Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

What is Eucharistic Adoration? Catholics believe that during the Mass which we attend each week (for some of us daily), the priest (during the consecration) speaks these words as he holds the communion host, "...He took bread and gave you thanks. He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said: Take this all of you, and eat it: this is my body which will be given up for you". When the priest says "this my body", it is at that instant when, through the miracle of transubstantiation, the bread and wine which we offer as the bloodless sacrifice to our Lord truly become the Body, Blood , Soul and Divinity of Jesus. It is His true Presence in the form of bread and wine. It is Christ.

Perpetual Adoration is when the priest takes a consecrated host, such as the one described above, and places it in a monstrance. (monstrance comes from the Latin "monstrare" to show, to expose to view.) The monstrance is then placed in front of the tabernackle (an ornate box which holds the monstrance and any consecrated hosts) or on the altar of the church or chapel for adoration.

What do you actually do during adoration? You may sign up to be an "adorer" which allows you to schedule yourself for one or more hours per week to pray before the very presence of Our Lord, exposed in the monstrance. It means that you can have some time alone with Jesus to recite your favorite prayers, read the bible, contemplate acts of faith, hope, charity, thanksgiving, reparation, pray a rosary or do whatever type of prayerful devotion that suits you before Our Lord. You can just sit and say nothing simply keeping Him company, just as you would with a dear friend.

Complete Handbook for Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration
History of Eucharistic Adoration

Link to further Resources

Twelve Reasons From The Teachings Of The Church For Wanting To Spend One Hour With Jesus In The Blessed Sacrament

1. You are greatly needed!
"The Church and the world have a great need of Eucharistic Adoration." (Pope John Paul II, Dominicae Cenae)

2. This is a personal invitation to you from Jesus.
"Jesus waits for us in this Sacrament of Love." (Pope John Paul II, Dominicae Canae)

3. Jesus is counting on you because the Eucharist is the center of life.
"Every member of the Church must be vigilant in seeing that the sacrament of Love shall be at the center of the life of the people of God so that through all the manifestations of worship due Him shall be given back ‘love for love’ and truly become the life of our souls." (Pope John Paul II, Redeemer of Man)

4. Your hour with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament will repair for evils of the world and bring about peace on earth.
"Let us be generous with our time in going to meet Jesus and ready to make reparation for the great evils of the world. Let your adoration never cease." (Pope John Paul II, Dominicai Cenae)

5. Day and night Jesus dwells in the Blessed Sacrament because you are the most important person in the world to Him!
"Christ is reserved in our churches as the spiritual center of the heart of the community, the universal Church and all humanity, since within the veil of the species, Christ is contained, the Invisible Heart of the Church, the Redeemer of the world, the center of all hearts, by Him all things are and of whom we exist." (Pope Paul IV, Mysterium Fidei)

6. Jesus wants you to do more than to go to Mass on Sunday.
"Our communal worship at Mass must go together with our personal worship of Jesus in Eucharistic adoration in order that our love may be complete." (Pope John Paul II, Redeemer of Man)

7. You grow spiritually with each moment you spend with Jesus!
"Our essential commitment in life is to preserve and advance constantly in Eucharistic life and Eucharistic piety and to grow spiritually in the climate of the Holy Eucharist." (Pope John Paul II, Redeemer of Man)

8. The best time you spend on earth is with Jesus, your Best Friend, in the Blessed Sacrament!
"How great is the value of conversation with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, for there is nothing more consoling on earth, nothing more efficacious for advancing along the road of holiness!" (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei)

9. Just as you can’t be exposed to the sun without receiving its rays, neither can you come to Jesus exposed in the Blessed Sacrament without receiving the Divine Rays of His Grace, His Love, His Peace.
"Christ is truly the Emmanuel, that is, God with us, day and night, His is in our midst. He dwells with us full of grace and truth. He restores morality, nourishes virtue, consoles the afflicted, strengthens the weak." (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei)

10. If Jesus were actually visible in church, everyone would run to welcome Him, but He remains hidden in the Sacred Host under the appearance of Bread, because He is calling us to faith, that we many come to Him in humility.
"The Blessed Sacrament is the ‘Living Heart’ of each of our churches and it is our very sweet duty to honor and adore the Blessed Host, which our eyes see, the Incarnate Word, Whom they cannon see." (Pope Paul VI, Credo of the People of God)

