and say to ourselves: Ecce panis angelorum! That we have such easy access to such powerful nourishment for our souls and that in such a simple act as consumption we can draw ourselves closer to Christ…

You get the idea. I could go on and on.

 

[joe_cool]

Did you see my previous message about not wanting to derail the thread?

If you wish to continue this conversation, make another thread and I’ll happily play along.

Otherwise, this sub-conversation is now over.

 

[catholictiger]

Did you see my previous message about not wanting to derail the thread?

If you wish to continue this conversation, make another thread and I’ll happily play along.

Otherwise, this sub-conversation is now over.

thats cool and im sorry i started this

btw im starting a new thread please come over and chat

 

[DebChris]

… I want to understand better why some prefer to speak face-to-face rather than through closed doors.

In all seriousness - I think the benefit is multifold - on one hand, you have a matter of discipline, and when you move past that, you have something on which to focus your meditation…

I did like all the points made in this post. With the first sentence I thought about the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I prefer face to face while many others prefer staying behind the screen. In my current parish, I don’t have a choice. Even before I move behind the screen Father has already seen me so it’s not like he doesn’t know who I am.
I don’t even need to be near a church to hear God’s voice or experience His awesomeness in nature as it surrounds us.
I can pray before a crucifix. I have even been repulsed by the corpus only to reach through and embrace my crucified Lord. I do not have the same sense of wonder when I pray before an empty cross.
It’s true that the Tabernacle holds consecrated hosts, but I do not see Christ present in the same way that I see Christ visible within the monstrance. We could even go into the prayers that begin and end adoration. I know that this sense of Christ’s presence goes beyond the Benediction received or the Repose since I have come to adoration during the middle of its availability and not only at the beginning or end.
Another poster mentioned gifts received. There have been times when I have been hard pressed to remain silent and hold down the praise that welled in my heart before the Blessed Sacrament that I have not felt before the Tabernacle alone. Christ is present in both. In the one He is visible; in the other He is not.
Christ is represented by the cross, but the reality of His sufferings is portrayed on the crucifix.

 

[puzzleannie]

What is it that you personally get out of Eucharistic Adoration over and above that of say, praying or meditating in or near a closed tabernacle?

Reason I’m asking is that personally, I see no difference in whether I see the hosts or not. I’m not being critical of the practice, but rather am interested in what others get out of it.

the difference between having a face to face conversation with someone vs email, or yelling at someone in another room

 

[Newbie2]

I did like all the points made in this post. With the first sentence I thought about the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I prefer face to face while many others prefer staying behind the screen. In my current parish, I don’t have a choice. Even before I move behind the screen Father has already seen me so it’s not like he doesn’t know who I am.
I don’t even need to be near a church to hear God’s voice or experience His awesomeness in nature as it surrounds us.
I can pray before a crucifix. I have even been repulsed by the corpus only to reach through and embrace my crucified Lord. I do not have the same sense of wonder when I pray before an empty cross.
It’s true that the Tabernacle holds consecrated hosts, but I do not see Christ present in the same way that I see Christ visible within the monstrance. We could even go into the prayers that begin and end adoration. I know that this sense of Christ’s presence goes beyond the Benediction received or the Repose since I have come to adoration during the middle of its availability and not only at the beginning or end.
Another poster mentioned gifts received. There have been times when I have been hard pressed to remain silent and hold down the praise that welled in my heart before the Blessed Sacrament that I have not felt before the Tabernacle alone. ***Christ is present in both. In the one He is visible; in the other He is not.***Christ is represented by the cross, but the reality of His sufferings is portrayed on the crucifix.

What I do not understand is “how” he is visible. What we see in the monstrance is the appearance of hosts. I’m having a difficult time understanding how seeing the hosts is different than not seeing them, however, thank you all for the answers so far.

