What to do when you’re at adoration and Alone

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Hello, so My parish has perpetual adoration and I went in a few hours after Mass today and there were three people there and before I knew it I was the last adorer. When I left I wasn’t sure if I should put the curtain up over the blessed sacrament or not because I wasn’t sure if I had the authority but regardless I did observing attentive respect. Was This OK?
 
Your best bet is to ask your pastor how to handle this situation, as it can vary from parish to parish.

If Adoration is perpetual, theoretically the Blessed Sacrament would never be reposed (unless Mass is also offered in the Adoration chapel). Isn’t there someone scheduled to be there at all times? I’m not understanding why your departure left the perpetual Adoration chapel empty. 🤨

Adoration is not perpetual in my parish, and there is no curtain or other covering for the monstrance. The policy in this parish: once the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, at least one person must be in the chapel at all times and no one except the priest can touch the monstrance. If I left the chapel empty during Adoration, I would be dismissed (I’m the head sacristan). If I touched the monstrance, at the very least I would be reprimanded. (Lest anyone think my priest a tyrant, there are force majeure exceptions to all this.) But…it may be different in your parish. Your pastor is the one who can advise you best.
 
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I revel in being alone at Adoration. When I leave, I just leave things as they are altho I will turn out the light (w Father’s permission).
 
Exactly what UpUpAndAway said. Call the rectory. They’ll tell you.

We have perpetual Adoration. There’s at least one guardian for each hour and a coordinator. However, sometimes they’re a no-show. It happens. But this particular parish is in an unsafe neighborhood. The churches have been attacked before. If no one can stay, the pastor locks the Blessed Sacrament Chapel until the next guardian comes. But everyone has their own way. The best thing to do - if it happens again - is just ask.
 
Ahhhhh ok see this is what I would have done In your shoes in a parish with no curtain however my parish is perpetual and has a curtain and both people did not show up for their hour soooo I covered it with the curtain and in retrospect I don’t know if what I did was wrong or not. What do you think.
 
Bless you for going. Hope you get something out of it by attending regularly.
 
This is a very common problem at many adoration chapels, I think.

The veiling is meant for emergencies, as far as I know, to veil the blessed Sacrament when it’s exposed, since someone is leaving and Jesus will be left unattended.

Happens way to much. And in many places. The pastors would be aware of it. There are some things to do to try to keep this from happening less often in parishes, but it’s always a challenge.
 
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Hi Everyone,

Hi @(name removed by moderator),

I was taught like you, to not leave Adoration until someone else showed up.

I wasn’t assigned for a regular spot, but I would substitute for another adorer when she couldn’t make it to this one Chapel that I would frequently go to that was open for Adoration to the whole community, in my area.

Sometimes someone wouldn’t be able to come for whatever reason, and I would just stay until the next person was able to come. 🙂

Editing to add, I have read about if there’s a curtain and no one shows up, that the Monstrance should then be covered until someone then shows up for Adoration again.
 
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oldgraymare2 said:
I have read about if there’s a curtain and no one shows up, that the Monstrance should then be covered until someone then shows up for Adoration again.
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I would be nervous about this, because unless the chapel is locked someone could still take the Blessed Sacrament.
 
That’s something to consider and to think about…

I never would have thought about that. You bring up a good point.
 
Kind soul, it doesn’t matter what we think. What matters is what your parish priest says to do in this situation.
 
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I’ve seen a curtain used when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in a church that also uses the space for Mass. When Mass is about to begin, the curtain descends in front of the monstrance. But at that point, the church is not empty so the Blessed Sacrament is secure. The only time I’ve heard of a curtain being used in a dedicated Adoration chapel, the monstrance was encased in a locked, unbreakable transparent box that is anchored to the wall.
 
Yes, that was the case where I had - the monstrance was built into the wall and not easily opened. The chapel itself also had a keycode lock; nighttime adorers were provided with the code (this ensured the safety of the adorers as well).

There were hooks on the wall, and a curtain, that was to be placed over the sacrament if one was leaving and no replacement was available.
 
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