I recently attended the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis with 60,000 Catholics. As I have been reflecting on my time there, I felt a nudge to write down some encouragement for those not sure about Adoration – how does one even “do” adoration?
While raised a cradle Catholic, I don’t remember attending adoration until after I had graduated from college. I think part of my reluctance to go was that I didn’t know what to do. I knew when to stand, sit, kneel and say the prayers at Mass, but nothing about adoration. I hope that these few simple tips help you feel more confident to sit in front of our Lord who generously gave us Him in the Eucharist!
First, I’d like to dispel the myth that adoration is only for the old people, the holy people, the daily rosary people, or the people that sit in the front at Mass. Adoration is also for the beginner, the reluctant, the shy, the nervous, the “I should know better” Christians too. You are most welcome. So are your children, your friends, parents, siblings, and spouse. Jesus loves all of us!
If you have never been in an adoration chapel, or in a church where the Eucharist is exposed in a monstrance (the big, gold, sun-like statue with a consecrated host inside), your time in front of the Eucharist is called a Holy Hour. You can certainly have a Holy Ten-Minutes too! Don’t feel obligated to stay for an hour if you can only stay a short time – Jesus loves all the time you devote to Him, no matter how small. When you enter a space where Jesus is exposed (outside of the tabernacle), it is customary to bend down on both knees (not just genuflect) before you take your seat and before you leave. It is also customary to have total silence – only reciting prayers aloud when the priest is exposing or reposing the Host.
If you are already in the space where the Eucharist is going to be exposed in the monstrance, there are prayers of exposition that will be sung in either English or Latin:
English: O saving Victim, open wide. The gate of heaven to us below. Our foes press on from every side; Your aid supply, your strength bestow. To your great name be endless praise, Immortal Godhead, One in Three; O grant us endless length of days In our true native land with thee. Amen.
Latin: O salutaris Hostia Quae caeli pandis ostium; Bella premunt hostilia, Da robur, fer auxillium. Uni trinoque Domino Sit sempiterna gloria, Qui vitam sine termino Nobis donet in patria. Amen
If you are there for when the Eucharist is placed back into the tabernacle, there are prayers of Benediction that will be sung either in English or Latin:
English: Down in adoration falling, This great Sacrament we hail; Over ancient forms of worship Newer rites of grace prevail; Faith will tell us Christ is present, When our human senses fail. To the everlasting Father, And the Son who made us free, And the Spirit, God proceeding from them each eternally, Be salvation, honor, blessing, might and endless majesty. Amen.
Latin: Tantum ergo Sacramentum Veneremur cernui, Et antiquum documentum Novo cedat ritui; Praestet fides supplementum Sensuum defectfui. Genitori Gentioque Laus et jubilatio, Salus, honor, virtus quoque Sit et benedictio; Procedenti ab utroque Compar sit laudatio. Amen.
After those prayers of Benediction, recite Divine Praises:
Blessed be God. Blessed be his holy name. Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man. Blessed be the name of Jesus. Blessed be his most Sacred Heart. Blessed be his most Precious Blood. Blessed be Jesus in the most holy sacrament of the altar. Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy. Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception. Blessed be her glorious Assumption. Blessed be the name of Mary, virgin and Mother. Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse. Blessed be God in his angels and in his saints. Amen.
What to do in the silence? Anything! You can read the upcoming readings for this Sunday or anything from the Bible and reflect on what God wants you to hear through His Word. You can read a different spiritual book about a saint, or about our faith in general. You can pray a rosary, or any other prayers you know or have via prayer cards. You can do what I call “DIY prayer”, where you just talk to the Lord. Adoration was described to me as seeing Jesus sitting on the edge of the table, swinging His feet and inviting you to sit next to Him to chat, or just be together in silence.
Don’t be discouraged if your mind wanders. Sitting in silent prayer takes practice just like playing sports or memorizing lines for theater. Anytime you’re feeling tired, stay a few more minutes. It’s in those moments that our spiritual muscles grow stronger! I heard a priest talk about His time in adoration where he could not focus on prayer. His mind kept going to things he had to do that day, or things of the past. He brought it to his spiritual director who asked if anytime his mind wandered if he then brought it back to God in prayer? The priest replied that he did and just couldn’t keep his eyes and heart fixed on Jesus! The spiritual director smiled and said, “Imagine how pleasing it was to the Lord that anytime you strayed in prayer, you went back to Him, time and time again for a full hour!”
My brother asked me on my drive home after my weekly Holy Hour, “Does adoration make you more adorable?” Well, yes! To adore is to love and respect someone deeply. In this case, we are called to adore the Eucharist so fully that we transform. So, go! and adore until your heart becomes the heart of Christ. See you in the Eucharist!
