Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
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October 11, 2022Why do we display the Blessed Sacrament in a gold monstrance? Why do we pray to the Eucharist? We believe in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. In fact, most Christians believe in it. Catholics, Easter Rite Catholic and Orthodox, and many Lutherans, Anglicans, and Episcopalians, but some of these groups have different understandings of it than Catholics and Orthodox do.
Some Lutherans believe in what is called consubstantiation, meaning that the bread and wine do not truly change into the Body and Blood of Christ, but that Christ is present with or within the bread and wine. They believe that, once Mass is over, Christ leaves the bread and wine and it becomes just regular bread and wine again. We, Catholics, believe in transubstantiation. The bread and wine, even though they appear to still be bread and wine, actually become the Body and Blood of Christ permanently. It doesn’t stop or change back when Mass is over. Therefore, if there’s any of the Eucharist left after Mass it is either consumed immediately or reserved in the tabernacle. Every Church has a candle, called the Sanctuary Lamp, that is lit whenever the Eucharist is reserved in the tabernacle. In St. Cletus Church, like in most Catholic churches, it’s in a red glass holder. It doesn’t have to be red, though, so you may encounter some churches where it’s blue, amber, clear, or doesn’t have a holder at all.
Sometimes, however, we consecrate a larger host specifically for the purpose of adoration. That host will them be placed in a monstrance and displayed for people to come and pray. Since this is the true presence of God, we are not praying to a piece of bread, but to God Himself. Now, we can pray to God anywhere and at any time, but Eucharistic Adoration is special. Through adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, we are given grace and peace, increase in holiness, guidance, increase in the virtues, strength against temptation, hunger for Jesus, and more. Saints throughout the ages have spoken of the importance of prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, either in the tabernacle or exposed in the monstrance.
When you look at the Crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host you understand how much Jesus loves you now. — St. Teresa of Calcutta
To converse with you, O King of glory, no third person is needed, You are always ready in the Sacrament of the Altar to give audience to all. All who desire You always find You there, and converse with You face to face. — St. Teresa of Avila
Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament has His hands full of graces, and He is ready to bestow them on anyone who asks for them. —St. Peter of Alcantara
Neither theological knowledge nor social action alone is enough to keep us in love with Christ unless both are proceeded by a personal encounter with Him. Theological insights are gained not only from between tow covers of a book, but from two bent knees before an altar. The Holy Hour becomes like an oxygen tank to revive the breath of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the foul and fetid atmosphere of the world. — Venerable Fulton Sheen
St. Cletus Catholic Church in Gretna has an Adoration Chapel with perpetual adoration, so that you can come pray in the presence of the Eucharist at any time. However, we need more people to sign up for adoration, or we may have to cut back on the times when it’s available. There must be someone with the Eucharist at all times, and preferably two people would be signed up for every hour. To sign up, check the bulletin board in the Adoration Chapel. It has a calendar of open times and sign up cards for people to fill out. Consider that the Eucharist isn’t just another object that is there when we want it; the Eucharist is the personal presence of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, inviting us, as He invited Peter, James, and John in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Can you not keep one hour with me?”
