The Holy Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. The Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus is such a gift to us!
“The Holy Eucharist is a sacrament and a sacrifice. In the Holy Eucharist, under the appearances of bread and wine, the Lord Christ is contained, offered, and received. ‘I am the living bread that has come down from Heaven. If anyone eat of this bread, he shall live forever’ (John 6:51-52)….
“Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist in this way: He took bread, blessed and broke it, and giving it to His apostles, said: ‘Take and eat; this is My body’; then He took a cup of wine, blessed it, and giving it to them, said: ‘All of you drink of this; for this is My blood of the new covenant which is being shed for many unto the forgiveness of sins; finally, He gave His apostles the commission: ‘Do this in remembrance of Me’” (Baltimore Catechism).
The Holy Eucharist is “reserved” (kept) in the tabernacle in Catholic churches. Between Masses, when the church is open, you can adore Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Some parishes are blessed with perpetual adoration, where people come to adore Jesus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; or with more limited hours during the week. During adoration Our Lord is enthroned in a monstrance, a sacred vessel for exposing the Blessed Sacrament for adoration or carrying It in a Eucharistic procession.
Here is some Eucharistic wisdom from Pope St.John Paul II:
“Jesus waits for us in this sacrament of love” (Dominicae Cenae).
“The Church and the world have a great need of eucharistic adoration” (Dominicae Cenae).
“The Eucharist is the sacrament of the presence of Christ, who gives Himself to us because He loves us. He loves each one of us in a unique and personal way in our practical daily lives: in our families, among our friends, at study and work, in rest and relaxation. He loves us when He fills our days with freshness, and also when, in times of suffering, He allows trials to weigh upon us: even in the most severe trials, He lets us hear His voice.”
“The Eucharist is the heart of the Church. Where Eucharistic life flourishes, there the life of the Church will blossom.”
We would encourage you to make a “Holy Hour” (an hour spent adoring Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament) weekly or even daily if you have the time–or as often as you can. But if you can’t spend an hour, just stay for whatever period of time is possible. There are many reasons why adopting the practice of adoration is so important!
St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) was a fervent promoter of Eucharistic adoration. Here are some of her words on the topic:
“Nowhere on earth are we more welcomed or loved than by Jesus in the Eucharist.”
“Every Holy Hour we make so pleases the Heart of Jesus that it is recorded in Heaven and retold for all eternity!”
“What will convert America and save the world? My answer is prayer. What we need is for every parish to come before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in Holy Hours of prayer.”
“Each one of us is a co-worker of Christ–we must labor hard to carry Him to the hearts where He has not yet been known and loved… But unless we have Jesus, we cannot give Him; that is why we need the Eucharist. Spend as much time as possible in front of the Blessed Sacrament and He will fill you with His strength and His power.”
“On the Cross Jesus said, ‘I thirst.’ From the Blessed Sacrament Jesus continues to say to each of us, ‘I thirst.’ He thirsts for our personal love, our intimacy, our union with Him in the Blessed Sacrament.”
The practice of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration is especially fruitful. Dioceses and parishes which have established this practice frequently have received an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. Truly, there are so many blessings people have received through adoration!
A Holy Hour is a time to rest in the Lord–to pray and offer Him your love, whether in your own words or in someone else’s–to meditate on Our Lord’s great love and just spend time with Him as your Best Friend! He loves you more than anyone else ever could and wants to you to visit and adore Him. Ask the intercession of the Blessed Mother to help you fervently adore Our Lord!
Below is a wonderfully rich adoration prayer that you can pray during Eucharistic adoration.
Adoration Prayer
I adore Thee, O Jesus, God of Love, truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I adore Thee, Who has come to Thine own, but wast not received by them. I adore Thee, Whom the majority of mankind reject and despise. I adore Thee, Whom the impious incessantly offend by their sacrileges and blasphemies. I adore Thee, Who art grieved by the coldness and indifference even of a vast number of Christians. I adore Thee, O Infinite Goodness, Who hast wrought so many miracles in order to reveal Thy love to us. I adore Thee with all the angels and saints and with those chosen souls that are now already the blessed of Thy Father and are all aglow with burning love for Thee. I adore Thee with all Thy friends, O Jesus! With them I prostrate myself at the foot of the altar, to offer Thee my most profound homage, to receive Thy Divine Inspiration, and to implore Thy grace. Oh, how good it is for me to be here with Thee! How sweet to hear the Voice of my Beloved! O Victim of Divine Love! A piercing cry breaks forth from Thy Heart here on the altar, as once it did on Calvary; it is the cry of Love: “I thirst,” Thou callest to Thy children, “I thirst for your love! Come, all you whom I love as My Father has loved Me; come and quench the thirst that consumes Me!”
Lord Jesus, behold I come. My heart is small, but it is all Thine own. Thou art a prisoner in our Tabernacles, Thou, the Lord of Lords! And love it is that holds Thee here as such! Thou leavest the Tabernacle only to come to us, to unite Thyself with the faithful soul and allow Thy Divine Love to reign in her. O King of Love! Come, live, reign in me. I want no other law but the law of Thy Love. No, no, I henceforth desire to know naught, neither of the world, nor of what is in it, nor of myself. Thy Love alone shall rule in me eternally.
O Jesus, grant me this grace! Break all my fetters, strip me of all that is not Thyself, in order that Thy Love may be my life here below and my happiness and delight in eternity. Amen.
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