Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In his recent Apostolic Exhortation Veneremur Cernui – Down in Adoration Falling, Bishop Olmsted explained the importance of “wasting time” with Our Lord in Eucharist Adoration.
Bishop Olmsted writes: “The expression “waste time in front of the Lord” should be understood only through the lens of love, of which the saints are constant reminders. Blessed Charles de Foucauld wrote in the presence of the Eucharist: “What a tremendous delight, my God! To spend over fifteen hours without having anything else to do but look at you and tell you, ‘Lord, I love you.’ Oh, what sweet delight.” True, this impressive duration of time may have been an extraordinary gift to this holy man and hermit. But the faith and love he bore in his heart for the Eucharist is a supernatural gift available to every one of us, poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit to those who ask.”
Currently, St. Bernadette parish had 409 adorers signed up for adoration, yet all of the hours are not covered with an adorer. This is for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that there is currently no bathroom available. I am working to fix that problem. Perhaps you could add that to your list of prayers.
There are one hundred and sixty-eight hours in a week. Technically, all that is needed is one hundred and sixty-eight people willing to make one holy hour on a weekly basis so that these hours can be coordinated in such a way that all hours are covered. Moreover, there is nothing to stop an adorer from making a daily holy hour. This is to be encouraged and is more common than one imagines. Realistically, however, it is better to have as many as two hundred in case of illnesses, vacations, and various situations where a person needs a substitute. There are several small parishes in the country with only one hundred and fifty to two hundred families that were able to have Perpetual Adoration. These small parishes are a wonderful example to larger ones. If they could do it, certainly others could. Pope St. John Paul II, once said that "our essential commitment in life is to persevere and advance constantly in Eucharistic life and piety and to grow spiritually in the climate of the Holy Eucharist."
This hour Jesus wants you to spend with Him is spent any way you want. You may bring your own prayer books, use the books in the chapel, read the Bible, pray the rosary, or just sit and relax and enjoy the sweet peace that comes from simply being in the Presence of God. You may feel that you can't pray well. Don't let this discourage you. The mere fact that you take time out at a specific time each week to spend an hour with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament pleases Him very much and is in itself a prayer of great faith. Please remember that Perpetual Adoration in a parish is not just for a day, a week, a month, or a year. Rather, it is for always. It is not temporary, but ongoing, lasting, permanent.
To be continued next week…
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