Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at Saint Therese

By Liz Wiskowski

      In the late middle ages, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament became common during times of crisis. The faithful would come in shifts to pray for help in times of war, epidemics, drought, or famine. In the 1500s, Pope clement VIII became the first Pope to institute the forty hour devotion, with the intention of protecting the Church from all dangers, both internal and external.

      Why forty hours? The number forty is found repeatedly in both the old and the new testaments. Tradition tells us that Jesus spent 40 hours in the tomb. He also spent forty days fasting and was tempted in the wilderness. There were forty days of rain during Noah's time, and for forty years the Israelites wandered in the desert.

      An outgrowth of the forty hour devotion is perpetual adoration, encouraged by Pope John Paul II. More and more churches across our country and the world have perpetual adoration, praying for peace and all of the suffering.

      At Saint Therese, we haven't quite reached perpetual adoration, but we hope to. On Thursday, at noon, we have prayer for priests, and on Fridays at 3 pm we pray the chaplet of divine mercy and the rosary. The rest of the time we have silence, and it is wonderful. Each heart and soul is alone with their thoughts, their own grace. We feel subdued, softened, forced to meditate, to feel, to pray, to talk to Jesus about what is worrying us, listen to Him, and above all, adore.

      Candles are always burning and we never leave Jesus alone. I hope some of you retired people, who don't have to get up in the morning for work, will consider spending some time with Jesus during the night, when the silence is deep. If you do so, you will find that you feel close to Him and grow spiritually.

      We are very blessed to have our own adoration chapel and the opportunity to visit Jesus, day or night, from Tuesday morning until Saturday afternoon.