If you’re not Catholic (or possibly Anglican or Lutheran), you might not know about the faith practice of perpetual adoration. Since we Catholics believe in Christ’s True Presence in the consecrated host and wine, some parishes keep the Blessed Sacrament exposed at all times… and someone (preferably two someones) must be there with Christ around the clock to adore him and give thanks for all his goodness. The times around Masses fill up pretty easily; the wee small hours of the morning are more of a challenge.
I’d never experienced perpetual adoration until my fiftieth birthday, when a friend who is
a nun said she had a special gift for me and took me to the adoration chapel at the Divine Mercy Parish in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. When I first knelt, I wondered just how long we’d stay. The next thing I knew, she was nudging me; an hour had passed, and it was time to return to our writers’ conference.
My current parish, St. Agnes in Arlington, Virginia, also has a divine adoration chapel, and I try to stop in every month or so, before or after Mass or when I need to do some particularly intense personal writing. I don’t always get to the same spiritual place I did in Beaver Falls, but it happens often enough that I keep doing it. Once, I even had the privilege of being the sole adorer for about a half hour. But committing to a specific hour, week in, week out, is not something I’ve been able to do despite repeated pleas from the pulpit.
This week, I learned that a young friend whom I first took to the chapel about a year ago has taken on one of those wee small hours–midnight to 1 a.m. Mondays–during Lent. She has a day job, and even more after-hours commitments than I do. Yet this Lent she’s making a closer, more intimate walk with Christ a priority, this woman who when we first met talked of Jesus holding her hand as she walked home through a less-than-safe area. Her sacrifice humbles me. It strengthens my own resolve to talk less and listen more in prayer as I picture her in the chapel, listening and believing as Christ continues to hold her hand and helps her navigate her busy, in-transition life.
Melanie, I like your website.. Mine is up, but barely, and not yet open to the public. Blog is bernice.simpson@blogspot.com. Title: Cat in the Corner.
I didn’t know about the perpetual adoration in the Catholic Church. I’m curious as to the purpose of church members being present there. Is it more or less to stand guard to prevent anyone defiling the consecrated Body and Blood of Christ, or more about never leaving Jesus, our beloved friend and Lord, alone?
People leave requests for prayer in our church’s prayer room. I planned to spend an hour there after senior choir practice each week, but choir day was changed from Thursdays to Mondays. The kneelers were taken out of our sanctuary years ago, but there is a quaint prie-deux in the prayer room that few know what it really is.
I read about your friend’s commitment to spend time in the adoration chapel, and realize how little I do for God. I will thank God for the nudge she, through you, gave me tonight.
Remember the marketing statistic we learned long ago in college: when one person writes, another 250 have thought about it. Keep up the good work, my friend. God bless.
–Bernice
Thanks, Bernice! Good to hear from you, and I will definitely check out your blog. As I understand it, it’s because we don’t want to leave Jesus in the consecrated host alone, anymore than he ever leaves us alone. When he is present, someone should always be there to thank and praise him. I like that idea.
What a beautiful way to give expression to your faith, and be renewed by it.
Oh, I gave you the wrong blogspot address. There’s no dot between first and last name. I think you’ll like the latest post by Diane Mowery.