Eucharistic Adoration

[YinYangMom]

jrabs:

Just inner peace that I get from my visits with the Lord. Though not much has changed ( in an earthly sense) to make my situation better…
I told my friend just today, I feel like I am on Prozac, where nothing bothers me or gets me emotionally wound up. …
I do make my children go with me once a week and I have completely noticed a difference in their behavior. We have been blessed

That’s a good way of describing it too. I go in with tension, stress, a sense of being overwhelmed with our political situation this year, with the worry over the safety of our soldiers overseas, with concern about loved ones who have left the church or who are ill, or recently deceased. All that gnaws at me during the day in the back of my mind while I go about with my work and motherly duties - keeping a smile on my face and hope in my heart. Then I go to sit with Christ for a bit and it’s like getting a breath of fresh air. If my visiting with him keeps our soldiers safe one more day, and their families secure one more day - and I get the benefit of feeling lighter myself - then I can’t justify not going - if only to stop by on the way home from work.

I haven’t introduced my teens to it yet, though I plan to soon…I’m trying to work out a schedule where it will be easy at first. I’m confident once they experience it for themselves, they too, will develop that longing for it. It’s almost addictive in that sense.

 

[otm]

Orientale Lumen:

I would be grateful if my Roman brethren could explain something for me.
We all agree God is omni-present, we also all agree in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. If He is present in the tabernacle, what difference does it make when a consecrated host is placed in a monstrance for ‘adoration’? The same Christ, really present, but now in a special container rather than the tabernacle. As for “seeing” Christ, considering the size of the Host and the distance most of the faithful are from the monstrance what can one actually see? From my experience - not much, usually nothing. (This excludes those who attend small parishes or have separate, small chapels for Adoration.)

Basically I’m trying to understand what is so special/different about a Host being brought out of the tabernacle.

I have no desire to belittle or debunk the practice. Since it is so important to so many people, I would just like to understand.

Let me try this analogy. If the Pope were to make a visit to your town, and the results were as they usually are (large crowds), why would someone go, knowing that they might be a half a block or a block or more away from him? Yet they do, out of excitement, or wonder, or curiosity, or bragging rights, or whatever motivates such large crowds.

Christ is in Heaven; seeing His resurected Body iisn’t highly likely. He did, however, give us another way to be in His physical presence through the Eucharist.

 

[otm]

Matt16_18:

What do you mean by “adore the elements”?

Catholics give adoration to their Lord.

“elements” is a technical term used legitimately when discussing the sacrament.

 

[otm]

To the question: it developed a long time ago.

Why do it? Perhaps the better question is “Why not do it?”.

Limiting our contact with Christ in the Eucharist only to Mass is a little like limiting our prayer time with God to only the Mass. Obviously, the Mass is the penultimate act of worship; should we then only worship at that time?

If you receieved Communion, and then found that 2 hours later, Christ was going to be physically present in the tosn square, would you avoid going because you had already received Him?

You could say that He was still with you because of the Communion; however, technically He is only with you physically after consumption of Communion for somewhere between 10 and 30 minutes, depending on your metabolism.

So, like Mikey said, “Try it. You’ll like it!”

 

[Fergal]

I think that when we talk about the presence of Jesus being in the Blessed Sacrament that sometimes it masks the fact that simply the whole person of Jesus is there under the form of bread.
We must also remember that where Christ is, there is the Father and the Spirit, so the presence of Christ enshrines the presence of the Trinity.

Now lets look back at the life of Christ.