11. With transforming mercy, Jesus makes our heart one with His.
"He proposes His own example to those who come to Him, that all may learn to be like Himself, gentle and humble of heart, and to seek not their own interest but those of God." (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei)

12. If the Pope himself would give you a special invitation to visit him in the Vatican, this honor would be nothing in comparison to the honor and dignity that Jesus Himself bestows upon you with the Invitation of spending one hour with Him in the Blessed Sacrament.
"The Divine Eucharist bestows upon the Christian people the incomparable dignity." (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei)

Twelve Biblical Reasons For Wanting To Spend One Hour With Jesus In The Blessed Sacrament

1. He is really there!
"I myself Am the Living Bread come down from Heaven." (Jn 6:35)

2. Day and night Jesus dwells in the Blessed Sacrament because of his Infinite love for you!
"Behold I will be with you always even to the end of the world," because "I have loved you with an everlasting love, and constant is My affection for you." (Mt 28:20; Jer 31:3)

3. The specific way that Jesus asks you to love Him in return is to spend one quiet hour with Him in the Blessed Sacrament.
"Where your treasure is, there is your heart...." "Could you not watch one hour with Me?" (Mt 6:21; 26:40)

4. When you look upon the Sacred Host, you look upon Jesus, the Son of God.
"Indeed, this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks upon the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life. Him I will raise up on the last day." (Jn 6:40)

5. Each moment that you spend in His Eucharistic Presence will increase His Divine Life within you and deepen your personal relationship and friendship with Him.
"I have come that you may have life, and have it more abundantly." "I am the Vine and you are the branches. Whoever remains in Me and I in Him shall bear much fruit because without Me, you can do nothing." (Jn 15:5)

6. Each hour you spend with Jesus will deepen His Divine Peace in your heart.
"Come to Me all of you who are weary and find life burdensome and I will refresh you..." "Cast all of you anxieties upon the One who cares for you..." "My Peace is My Gift to you." (Mt 11:28; 5:7; Jn 14:17)

7. Jesus will give you all the Graces you need to be happy!
"The Lamb on the Throne will shepherd them. He will lead them to the springs of life-giving water." (Rev 7:17)

8. Jesus is infinitely deserving of our unceasing thanksgiving and adoration for all He has done for our salvation.
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive honor, glory and praise." (Rev. 5:12)

9. For Peace in our country!
"When My people humble themselves and seek My Presence... I will revive their land." (2Chr 7:14)

10. Each hour you spend with Jesus on earth will leave your soul everlastingly more beautiful and glorious in heaven!
"They who humble themselves shall be exalted...." "All of us, gazing on the Lord’s glory with unveiled faces, are being transformed from glory to glory into His very image." (Lk 18:14; 2Cor 3:18)

11. Jesus will bless you, your family and the whole world for this hour of faith you spend with Him in the Blessed Sacrament.
"Blessed are they who do not see and yet believe..." "Faith can move mountains..." " What is needed is trust... " "Behold I come to make all things new." (Jn 20:29; Mk 11:23; Mk 5:36; Rev 21:5)

12. Each moment you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament brings joy, pleasure, and delight to His Sacred Heart!
"My joy, My pleasure, My delight is to be with you." (Prov 8:31)

Eucharistic Adoration By: Pope John Paul II

I encourage Christians regularly to visit Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament, for we are all called to abide in the presence of God. In contemplation, Christians will perceive ever more profoundly the mystery at the heart of Christian life.

Teach young people the value of Eucharistic Adoration.

I urge priests, religious and lay people to continue and redouble their efforts to teach the younger generations the meaning and value of Eucharistic adoration and devotion. How will young people be able to know the Lord if they are not introduced to the mystery of His presence? Like the young Samuel, by learning the words of the prayer of the heart, they will be closer to the Lord, who will accompany them in their spiritual and human growth. The Eucharistic mystery is in fact the "summit of evangelization" (Lumen Gentium) for it is the most eminent testimony to Christ’s resurrection.