What are some possible reasons to deny perpetual adoration?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lurch104
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
L

Lurch104

Guest
From another thread:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad
It has to be approved by the Bishop. I know of Bishops that have eliminated it from the diocese altogether and of Bishops that have told priests they cannot have it even though the people are willing.
I was curious after reading this post, what possible reason would a bishop have for not allowing perpetual adoration in his diocese? I am not implying that the reasons are not valid, I just can’t for the life of me think of one. I am blessed to live in a diocese where perpetual adoration is available at 3 parishes 5, 10, and 15 minutes from my house. I guess I always assumed that this was the norm in the Catholic church. I guess I have to open my eyes a bit. At my home parish, the adoration chapel usually has between 5-10 people in it every time I visit. I am a wimp when it comes to sleep, so I have not been there beyond 10pm, but I do know that we have a schedule so that there is never less than 2 people in the chapel at any one time. I have never heard of a problem in finding people to “staff” the chapel.
 
A lot of places have trouble getting reliable adorers scheduled all the time. A perpetual adoration chapel needs to have at least one (and preferably two) scheduled people in the chapel at all times. I think a lot of dioceses require two adorers to be scheduled every hour. In a lot of places, this isn’t practical. Two people every hour every day of the week is 336 man-hours that need to be filled.

Personally, I think perpetual adoration chapels are a good idea in theory. I appreciate having one near me; however, I do have concerns about them in practice. It’s really not uncommon to find them understaffed (i.e., empty).
 
40.png
Benedictus:
Personally, I think perpetual adoration chapels are a good idea in theory. I appreciate having one near me; however, I do have concerns about them in practice. It’s really not uncommon to find them understaffed (i.e., empty).
Click to expand...
This should never happen, let alone be common. Are you sure? I’ve never seen one empty.
 
40.png
Lurch104:
From another thread:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad
It has to be approved by the Bishop. I know of Bishops that have eliminated it from the diocese altogether and of Bishops that have told priests they cannot have it even though the people are willing.
I was curious after reading this post, what possible reason would a bishop have for not allowing perpetual adoration in his diocese? I am not implying that the reasons are not valid, I just can’t for the life of me think of one. I am blessed to live in a diocese where perpetual adoration is available at 3 parishes 5, 10, and 15 minutes from my house. I guess I always assumed that this was the norm in the Catholic church. I guess I have to open my eyes a bit. At my home parish, the adoration chapel usually has between 5-10 people in it every time I visit. I am a wimp when it comes to sleep, so I have not been there beyond 10pm, but I do know that we have a schedule so that there is never less than 2 people in the chapel at any one time. I have never heard of a problem in finding people to “staff” the chapel.
Click to expand...
There is one reason to not allow perpetual adoration to go on at a willing church. Satan.
 
40.png
Brad:
This should never happen, let alone be common. Are you sure? I’ve never seen one empty.
Click to expand...
Yes, it happens. I don’t know how common it is in other places, but it has happened at my local chapel.

I’m not a fan of Bishop Lynch. Actually, I think he should be burnt at the stake. But, he apparently prohibited perpetual adoration in his diocese because the chapels were being left unattended at times. If the chapels really were left unattended, then I fully support banning it.
 
Jesus should never be left unaccompanied in the adoration chapel! :eek: In my church’s perpetual adoration chapel, when you take on an assigned hour, it is with the understanding that if the person who has the following hour fails to show up, you stay there until an assigned adorer does come in.

In some parishes, there is really a problem with getting enough people, and you have a few heroic individuals spending hours and hours in the chapel. I could understand not having adoration 24-7 under those circumstances, but a better way is to educate people about what Perpetual Adoration is, and try to get more adorers.

Not all hours are “created equal”, either – some hours, the chapel is full, but if you have one of the “wee hours”, you will, in all likelihood, be the only person there. And it is harder to get substitutes when you can’t be there.

I have a 2:00 AM assigned hour in my urban church’s chapel, by the way, and I have never encountered any problem in getting there, being there, or going home. Maybe it helps that the chapel is located in a convent. 🙂

Oh, there was a very small problem, once. The man who has the hour after me had arrived, and I was ready to go home (after praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, which we do in the chapel at 3:00, AM and PM). I opened the outer door, and there, standing right in front of the door, looking up at me, was a skunk! I sure didn’t want that skunk to come into the chapel, so I quietly closed the door, and went back in. I waited a few minutes, and Mr. LePew was gone. 😃
 
The rules of the Church say that there must be a few people in attendance before the priest can have adoration. I would guess it must be 6 or so. The priest must follow the rules.
For a bishop to say it cannot be done at all seems diabolical. The pope asked that adoration take place in every church for at least 1 day and 1 hour. All the parishes where I am seem to be doing this , at least.
 
there are many valid reasons, the most common being that the presence of sufficient adorers at all hours cannot be guaranteed, or that it has been tried in the past, and found that the Blessed Sacrament has been left unattended. Most churches I know that have this practice have found that having only 2 people “signed up” is NOT sufficient to assure that somebody will always be present.

Another possible reason is safety and security. If the chapel is in an unsafe locale, the bishop would be perfectly justified in insisting the safety of persons and the security of the facility, and of course preservation of the Blessed Sacrament from sacrilege or desecration, must be assured. I know nothing of this bishop’s ruling or reasons, but I know of several cases where churches have been ordered to lock their doors because of security risks.

another reason could be that the bishop feels the people of his diocese have been insufficiently catechised on the Eucharist itself and on the HOly Sacrifice of the Mass, and feels that proper respect and attendance at Mass should be addressed first, and that Eucharistic Adoration should flow from that focus.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top