04/17/2015
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Every Friday from:
8:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. (After the 8:00 a.m. Mass)
1:40 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. (After the 1:10 p.m. Mass)
What is Eucharistic Adoration?
In Catholic teachings, at the moment of Consecration the elements (or “gifts” as they are termed for liturgical purposes) are changed in substance (Transubstantiation – as opposed to ‘transformation’ wherein a change in physical form occurs) into the actual Body and Blood of Christ. Catholic doctrine holds that the elements are not only spiritually changed, but rather, their substances are actually (substantially) changed into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. In the doctrine of Real Presence, at the point of Consecration, the act that takes place is a double miracle:
1) that Christ is present in a physical form and 2) that the bread and wine have truly, substantially become Jesus’ Body and Blood. Because Roman Catholics believe that Christ is truly present (Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity) in the Eucharist, the reserved sacrament serves as a focal point of adoration. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (item 1377) states that: “The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist.” The official Raccolta book provides specific indulgences for Eucharistic adoration during the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.
Prolonged Eucharistic adoration is one of the distinguishing features of Roman Catholicism and is credited with the calling of saints and the bringing of converts to the Catholic Church. St. Faustina Kowalska stated that she was called to religious service while attending the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at age seven. Notable examples of conversion are Saints Elizabeth Ann Seton and John Henry Newman, both having converted from Anglicanism, and the Venerable Hermann Cohen (Carmelite), O.C.D., from Judaism, following Eucharistic adoration. Cohen went on to help establish the widespread practice of nocturnal adoration.
Since the Middle Ages the practice of Eucharistic adoration outside Mass has been encouraged by the popes.
In the middle of the Second Vatican Council, on September 3, 1965, a few days before opening the fourth session, Pope Paul VI issued the Encyclical Mysterium Fidei whereby he urged daily Mass and communion and said that “In the course of the day the faithful should not omit to visit the Blessed Sacrament, which according to the liturgical laws must be kept in the churches with great reverence in a most honorable location. Such visits are a proof of gratitude, an expression of love, an acknowledgment of the Lord’s presence.” “The daily adoration or visit to the Blessed Sacrament is the practice which is the fountainhead of all devotional works,” St. Pius X used to say.
In Dominicae Cenae Pope John Paul II stated:
“The Church and the world have a great need of Eucharistic worship. Jesus waits for us in this sacrament of love. Let us be generous with our time in going to meet Him in adoration and in contemplation that is full of faith.”
And in Ecclesia de Eucharistia John Paul II stated:
“The worship of the Eucharist outside of the Mass is of inestimable value for the life of the Church…. It is the responsibility of Pastors to encourage, also by their personal witness, the practice of Eucharistic adoration, and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.”
From his early years, the Eucharist had a central place in the theology of Joseph Ratzinger and in his role as Pope Benedict XVI as well as in his book God Is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life he strongly encouraged Eucharistic adoration.
