Adoration Chapel to Celebrate 4 Years
By Marcy Stenstrom
In 1981, Pope John Paul II initiated Eucharistic adoration at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. He desired perpetual adoration in every Catholic Church in the world. On November 1st, it will be the 4th anniversary of Eucharistic Adoration in our chapel at St. Therese. Although adoration has been supported for more than just the past four years, only recently has it become an organized and devoted practice by and for parishioners.
In celebration of our Eucharistic Adoration chapel, we give praise and thanks for this opportunity to adore and worship Christ’s true presence revealed to all. The CCC states “Adoration is the first act of the virtue of religion. (2096) To adore God is to acknowledge, in respect and absolute submission, the “nothingness of the creature” who would not exist but for God. To adore God is to praise and exalt him and to humble oneself…confessing with gratitude that he has done great things and holy is his name. The worship of the one God sets man free from turning in on himself, from the slavery of sin and the idolatry of the world.” (2097)
We are very thankful and grateful for the devoted adorers who are committed to one or more hours of time spent in the chapel every week at all hours of the day or night. Without adorers there would be no exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and no humble place to spend a quiet hour with Jesus. We are also grateful for the priests who encourage and enable us to view and spend time with Christ. They make sacrifices out of their day to allow Jesus to be exposed to us.
Adoration is only possible with the help of committed individuals. At present, our hours of adoration begin at 9:00 am on Tuesday mornings and end at 4:00 pm on Saturdays. However, there are currently several hours that are, as yet, unfilled and need substitutes to take them each week. Once we have completely filled the current hours of adoration with generous individuals, the goal is to gradually increase the time that adoration is available in our parish. It would be wonderful if, in the future, Eucharist Adoration was available in our parish to anyone at any hour of the day or night.
Adoration is for everyone. You don’t have to be a parishioner to participate. Jesus welcomes everyone into his presence. If you feel called to give adoration a try, contact Liz Wiskowski at 359-2651, or just drop in to the chapel at any time that’s convenient for you to spend time with Jesus. The doors are locked from 7:00 pm until 6:00 am. Just ring the doorbell and someone will let you in.