What did the shepherds do on that first Christmas night?
what did the Angels do?
What did the Wise Men do on the Epiphany? Well here’s the answer; Mt:2:11 And entering into the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and falling down they adored him: and opening their treasures, they offered him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (DRV)

What did the leper do in His presence? Mt:8:2 And behold a leper came and adored him, saying: Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. (DRV)

Lets have a closer look at some other verses from the Gospels:

Mt:9:18:
18 ¶ As he was speaking these things unto them, behold a certain ruler came up, and adored him, saying: Lord, my daughter is even now dead; but come, lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. (DRV)

Mt:14:33:
33 And they that were in the boat came and adored him, saying: Indeed thou art the Son of God. (DRV)

Mt:15:25:
25 But she came and adored him, saying: Lord, help me. (DRV)

Mt:28:9:
9 And behold, Jesus met them, saying: All hail. But they came up and took hold of his feet and adored him. (DRV)

Mt:28:17:
17 And seeing him they adored: but some doubted. (DRV)

Mk:5:6:
6 And seeing Jesus afar off, he ran and adored him. (DRV)

Jn:4:22:
22 You adore that which you know not: we adore that which we know. For salvation is of the Jews. (DRV)

Jn:4:23:
23 But the hour cometh and now is, when the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeketh such to adore him. (DRV)

Jn:4:24:
24 God is a spirit: and they that adore him must adore him in spirit and in truth. (DRV)

Jn:9:38:
38 And he said: I believe, Lord. And falling down, he adored him. (DRV)

My dear friends, we are simply doing now in His presence what others did whilst in His presence. The presence is the same. The Eucharist IS CHRIST.
If they adored him then we should continue to adore Him now.

 

[deaconswife]

JimG:

At a priests’ retreat, there was a discussion of how to deal with loneliness. One of the priests, pastor of a small church without Eucharistic adoration, made a comment like this: “Whenever I get lonely at night, I go over to the church, take a host out of the tabernacle, put it in the monstrance, and set it on the altar. Then I pull up a chair, and I begin to talk to Jesus. After awhile I’m not lonely anymore.”

Guess that doesn’t answer the original question, but it’s a story I heard that seems to fit here.

Amen. My husband used to travel overseas extensively at one point in his career. Whenever he was feeling lonely and missing his family, or even a person he could converse with in English, he would seek out a church and sit before the tabernacle. Jesus never failed to ease his loneliness and gave him strength to get through the days until he could get back home again.

 

[Strider]

Here are two CA sources on the venerated practice of Eucharistic Adoration.
There is nothing that says we can’t adore Christ before we consume him.

catholic.com/library/cag_ecclesia_de_eucharista.asp

catholic.com/library/ecclesia_de_eucharistia.asp
(Paragraph # 25)

I highly recommend it. Even if you think you feel or experience nothing, it’s life-changing.
God bless

 

[Didi]

Orientale Lumen:

If He is present in the tabernacle, what difference does it make when a consecrated host is placed in a monstrance for ‘adoration’.

For me, it is a difference between talking with someone behind a closed door, or talking with them face to face.

Also, Jesus is present in all the tabernacles of the world, but behind the door and “hidden” or “locked away.” In some sense, a prisoner once again waiting for His people to come to Him.

When He is on the altar, He is there in His Full Presence, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, for all the world to see!

Also, when Jesus is present on the altar in the monstrance, someone must be with Him at all times or He must be reposed back into the tabernacle. By having perpetual adoration, we are encouraging people to be with Our Lord 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – always someone praying before Him! That’s pretty powerful!

The same is not required when Jesus is in the tabernacle.

Hope this helps!

 

[itsjustdave1988]

***lex orandi, lex credendi ***

Mel,

Good question. Here are my thoughts …

The Church is called to proclaim the gospel (kerigma) and teach (catechesis). There are many ways in which the Church proclaims the truth and teaches. When tracing the roots of this ecclesiastical devotion encouraged by the Church, it seems to have developed during a time when the beginnings of doubt regarding the real presence of Christ began to enter western Chrisitianity.

I believe (just my opinion) this devotion was established as a means of catechetical emphasis regarding the truth that the Eucharist really is Jesus Christ and not merely a symbol or Jesus inside the bread (consubstantiation). Our liturgical gestures serve to emphasize how we are to believe. So do our devotions, novenas, disciplines, etc. I believe this is an manifestation of the ancient axiom of the Church: *lex orandi, lex credendi *(the law of prayer is the law of belief).

 

[itsjustdave1988]

Orientale Lumen,
Orientale Lumen:

I would be grateful if my Roman brethren could explain something for me. …

The reason it is a western-only devotion, in my opinion, is that the doubt regarding the real presence of Christ was a western heresy, started by a monk named Gottchalk in the middle ages, I believe.

 

[itsjustdave1988]

Correction: it wasn’t Gottschalk but Berengarius of Tours (11th century). However, it was probably in reaction to the Albensian claim that only the spirit was good, thereby making the flesh bad. But I’m just guessing.

 

[chuck_clifford]

Greetings to all; Mel posed an interesting question. I am not an educated or intelligent person so when it comes to my faith I must rely on my common sense. If I believe that Christ is truely present in the Eucharist when I recieve Him at Mass, then why not worship Him in adoration? I would venture to say that when people recieve the Eucharist on Sunday Mass is over 10 minutes later, and Jesus is out of our thoughts. We start talking to our friends, wondering where to go for breakfast or other things we do on Sunday. I attend adoration from 3:30 A.M. to 5 A.M. When I first started the thought came to me that Jesus must be the loniest Person in the universe. Some times my visits are dry, sometimes I cry, other times I am full of guilt, and yes, on a few occassions I have fallen asleep. But hey. when I am sleeping He doesn’t have to worry about me. I look at Him and He looks at me. I see all that is Good and Pure. He sees a wretched sinner. But He loves me. Imagine that. I tell him my problems, He says I got you covered. I tell Him I am angry, He says getover it. I ask if I will ever be a good person. He says don,t stop trying. Mel, give your Lord one hour. Go with an open heart and mind. Talk to Him as you would your best friend. Tell Him your doubts, fears, and anything else you wish to confide in Him. He speaks English. I could go on and on. I bid you and your wife Peace and all good things for your family. Sincerely, Chuck Clifford

 

[Mamamull]

Eucharistic Adoration is the ulitmate time to be with Jesus.

You Are Graciously Invited

Look upon your hour of adoration
as an hour in Paradise.
Go to your adoration
as one would go to Heaven,
to the divine banquet.
You will then long for that hour
and hail it with joy.
Take delight in fostering

a longing for it in your heart.
Tell yourself, “In four hours,

in two hours,
in one hour,

Our Lord will give me

an audience of grace and love.

He has invited me;
He is waiting for me;
He is longing for me.”
- Fr Vincent Martin Lucia

 

[Mamamull]

“*We should never again use the expression, ‘When Jesus was on earth’ or think of Him as being only in heaven, Jesus is still on earth.” *

“While all the sacraments confer grace, the Eucharist contains the author of grace, Jesus Christ, Himself.”

*Fr. John Hardon, S.J. *

When Jesus promised to be with us through all time, he kept his word.

When we adore the Blessed Sacrament – yes it is easier when the Sacrament is exposed, but the Tabernacle is nothing to restrain the Savior of the World.

He pointed that out to me, much to my surprise and great gratitude for that gift of knowledge.

Most times I go to adoration with a full agenda and find it hard to sit and listen. Yet, if I can quiet myself, I can gain great insight.

Adoration is so intimate and personal even though there may be others in the chapel with me – it is as if He loves each of us as if we were the only one.

Adoremus te Christe!

 

[Hesychios]

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Just my thoughts…

Let’s face it, this is one of those culturally conditioned things that show up in the Universal church.

Either position is valid. If Eucharistic adoration works for us that is just great. I know it is gaining popularity among traditional Western Catholics again, but for some people it has no appeal at all. Saying this does not mean the person in any way would deny the Real Presence, one cannot therefore argue that we should attend Eucharistic Adoration, forty hour devotions, etc. because of the Real presence, but one can say it is an acceptable and worthwhile devotion for those people who can appreciate the practice.

I have a friend, formerly Jewish (well actually she will always be Jewish!), who converted to Catholicism particularly because she sensed Christ in the Eucharist, and faithfully returns to parishes and monasteries for Eucharistic adoration, “quiet time” with the Lord, daily mass and contemplation.

Others I know just don’t have an appreciation for it, but it’s a cultural reaction, and not at all wrong.

Eastern Catholics do not have Eucharistic Adoration as a normal part of their spirituality. In the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox churches the Eucharist is a dynamic process, as such, displaying the Host in a Monstrance seems like keeping God in suspended animation. Of course we know better, God is beyond space and time, but that is a cultural reaction!

The difference can be analogious to eating. One can either eat, or look at it. Eastern Catholics will understand that the Eucharist is to be eaten, it is in the partaking that we are communing with the Lord. Eucharistic Adoration from that perspective can be like “playing with your food” according to someone I know who explained it very nicely once.

This is not to disparage the practice, but Eastern Catholics who have not been latinized to any great degree just wouldn’t embrace the practice, and agree that it is a uniquely Western custom best left to the West.

Please consider one other point I never see raised in these discussions. Our culture informs our spirituality, and the Roman Catholic West does not exist in a monolithic, “one size fits all” cultural base.

We all know about the East-West (Greek-Roman) divergences, but that is not all, Northern Europeans would not have the same appreciation for some things as southern Europeans. Mediterranean culture and North Sea culture are different in a lot of ways. Throw in African culture, Indian culture and Chinese culture and we can see that there can be a lot of legitimately different approaches to the Universal Truth.

Church history is full of examples where a spiritual movement (the Devotio Moderna for example) would be a regional phenomenon. That is probably one reason the Protestant movement was much more successful in northern Europe, the arguments and ideas were culturally informed.

So (for example) if Spain has a popular spiritual movement like los Penitentes and it doesn’t catch on in Ireland or Finnland, we shouldn’t be surprised. Just a little conjecture here, but if a Protestant of northern European descent doesn’t have an appreciation for some tradtional Catholic practices, it is entirely possible that he/she wouldn’t have appreciated it anyway even if the Protestant reformation had never happened. There are many, many Catholics that do not participate in various devotions and yet fully understand and believe in the Real Presence and embrace the Magisterium of the church fully.

Thanks for listening.

 

[Robin_L.in_TX]

Eucharistic adoration definitely developed as our understanding of Eucharist, and Who He truly is developed.

Just as we don’t have to accept the Marian appearances, yet still be good Catholics in a state of grace, I imagine you could also get by without adoration.

But I have seen great graces come from adoration. Having difficulties with a pastor who was anything but pastoral to many of my fellow parishioners, left me reeling in my early revert days. I was considering leaving the parish, even wondering if I should remain Catholic. Our parish had perpetual adoration, so I went for the quiet to think things over. The thought I left with was “Why do you come to Mass?”

I struggled with the answer, knowing what it should be, talked it over with my husband, and we decided to stick it out for Jesus. This is when I realized how much easier it would be to focus on picturing Jesus mediating for us with the Father, instead of a seeing the face of a priest I knew to be unjust, and unpastoral to many. I ended up closing my eyes…

Looking back, I credit visiting the Blessed Sacrament for as a major turning point in my faith life.

I’ve also seen major changes growing in our parish. The pastor I had difficulties with is now gone, but I now pray for him almost daily, and I thank God for using him to bring me closer to Him. The many graces that flow from spending time with my Lord and Savior, even though, or perhaps, because, I have to have eyes to see and ears to hear, are unlimited.

The peace, the calm, the Presence that Jesus promised would be with us until the end of the age, the love, the quiet voice, the silence, the time to read sacred writings, the grace, the comfort, the joy…

Others may experience these things without Eucharistic adoration–I know I have! But whenever I feel myself to be slipping–not reading my daily readings, or spending time in daily prayer, getting lax, instead of being excited to go to Mass, losing the joy He has given me, or in thanksgiving, or in praise, just because I was passing the chapel and have a minute to drop in, or for many other reasons, the first place I go is to adoration. Jesus is always there waiting for me, just as the Prodigal Son’s Father was!

In Christ’s peace and joy,

Robin L.