Why Eucharistic Adoration?

Are you tired, frustrated, misunderstood?  Are you trying to find hope and meaning in life? Do not lose heart!  Abandon yourself to Jesus in Adoration, He will refresh you! 

What do I do in Adoration?

• As you enter the Reservation Chapel, genuflect near the Tabernacle, acknowledging Christ’s presence.  
• Kneel and pray, offer Jesus everything:  your petitions, concerns, troubles, joys, gratitude, disappointments, and needs.  
• Sit back, relax and calm your mind; rest in Him; listen to Him.
• Read scripture, meditate, journal, pray the Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet, read Catholic literature, be still…

When can I go to Adoration?

You can stop by the Reservation Chapel* any time, for any length of time or sign up for a weekly commitment of one hour or more. To sign up or to obtain the key code for after hour’s visits, email the Adoration Committee at ststephenadoration@gmail.com. *located to the right of the Holy Water Font

You can stop by the Reservation Chapel* any time, for any length of time or sign up for a weekly commitment of one hour or more. To sign up or to obtain the key code for after hour’s visits, email the Adoration Committee at ststephenadoration@gmail.com. *located to the right of the Holy Water Font

A Message from Fr. Zach Tucker

Why is it that we, as Catholics, pray before the Lord in the monstrance in Adoration? This is a valid question that has been asked many times over the history of the Church. Our recent Popes have offered their own insights into the practice, in an attempt to offer their own answers to these questions. In the words of Pope Benedict XVI in his Apostolic Exhortataion entitled Sacramentum Caritatis, “In the Eucharist, the Son of God comes to meet us and desires to become one with us; eucharistic adoration is simply the natural consequence of the eucharistic celebration (the Mass), which is itself the Church’s supreme act of adoration” (No. 66).

Pope Benedict goes on to say, “The personal relationship which the individual believer establishes with Jesus present in the Eucharist constantly points beyond itself to the whole communion of the Church and nourishes a fuller sense of membership in the Body of Christ. For this reason, besides encouraging individual believers to make time for personal prayer before the Sacrament of the Altar, I feel obliged to urge parishes and other church groups to set aside times for collective adoration” (No. 68).

Pope Francis echoed this same enduring truth of the Church, saying “It is good to adore in silence before the Most Blessed Sacrament, to be in the consoling presence of Jesus and there to draw the apostolic impetus to be instruments of goodness, tenderness and welcome in the community, the Church, and the world. … Adore, immerse yourself in divine love and give it with full hands to those you meet on your path.”

Eucharistic Adoration, whether personal or parish-wide, is never a solo endeavor. It is an outpouring of the Church’s efforts for the salvation of souls, and an invitation for us to enter into that effort. We rest with Jesus, spending time with him, and we are individually consoled and nourished. From Him we receive the grace and strength to go out and seek to bring about renewal in our families, our workplaces, our parishes, and our world, so that others may come to encounter Christ as well!

A Message from Fr. Zach Tucker

Have you ever thought “I’ve never done this before” or maybe “I don’t know what I would do!”?

I would encourage you, don’t let those thoughts stop you from signing up for an hour! Our relationship with God works in many ways like all our other relationships. If we want to grow closer to someone else, we spend time with them, we learn to recognize how they communicate, what matters to them, and who they are.

In the same way, if we want to hear the voice of God, if we want to come to know Him and His plan for us more, then we must spend time with Him. The saints who have gone before us have encouraged us to run to Jesus present in the Holy Eucharist, to run to Him with all our needs, joys, fears, and uncertainties! It is in Adoration that we come to know The Lord and have the opportunity to gaze upon His Love made visible, His presence, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, in the Blessed Sacrament.

So, if you’ve never spent time in Eucharistic Adoration, don’t be intimidated, there isn’t a right or wrong way to do it! We tend to make things complicated in our heads, but it isn’t difficult. To adore is simply to sit in the presence of Jesus, to receive from Him the grace He wishes to pour out upon you. You can pray a Rosary, read your Bible or another spiritual book, or even journal if you feel the need to “do” something, but it’s not necessary. Though you probably have heard the term Holy Hour, any amount of time is acceptable as well.

Devotion to the Eucharist is one of the pillars of the Catholic Church because it is in the Eucharist that Jesus comes to us. Come spend an hour with Him, encounter His love for you, and be restored and refreshed through that encounter!