Pastor's Column: Week of Adoration
Dear St Paul Parishioners,
As we are coming to the end of the Easter season, let us turn our attention to our spiritual life. I would like to suggest a practice that will nurture it well. This week I would like to invite you to give serious consideration to a devotion that is uniquely Catholic. I am referring to Eucharistic adoration.
When I came here as the pastor I was pleased to note the prominence of the Adoration Chapel in the life of the parish. Perpetual adoration of the Eucharistic Lord brings abundant blessings on the parish. I knew that with adorers praying night and day in front of the Blessed Sacrament my work as pastor would be guided by the Holy Spirit. I was convinced that no matter what challenges we faced, we would overcome them all.
In chapter 11 of John’s gospel we read the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Before the Lord raises him, He visits the two sisters of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. After Martha comes out of the house to speak with Him and has a wonderful exchange about the resurrection, she goes back into the house. She addresses her sister with these words: “The Master is here and is asking for you.” Those words are directed to each and every Catholic. The Master is here in the tabernacle and He is asking for you.
The practice of adoring the Eucharist is a response to the plea of Jesus before He went into His passion. In the garden of Gethsemane the Master asked Peter and the others, “Can you not keep watch with Me for one hour?” Starting from the Middle Ages, countless monks, nuns, priests and laity have kept watch with the Lord in the Eucharist. In recent years there has been a revival of this uniquely Catholic practice thanks to the example and teaching of Pope John Paul II who encouraged the faithful to spend time before the Eucharistic Lord. The Holy Father attributed his efficacy in ministry to the time he spent in front of the Blessed Sacrament. In fact it is said that he wrote all his homilies in the chapel before the Lord.
Many of you may know Bishop Fulton J. Sheen who was popular in the 1950s as an eloquent speaker and preacher. As a newly-ordained priest he resolved to “spend a continuous Holy Hour every day in the presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.” As he declares in his autobiography, Treasure in Clay, he remained faithful to that resolution all his life. He explains how the Holy Hour can help our spiritual life. He writes: “One of the by-products of the Holy Hour was the sensitiveness to the Eucharistic Presence of our Divine Lord… Seeing early in my priesthood that marriages break and friends depart when sensitiveness and delicacy are lost, I took various means to preserve that responsiveness.”
We have so much to be grateful for at St Paul’s. Especially during this centennial year it is our sweet privilege to thank the Lord for all the graces and blessings He has showered on this parish. To that end I call on all parishioners to set aside a week to give thanks to the Lord by participating in Eucharistic adoration. We can sign up to spend a halfhour in adoration in the chapel. The details are in the bulletin. You can also sign up for half-hour slots by calling the rectory or by sending an e-mail to Michele Yarbrough. In addition, at the foyer of the Adoration Chapel there will be a book where parishioners can register for their half-hour of adoration.
We will start the week with a parish-wide Holy Hour of Thanksgiving in the upper church on Tuesday, May 15, at 7 pm and it will conclude with Benediction. I plead with all of you to participate in that Holy Hour. Immediately thereafter, parishioners can spend time in the adoration chapel from 8 pm. The week will come to a close at 8 pm on Monday, May 21. We will also have a Holy Hour for Vocations and for Families on Monday, May 21, at 3 pm in the chapel.
As we spend more time with the Lord in quiet prayer, we will draw closer to Him. We will slowly begin to hear His voice. We will begin to taste the sweetness of His love. When we are afraid, He will calm our nerves. He will reassure us with His comforting presence.
As the feast of Corpus Christi approaches, I invite all of you to consider spending some time in personal prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. May the Eucharistic Lord continue to bless our parish community and all our households!
Yours warmly,
Fr Britto
Pastor
As we are coming to the end of the Easter season, let us turn our attention to our spiritual life. I would like to suggest a practice that will nurture it well. This week I would like to invite you to give serious consideration to a devotion that is uniquely Catholic. I am referring to Eucharistic adoration.
When I came here as the pastor I was pleased to note the prominence of the Adoration Chapel in the life of the parish. Perpetual adoration of the Eucharistic Lord brings abundant blessings on the parish. I knew that with adorers praying night and day in front of the Blessed Sacrament my work as pastor would be guided by the Holy Spirit. I was convinced that no matter what challenges we faced, we would overcome them all.
In chapter 11 of John’s gospel we read the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Before the Lord raises him, He visits the two sisters of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. After Martha comes out of the house to speak with Him and has a wonderful exchange about the resurrection, she goes back into the house. She addresses her sister with these words: “The Master is here and is asking for you.” Those words are directed to each and every Catholic. The Master is here in the tabernacle and He is asking for you.
The practice of adoring the Eucharist is a response to the plea of Jesus before He went into His passion. In the garden of Gethsemane the Master asked Peter and the others, “Can you not keep watch with Me for one hour?” Starting from the Middle Ages, countless monks, nuns, priests and laity have kept watch with the Lord in the Eucharist. In recent years there has been a revival of this uniquely Catholic practice thanks to the example and teaching of Pope John Paul II who encouraged the faithful to spend time before the Eucharistic Lord. The Holy Father attributed his efficacy in ministry to the time he spent in front of the Blessed Sacrament. In fact it is said that he wrote all his homilies in the chapel before the Lord.
Many of you may know Bishop Fulton J. Sheen who was popular in the 1950s as an eloquent speaker and preacher. As a newly-ordained priest he resolved to “spend a continuous Holy Hour every day in the presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.” As he declares in his autobiography, Treasure in Clay, he remained faithful to that resolution all his life. He explains how the Holy Hour can help our spiritual life. He writes: “One of the by-products of the Holy Hour was the sensitiveness to the Eucharistic Presence of our Divine Lord… Seeing early in my priesthood that marriages break and friends depart when sensitiveness and delicacy are lost, I took various means to preserve that responsiveness.”
We have so much to be grateful for at St Paul’s. Especially during this centennial year it is our sweet privilege to thank the Lord for all the graces and blessings He has showered on this parish. To that end I call on all parishioners to set aside a week to give thanks to the Lord by participating in Eucharistic adoration. We can sign up to spend a halfhour in adoration in the chapel. The details are in the bulletin. You can also sign up for half-hour slots by calling the rectory or by sending an e-mail to Michele Yarbrough. In addition, at the foyer of the Adoration Chapel there will be a book where parishioners can register for their half-hour of adoration.
We will start the week with a parish-wide Holy Hour of Thanksgiving in the upper church on Tuesday, May 15, at 7 pm and it will conclude with Benediction. I plead with all of you to participate in that Holy Hour. Immediately thereafter, parishioners can spend time in the adoration chapel from 8 pm. The week will come to a close at 8 pm on Monday, May 21. We will also have a Holy Hour for Vocations and for Families on Monday, May 21, at 3 pm in the chapel.
As we spend more time with the Lord in quiet prayer, we will draw closer to Him. We will slowly begin to hear His voice. We will begin to taste the sweetness of His love. When we are afraid, He will calm our nerves. He will reassure us with His comforting presence.
As the feast of Corpus Christi approaches, I invite all of you to consider spending some time in personal prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. May the Eucharistic Lord continue to bless our parish community and all our households!
Yours warmly,
Fr Britto
Pastor