 

[joe_cool]

What I do not understand is “how” he is visible. What we see in the monstrance is the appearance of hosts. I’m having a difficult time understanding how seeing the hosts is different than not seeing them, however, thank you all for the answers so far.

… Did I not answer this with my post?

 

[joe_cool]

What I do not understand is “how” he is visible. What we see in the monstrance is the appearance of hosts. I’m having a difficult time understanding how seeing the hosts is different than not seeing them, however, thank you all for the answers so far.

I think, my friend, that you are having the trouble with senses that I alluded to earlier.

The tabernacle is not one of those 3d stereograms. If you stare hard enough, and cross your eyes… You will not see Christ in all of His magnificence, sitting on the altar cross-legged, chewing Bazooka Joe bubblegum and waving at you.

Initially it’s important to separate the formation of faith from the illusions presented by the senses… The biggest fallacy ever presented is that everything can be tested via the senses.

Later, it becomes a matter of discipline - to open your senses to things that confound them… in so doing, you choose the reality of truth over the fallacy of perception.

Once your faith is developed… it becomes a lens through which you see things for what they are. This seems to be the experience that DebChris describes - that when she gazes at the monstrance… she sees Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament… not the accident of bread… because she is able to see the Eucharist for what it is.

… and here’s where we get down to the nitty-gritty:

My friend - I do not mean to be presumptuous… however it sounds to me as though, inwardly on some level, you struggle with acceptance of the Real Presence… and for this reason, you prefer to shield your gaze… that this is a method of dealing with your disbelief. While this is noble - it would be best to attack that hindrance head-on especially if you’ve been Catholic for any length of time. I suggest speaking with your priest about this matter, to find out what he might suggest to help you reach past this plateau. Once you do - many wonderful things await.

 

[Newbie2]

I think, my friend, that you are having the trouble with senses that I alluded to earlier.

The tabernacle is not one of those 3d stereograms. If you stare hard enough, and cross your eyes… You will not see Christ in all of His magnificence, sitting on the altar cross-legged, chewing Bazooka Joe bubblegum and waving at you.

Initially it’s important to separate the formation of faith from the illusions presented by the senses… The biggest fallacy ever presented is that everything can be tested via the senses.

Later, it becomes a matter of discipline - to open your senses to things that confound them… in so doing, you choose the reality of truth over the fallacy of perception.

Once your faith is developed… it becomes a lens through which you see things for what they are. This seems to be the experience that DebChris describes - that when she gazes at the monstrance… she sees Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament… not the accident of bread… because she is able to see the Eucharist for what it is.

… and here’s where we get down to the nitty-gritty:

***My friend - I do not mean to be presumptuous… however it sounds to me as though, inwardly on some level, you struggle with acceptance of the Real Presence… and for this reason, you prefer to shield your gaze… that this is a method of dealing with your disbelief. *** While this is noble - it would be best to attack that hindrance head-on especially if you’ve been Catholic for any length of time. I suggest speaking with your priest about this matter, to find out what he might suggest to help you reach past this plateau. Once you do - many wonderful things await.

No offense taken.

However, no, I have no struggles or difficulties whatsoever with the real presence. It is just lost on me the difference in eucharistic adoration where one can see the hosts and, say, praying in front of a closed tabernacle where one cannot see them.

And I’m speaking about visually seeing, strictly. I feel the Lord’s presence when in front of the tabernacle.

Maybe my difficulty stems from the fact that meditative prayer isn’t really my preferred type of spirituality.

 

[PJM]

=Newbie2;6979057]What is it that you personally get out of Eucharistic Adoration over and above that of say, praying or meditating in or near a closed tabernacle?

Reason I’m asking is that personally, I see no difference in whether I see the hosts or not. I’m not being critical of the practice, but rather am interested in what others get out of it.

Your right if you are in the presence of the Divine Presence in “The Reservered Tabernacle”
the only difference in effect is visual.

However, that said; for many of us feel a closer bond when we can actually SEE JESUS Present there in front of us.

