A Step Away from Self
In the past few weeks I have noticed that the Holy Spirit is really moving in the Church. The Spirit has been moving more and more people to adoration. The dictionary defines adoration as: 1) to worship or honor as a deity or as divine; 2) to regard with loving admiration and devotion; 3) to be very fond of. So in order to adore something we have to turn our loving gaze away from ourselves and onto someone else, namely, Jesus.
The Catholic Church offers us a beautiful way to worship God face-to-face in the Eucharist. This Blessed Sacrament is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ present in the form of unleavened bread. Mind you this is not a symbol or a metaphor. If you have trouble truly believing in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist I invite you to take a look at all of John 6 as well as Matthew 26, specifically verse 26. I don’t want to get into this issue here, but feel free to read my other writings on the Eucharist, most importantly my exploration of the Bread of Life Discourse and the Lord’s Prayer.
Singing a New Song to the Lord
Over the past few weeks I have seen more and more opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration. During Holy Week I attended an event called Adore at my local parish where members of the community are invited to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament guided by song. The music is reverent, yet contemporary and engaging, helping to unite those present in their praise and worship of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. Music can often times become a distraction in worship, but in this case it added to the power of our prayers.
This was the first time I had participated in adoration of this sort. I am a firm believer in the Real Presence and try to get spend time each week with Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration, which most times means kneeling before the monstrance on the altar with my eyes closed or gazing upon the Lord. I often meditate on His humility, because Christ—the all-powerful Son of God and King of Heaven—chooses not an ostentatious display of glory, but quietly and with humility He reveals Himself to us in the Eucharistic bread.
In Eucharistic Adoration the focus is not on ourselves or the sound of the music, but on the risen Lord Jesus Christ. There is a very fine line between true worship and a Christian concert. In this case, the music was a part of the prayers leading us on a journey closer to He who loves us more than life itself.
A Musical Ministry
The next experience I would like to share took place at a parish in West Hollywood. This event was hosted by Catholic Underground which strives to bring culture and faith together. The following is their mission statement:
Catholic Underground is a cultural apostolate of the franciscan friars of the renewal. It is a direct response to a call that began with Pope John Paul II, and is continued by Pope Benedict XVI. JPII said that because the gospel lives in conversation with culture, we must be fearless in crossing the cultural threshold of the communication and information revolution now taking place.
The night began with evening prayer led by guitar inside the beautiful chapel at St. Victor in West Hollywood. Then the lights were turned off, the tabernacle was opened, and all those in attendance fell to their knees in adoration as the Eucharist was placed into the monstrance on the altar. The smell of incense, the silence of the faithful, and the reverence shown to the Lord was awe inspiring. For about a half hour those gathered remained in silent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Then the priest gave benediction (latin for blessing) and we sung a hymn before the Eucharistic bread was returned to the tabernacle.
The evening continued in the small hall underneath the church where missionary singer Danielle Rose treated us with what she called a “Proncert” (a prayer concert). She reminded us that this wasn’t a performance, but rather a time of prayer, yet again led by the music. Her lyrics of her songs touched on themes of healing and miracles, the sanctity of life, and the love of God. As she switched back and form from the guitar to the piano, the angelic sound of her voice gave me chills and often brought tears to my eyes. Again, here the focus was on God and she found so much joy in being able to praise Him with her music, while at the same time touching the hearts of those in attendance.
Silence is Golden
The last event I want to share today is what is called the Silent Fellowship. I belong to a tri-parish community in the San Fernando Valley pastored by the priests of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate who have brought a retreat program called ACTS to our community. Each year we put on four retreats, two for men and two for women. From one of these retreats sprang forth what is called the Warriors for Christ Fellowship of the Holy Spirit where parishioners gather to pray, sing, read and reflect on the Sunday readings. Before each retreat the WFC host a special silent version of this fellowship for the forty men or women on the retreat team.
The lights in the church are turned out except for the candles placed throughout the pews and on the altar where the Blessed Sacrament rests under the spotlight. Each of the readings from the following Sunday are proclaimed twice—once for the head, and once for the heart—then there is a song played that speaks to the message of that reading. After the song, there is a moment of silence allowing those gathered to contemplate the Word of God in their hearts. After this has been done for each of the readings the lights are turned back on and the community opens up to share their experience with each other in a group discussion.
An Invitation to Adoration
All of these events have taken place within the past few weeks and I have also noticed announcements in the bulletin at my home parish for Eucharistic Adoration. It brings me joy to know that more and more people will able to experience Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Sadly, many people don’t know about adoration or that it is most likely available in their parishes.
If you haven’t been to adoration, I invite you to take advantage of the wonderful opportunity that Jesus has given us. He has made Himself present in the Eucharist just as He did to the disciples at the Last Supper. And let us not forget how the hearts of the disciples burned within them as they walked with Jesus on the Road to Emmaus. So bring a friend along.