This past week I was asked to chat with our parish Faith Formation students about Eucharistic Adoration. I gave them a short little talk, then we spent some time in silent adoration. I wanted to share that with you this morning because sometimes it's helpful to hear a child's explanation to get back to the basics. I hope this moves you to visit Our Lord
and spend a Holy Hour with Him sometime this week.
Good evening and welcome to this Holy Hour, also known as adoration.
We have a very special guest for you tonight! His name is Jesus, and he will be joining us in just a moment!
Now when he comes, you may not recognize Him right away. He isn’t going to look just like you or me, but he is just as real.
He comes to us in the form of bread, but it is the same Jesus that walked this earth 2000 years ago.
Now, what makes adoration so special? I’m going to give you an example to help you better understand it, but I also want you to know that it is NOT a perfect example, but it will help give you a general idea.
When we pray at home, say when we do our morning or night prayers, or before we eat, let’s pretend that when we talk to Jesus in prayer that way, we are talking to Jesus on the phone. In this way, I am really talking to Him. He can hear my voice, and it’s a great way to communicate and keep in touch.
Now let’s pretend that coming to Adoration is like coming to Jesus’ home. Not only can I talk to him, but I can sit near him, and I can see him.
Let’s look at this same example but using your grandma. You can call your grandma whenever you want! Just pick up the phone and there she is. It’s very convenient, and you can do it anywhere! Just like you can pray anywhere.
But how much more special is it when you get to visit her? You get to see her pretty face and snuggle up next to her. You can smell her chocolate chip cookies baking, and I bet there are times when you don’t even use words, you just enjoy sitting in each other’s presence. When you come to adoration, you get to see Jesus in the monstrance, you get to kneel before him and adore him, and sometimes you get to smell the incense rising up to the heavens.
There was a very holy man that lived a long time ago, who couldn’t read or write. But this man spent hours with Jesus in adoration. Someone once asked him what he did for those hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament. He simply said, “I look at him, and he looks at me.”
How beautiful!
But, I have to admit that I’m not holy enough to sit here and do that because my mind likes to wander. I might be able to talk to Jesus for a few minutes, but eventually, I’m going to start thinking about what I should have for a snack when I get home, what I should wear tomorrow, or how I need to buy ranch dressing next time I’m at the store.
So what can I do in Adoration to help me stay focused?
One of the greatest saints, St. Teresa of Avila, said that nobody should come to prayer without some form of spiritual reading.
Now, this isn’t limited to bringing dusty old prayer books (although I certainly do), but you can use the daily gospel reading, a beautiful image to meditate on, a crucifix, or even the Holy Rosary, focusing on the life of Jesus through the mysteries.
Then when something strikes you, you stop and talk to God about it! Always start prayer time by invoking the Holy Spirit. It’s as simple as saying Come Holy Spirit 3 times. Read through the story or study the image you are choosing to meditate on. What is happening in the story or picture? Who’s there? How does it make you feel? What does it make you think? Tell Jesus about it!
The goal is to put yourself into the story, and then have a dialogue with Jesus about it.
Spiritual reading and meditation are super important, and something commonly done in adoration.
But there is another way to pray as well. It’s by using the 4 basic forms of prayer.
1. Blessing and Adoration
2. Contrition
3. Petition and Intercession
4. Thanksgiving
This is super easy. Let’s walk through it together.
First and foremost, I try to remind myself Who is here. It’s Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of Lords! He’s the creator of the universe and lover of MY soul!
I can start by praising him and adoring him.
Then I can tell him that I am sorry for the mistakes I have made.
Next, I can ask him for help. Nothing is too big or too small. It’s ok to pray about that bad math grade, or about your painful tooth!
You can also pray for others. You can tell Jesus about that crabby teacher, and ask him to bless her and give her some joy in her heart! You can certainly pray for the victims of an injustice that is close to your heart, like the homeless, the starving, or the persecuted in some way.
Don’t forget to thank him for his many blessings- your warm home, your good friends, your loving family.
And then go ahead and end your time in prayer by giving praise to God.
If that seems overwhelming, don’t overthink it. Jesus wants you to be unafraid to come to him. Talk to him in a personal way. Tell him how amazing you did on your science test! Tell him about the fight you got into with your brother. Ask him to bring healing to that relationship.
Tell him how awesome your school lunch was, and how awful you felt when you tripped in front of the whole class.
So with those ideas in mind, let’s meet our honored guest of the evening, Jesus.
Dear Jesus, present in every tabernacle, waiting for me in the monstrance on the altar at Eucharistic Adoration, allow me the opportunity to come and visit You. Help me find time in my busy schedule to come adore You. You are worthy of my praise, and I want to sit before You and love You, and allow myself to be loved by You. Thank you for the ability to be near You in such an intimate way. In your name we pray, Amen.
Until next time, your sister in Christ,
Leah