I would compare it to speaking to someone you love on a phone or in person. Same effect; but MY WHAT A DIFFERENCE

Either way you accumulate MANY graces you would not ordinarly receive.

Love and prayers,
Pat

 

[teachccd]

The tabernacle is supposed to be utilized to house the consecrated hosts that are to be brought to the sick. Really at every Mass ideally there should be just enough hosts consecrated for the attending congregation. But with larger parishes there will be hosts left over to limit the chances of running short. So, when one realizes that the purpose of the tabernacle is to keep the consecrated hosts for the sick then we can see how the exposition of the Eucharist is different and fitting for adoration.

Yes, Jesus’ presence is no more or less whether the hosts are in the tabernacle, in the monstrance, or on the paten on the altar. And, yes, one can go into any Catholic Church and be reminded by the red sanctuary lamp that Jesus is truly present. But Eucharistic Adoration adds a different dimension and is fitting since we can view what we cannot see in the tabernacle. It would be as if Jesus was in the confessional rather than sitting in the pew. In both instances He is very much there but if He was sitting in the pew we can better see our Lord and that causes our minds to focus in a different way. I hope some of this helped… teachccd

 

[neophyte]

What is it that you personally get out of Eucharistic Adoration over and above that of say, praying or meditating in or near a closed tabernacle?..

I din’t wish to get anything out of it, I merely wish to serve Christ in a way that pleases him.

 

[DebChris]

No offense taken.

However, no, I have no struggles or difficulties whatsoever with the real presence. It is just lost on me the difference in eucharistic adoration where one can see the hosts and, say, praying in front of a closed tabernacle where one cannot see them.

And I’m speaking about visually seeing, strictly. I feel the Lord’s presence when in front of the tabernacle.

Maybe my difficulty stems from the fact that meditative prayer isn’t really my preferred type of spirituality.

I try not to quibble about minutiae, and it is my hope that you do not see this post as such.
Meditation/contemplation are forms of silent prayer in which we listen to God speak to us. They are considered higher forms of prayer than vocal prayer. I would say, therefore, that it is not that meditation isn’t so much "not your form of spirituality,"but one you have not yet reached. Don’t be so hard on yourself.
I will go back to an oft repeated story that describes what contemplation is:
Everyday a man came into Church and sat in the back pew. He never spoke to anybody, but simply sat. One day, the priest wondering about this man asked what he was doing.
“I look at Jesus, and He looks at me.” The man’s contemplation was on the crucifix. He saw beyond the corpus to the Christ who is represented on the cross.

While some of us may hear God verbally speak to us, more often than not He “speaks” to our senses. We receive insight into a problem/situation that we would not have received trusting in our own intellect and abilities.
Western culture teaches us to rely on own own abilities, what we can physically see, touch, or discern using intellectual powers. With contemplation, we need to “let go and let God,” allow your senses to perceive Christ in the Eucharist.

 

[DebChris]

This thought just came to me.
As a young girl, I was taught that I should stop and cross myself every time I passed a church, God’s house. It is only when I go inside that I am able to participate in Mass, go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or participate in any other form of communal worship.
The Blessed Sacrament is housed in the Tabernacle. If there were no left over hosts from Mass, then only the Monstance and a single encased host will be there. As mentioned throughout the thread, although hidden behind closed doors, Christ is truly housed in the consecrated Host. This truth is why we bow and cross ourselves when we walk in front of the altar.
During adoration, the Host is removed and placed in the Monstance for all to see.

I am blessed with the ability to attend Mass in a parish with an adoration chapel. My church, the only one in the country is a very large church. English Masses are held in the “multipurpose hall” to accommodate all the people. Still there is an overflow into the courtyard. The adoration chapel is off the mother church. Shoes are removed upon entering this small room where the Blessed Sacrament is visible throughout the day. Outside, in the courtyard parishioners recite the rosary before the grotto, a replica of the one at Lourdes.