The faithful are to hold the Eucharist in highest honor… worshiping it with supreme adoration. (Code of Canon Law – #898)
The Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is a place of deep reverence towards God. Thus, silence is the traditional norm. Additionally, genuflecting , kneeling, and bowing before our Eucharistic Lord are important ways to pay our homage outwardly. There are many ways to adore Christ inwardly during your holy hour of prayer. It is best to let God’s Holy Spirit guide you in this manner. However, if you are new to adoration, you may find it easier to focus your holy hour on the greatest commandment. In Holy Scripture, Jesus states that the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. In light of this, follow these practices:
Love God with all your heart: Spend some quiet time just thanking God and meditating on the goodness, blessings, and love God has shown you. Pour your heart out to God with love and humility. This will help strengthen the bond of your personal relationship with Christ.
Love God with all your soul: Take time to communicate your intentions before God. Your holy hour is a beautiful time to pray the rosary, the chaplet of divine mercy, or just a sincere prayer that is in your heart. For more information on powerful prayers to pray in God’s Presence, click on the link in our prayer section.
Love God with all your mind: A holy hour is a good time to meditate and reflect on God’s Holy Word in the Bible. The adoration chapel also has a collection of various spiritual books that can help you draw closer to God and inspire your spirit.
Love God with all your strength: Committing to spending an hour with God on a weekly basis takes a lot of strength and fortitude of spirit, because there are so many demands and temptations in today’s busy world that pull us in many other directions. However, spending time with Jesus brings great spiritual rewards. What could be more important than time alone with God?
Adorer Testimony
I am not a cradle Catholic but a convert to the faith. I was raised in the Baptist church. However, as a child, I was also blessed to attend the Catholic school at St. Hyacinth for two years until my parents could no longer afford it. Still, to this day, I remember enjoying the Catholic Mass at St. Hyacinth as a child, despite it being very different from the worship style of our Baptist church. There was a quietness and serenity that permeated throughout the holy Mass which my young mind could not understand. All I could remember was that I loved it, because it brought peace to my soul. I know now that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament was the wellspring that inspired that inner peace in my heart.
Later, I lived my young adult life away from church. However, as I got older, I searched for church again and at last came back home to the Catholic Church. Do you know what is so beautiful? That same peace and beauty I felt as a child is the same that I feel now when I adore Christ in the Eucharistic Adoration Chapel. I’ve always felt the closest to God in the silence when we pray before Him in the Blessed Sacrament. The Scripture verse, “Be still and know that I am God” in Psalms 46:10, has definitely proven to be true in my personal prayer life of Eucharistic Adoration.
I always feel the greatest connection to God when I’m surrounded by the peacefulness of His Presence and can discern His voice or promptings the most vividly. It reminds me of the beautiful biblical narrative of Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-18) when He couldn’t hear God’s voice in the loud noises like the noisy wind, earthquake, or fire, but His voice came to him like a still, quiet, and gentle whisper.
Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is truly “The Prince of Peace” I have been searching for throughout my life. Eucharistic Adoration gives you peace unlike anything else this world has to offer.
John 14:27 – Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Isaiah 9:6 – For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Adorer Testimony
When I reflect upon one of Christ’s names, Immanuel, I feel such joy knowing that it means “God with us”! This is exactly what Jesus is in the Blessed Sacrament. He is God with us under the appearance of wine and bread. I know this is true for 3 reasons: First, Jesus promised and foretold it in Scripture, like in John 6:48-59. Second, the saints and the Holy Catholic Church teachings also confirm this fact. Lastly, the third reason I know He is truly present in the Eucharist is that I have been blessed with so many answered prayers as an adorer.
For example, have you ever prayed for someone’s conversion to the faith, and it seemed like the prayers were not being answered? I have. Several years ago, I prayed daily for my Mom’s conversion. I never understood why my prayers did not seem to be answered. Around 3 years ago, I became my mom’s caregiver. Since I was an adorer, I got into the practice of sometimes taking my mom with me to adoration. During this time, I never talked about my faith or tried to convince her to join. I had given that up years previously, because my mother had always had a strong opinion against the Catholic faith.
We got into the habit of spending quiet time alone before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament on a regular basis. I will never forget the day my mom said out of the blue that she wants to become Catholic. Again, I had not been evangelizing to her or even continuing to pray fervently that she would be converted. The only thing I was doing on a regular basis was taking her to adoration, where we both spent quiet time before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!
I have other beautiful testimonies of how God has blessed and touched my life since I have been praying to Him during the Blessed Sacrament. He is the source of everything good, holy, and worthy of praise in my life. He has added so much beauty to my life. He has given me so much that I do not deserve, because God knows I am so unworthy and imperfect.
Please consider visiting Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, our Immanuel, “God with us.” Just because He is not in human form does not make Him any less Divine. Remember this beautiful Scripture verse that Jesus stated to doubting Thomas:
John 20:29 – Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”