Adoration
The Eucharist is the physical Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Lord, Jesus Christ, and it is one of seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, whereby bread and wine are completely transubstantiated into the real presence of Christ. During Eucharistic Adoration, the Eucharist is displayed in a monstrance (a vessel used in Roman Catholicism to display the consecrated Eucharist) flanked by candles in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed and adored by the faithful.
The Adoration chapel is back on-site at Saint Dominic. To gain access, please contact the office or a staff member.
I’ve never done Perpetual Adoration before! What do I do?
Whatever is comfortable, but be conscious of the presence of the Lord.
You have a lot of choices here: You may pray an informal prayer, sit in silence, read a book, pray the rosary, meditate on the Eucharist, contemplate the saint’s lives, just clear your head, listen to a recording of your favorite Catholic speaker quietly through your headphones, etc.
The key is general reverence with an emphasis on quiet. This is not a competition to see who can be the most pious, but this is YOUR personal time with God. As Father John Ricardo says, “Just waste some time with Him.” If God was not behind the veil of the Eucharist, what would you do? Christ says we are no longer servants but friends, so just spend some time with your friend. He loves you and is calling you.
The Vatican states that proper respect is shown by bending down with our right knee until it touches the ground with a slight pause to show our humility and reverence before God. This is still the rule even during exposition, although the common practice is to bow on two knees when before the monstrance. The attitude with what you do it with is more important than the form, and it should never be done for show.
Additionally, if your knees are bad, you should not worry about this at all.
Yes, absolutely. Adoration is for kids and whole families too. Just make sure that they are old enough to understand how to be quiet.
Kids under the legal age cannot be assigned an hour on their own, but they may adore with their family.
