An argument for having Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in every parish

Filed in Spirituality by on March 19, 2015 3 Comments

bl

I’m reading a book by Fr Vincent Martin Lucia called Come to Me in the Blessed Sacrament, which is one of the spiritual books that Blessed Mother Teresa recommended to her sisters, and which she carried around with her on her travels.

One of the Prefaces (‘Message 1’) is by Bishop Ruben T. Profugo, now the retired Bishop of Lucena in the Philippines. He gives a simple, heartfelt, theologically profound response to some of the objections that people raise to having Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

There are three main objections usually given when the proposal is made to have perpetual Eucharistic adoration in a parish.

The first is that the people will not respond because they are not spiritually mature and, consequently, they will lose their enthusiasm.

The second is that priorities may become confused and some people will prefer to go to the adoration chapel rather than go to Mass.

The third objection, and this is generally the strongest objection, is that perpetual Eucharistic adoration is too dangerous since it involves some of the people coming out in the middle of the night to cover the early morning hours.

The purpose of my message is to declare that none of these objections are valid. As a matter of fact, based on the evidence and experience of what has happened in my diocese, the contrary is true.

Not only have the people in my diocese responded enthusiastically, but they have maintained their level of enthusiasm and have been very faithful to their commitment.

Secondly, Mass attendance has increased noticeably on Sunday, as well as during the week, as many have come back to the Sacraments as a result of perpetual Eucharistic adoration.

But most dramatically, perpetual Eucharistic adoration has made my diocese safe from the violence that previously threatened to tear it apart. Both the priests and the laity credit perpetual Eucharistic adoration for protecting the diocese from the reign of communism and for bringing about peace and order. We put all our faith and trust in the omnipotent power of His love in the Blessed Sacrament and He did not fail us.

The point I want to made is that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is not static but dynamically active. He is the Good Shepherd. He does not take people away from the Sacraments, but rather He is the one Who brings them back. He does not make people weary but rather refreshes them and makes them strong. He is the Lord of lords and King of kings.

It is not dangerous to have perpetual Eucharistic adoration, but rather, it is dangerous not to have it, because He is the only one who can protect and restore, heal and unite us.

As far as I can see, the book is not available in the UK. The copy I have is published by the Indian branch of St Pauls, given to me by a friend. Perhaps there are some distributors here in the UK. Do comment below if you know how it can be obtained easily.

Tags: , , ,

About the Author ()

Fr Stephen Wang is a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Westminster. He is currently Senior University Chaplain for the Archdiocese. Some of his articles have previously been published on his personal blog, Bridges and Tangents. See: http://bridgesandtangents.wordpress.com/

Comments (3)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. mags says:

    ‘Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
    Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
    You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
    But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him.
    God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” ‘

  2. mags says:

    Mary Moorfield Church @ Liverpool Street has adoration of the Blessed Sacrament 8.30-6 daily ~ with Mass @ 1.00 ~ t’is perfect.

  3. pelerin says:

    By coincidence I have just found this post having watched yesterday on KTO (French Catholic tv channel available on the internet) a discussion with a Parisian nun about Perpetual Adoration today.

    She mentioned that there are now 100 parishes in France which now have Perpetual Adoration having virtually disappeared in the 1970s. I wonder how many there are here in Britain?

    The Emmanuel Community has visited parishes where there are no Monstrances in the sacristy and where the Priests have admitted never to have even heard of Eucharistic Adoration in their seminary training. Sadly Monstrances are often seen on market stalls and in antique shops in France having been thrown out in the 70s along with magnificent elaborate vestments and ‘unwanted’ statues. I have even seen a Tabernacle for sale.

    What surprised me was that although I have visited Paris many times I had no idea that in the Latin Quarter there is a convent where there is Perpetual Adoration. The Soeurs de l’Adoration Reparatrice have been there since the 19th century.

    Regarding safety at night I am afraid the author probably has never visited Brighton where it can be decidedly dodgy to venture out at night!I! I am lucky to be able to attend Adoration for an hour each week at 7pm but as a non-driving granny in her 70s could never contemplate attending during the night.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *