Last week I wrote about spending quiet time with Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration – a 1700 year old tradition of our Catholic faith. This week, let’s continue with a few of the basics such as “how do I adore Jesus?”
Adoration begins when we walk in the door of the church. We make sure our cell phones are turned off and maintain a reverent silence. As we approach the Blessed Sacrament, we genuflect and kneel in the pew. We bow our head, give Jesus our full attention, and make a simple act of faith by emptying ourselves before Him so we can be filled with His love. Then we take this time to pull away from the busyness and distractions of life and sit at His feet to let Jesus lead us. And where does He lead us? Jesus leads us to where we need to go.
No two hours spent in Adoration are alike because our Lord acts with whatever we need the most for our soul at that time. As I wrote last week, maybe we just need some time to just relax, pray, read, or talk to Jesus as we would a good friend. Maybe we’re exhausted or experiencing sorrow or worry. Maybe fear or struggling with something. Jesus doesn’t care. Because when we come to Adoration, we don’t have to check our real lives at the door for Jesus to understand. We only need to take the realities of our day and the problems we face and talk them over with our Lord. Remember, Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves and only wants to meet us where we are.
The most powerful thing we can do to keep Satan from stealing our soul is to escape the noise of the world and spend time in Eucharistic Adoration. Being present with Jesus brings us peace of mind and fills our heart with joy. It blesses our families, our jobs, and our life with God’s protection and grace so we may bear fruit in this life and the next.
Deacon John
-Adapted from Chapter 5 of the Manual for Eucharistic Adoration, St. Joseph Adoration Monastery