EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
Tuesday 8:00am - 5:20pm Mass @ 5:30pm
What a powerful experience it is to spend time with the Lord! To be with Him, up close and personal, is a life-changing moment. Come be with Him. Prayer with Him. Stay with Him. Each Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. we begin Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. The Eucharist remains exposed for adoration and meditation until Benediction at 5:20 p.m. Following Benediction, the Blessed Sacrament is reposed in the Tabernacle. If you would like to sign up for a permanent hour to adore the Lord, contact Laura Cooper at 348-5965.
What is Eucharistic Adoration? Eucharistic adoration is the act of worshiping God as He is present in the consecrated Eucharist. Since the Last Supper, when Jesus broke the bread and distributed the wine saying, "This is my Body" and "This is my Blood, " Catholics have believed that the bread and wine are no longer merely baked wheat and fermented grape juice, but the actual living presence of the Second Person of the Trinity. Spending time before the Blessed Sacrament, in prayer and devotion, is exactly the same as spending time befoere the living God. Adoration occurs whenever someone kneels in front of a tabernacle that contains the Blessed Sacrament, genuflects toward a tabernacle, bows before receiving the Blessed Sacrament at Mass, or, in a more focused way, when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for adoration. (OSV, Inc. Inventory No. P64)
1. Pray the Psalms or the Liturgy of the Hours: Whether you are praising, giving thanks, asking for forgiveness, or seeking an answer, you will find an appropriate psalm. The ancient prayer of the Church called the Liturgy of the Hours presents an excellent way to pray throught the Book of Psalms throughout the year.
2. Recite the "Jesus Prayer": Say, "Lord, Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner," repeatedly as you quiet your heart and mind.
3. Meditate using Scripture: Choose a passage from the Bible. Read the words and ask God to let the passage speak to you. Pay special attention to anything that strikes you and ask God what He wished for you to draw from that passage.
4. Read the life of a saint and pray with him or her. Most holy mena nd women have had a great devotion to Our Lord in the Eucharist. Therese of Lisieux, Catherine of Siena, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Aquinas, Peter Julian Eymard, Dorothy Day, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and Baroness Catherine de Hueck are just a few. Read about them and pray their prayers before the Blessed Sacrament.
5. Pour out your heart to Christ and adore Him: Speak to Jesus, aware that you are in His Presence, and tell Him all that comes to your mind. Listen for His response. Pray the prayer that St. Francis instructed his brothers to pray whenever they were before the Blessed Sacrament: "I adore You O Christ, present here and in all the churches of the world, for by your holy cross you have redeemed the world."
6. Ask for forgiveness and intercede for others: Think of those who have hurt you and request a special blessing for them. Ask God to forgive you for all the times you have neglected or hurt someone else. Bring before the Blessed Sacrament all those who have asked you to pray for them. Aske the Lord to address their concerns.
7. Pray the Rosary: Pope John Paul II reminds us, "...in not the enraptured gaze of Mary as she contemplated teh face ofthe newborn Christ and cradled him in her arms athat unparalleled model of love which should inspire us every time we receive Eucharistic communion?" Ask Mary to join you as you gaze on Christ in the Eucharist and as you pray the Rosary.
8. Sit quietly and just "BE" in the Presence of God: Think of a isit to the Blessed Sacrament as coming to see your best friend. Sit quietly and enjoy being in each other's company. Instead of talking to the Lord, try listening to what He wante to tell you.
(OSV, Inc. Inventory No. P64)