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In March 2005, Perpetual Eucharistic Exposition at St. Joseph Catholic Church began in the Perpetual Adoration Chapel.
Belief in the real, physical presence of Christ in the Eucharist grew out of the teaching of the evangelists and St. Paul. They made it plain to the apostolic Church that the Eucharistic elements were literally Jesus Christ continuing His saving mission among men. Paul's letter to the Corinthians...reminded them that the Eucharist is no ordinary food. It is actually the Body and Blood of Christ according to "the tradition which I handed on to you that came to me from the Lord Himself" (I Corinthians II: 23-26). At the turn of the first century, Ignatius of Antioch, on his way to martyrdom in Rome, had to warn the Christians not to be taken in by the Gnostics--a good modern term would be "visionaries," who denied the Real Presence. Ignatius said these people abstained from the Eucharist because they did not accept what true Christians believe, that in the Eucharist is the same Jesus Christ Who lived and died and rose from the dead for our salvation. The life of St. Comgall (died 601) tells how on one occasion he was attacked by heathen Pietists while working in a field. On seeing the chrismal around his neck, the attackers did not dare touch him for fear of some retaliation since they surmised (as the narrator says) that Comgall was carrying his God. The saint was so moved by the experience that he exclaimed, "Lord, you are my strength, my refuge, and my Redeemer." The practice of reserving the Eucharist in religious houses was so universal that there is no evidence to the contrary even before the year 1000. In fact, numerous regulations are extant which provided for protection of the sacred elements, as the wording went, "from profanation by mice and impious men." The species were to be kept under lock and key and sometimes in a receptacle raised high enough to be out of easy reach of profaning hands. Before the end of the sixteenth century, Pope Clement VIII in 1592 issued a historic document on what was called in Italian Quarant' Ore (Forty Hours). The devotion consisted of forty hours of continual prayer before the Blessed Sacrament exposed. Introduced earlier on a local scale in Milan, the Bishop of Rome not only authorized the devotion for Rome, but explained how it should be practiced. Gradually the Forty Hours devotion spread throughout the Catholic world. Proposed by the Code of Canon Law in 1917, the new Code states that in churches or oratories where the Eucharist is reserved, "it is recommended (commendatur) . . . that there be held each year a solemn exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for an appropriate, even if not for a continuous, time so that the local community may more attentively meditate on and adore the Eucharistic Mystery" (Canon 942). The term "perpetual adoration" is broadly used to designate the practically uninterrupted adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The term may mean several things:
The adoration is literally perpetual, so that someone is always in prayer before the Holy Eucharist.
The adoration is morally perpetual, with only such short interruptions as imperative reasons or uncontrollable circumstances require.
The adoration is uninterrupted for a longer or shorter period, a day or several days, as in the Forty-Hours devotion.
The adoration is uninterrupted in one special church or chapel.
The adoration is uninterrupted in different churches or chapels in a locality like a diocese or a country, or throughout the world.
It was not until after the Council of Trent, however, that perpetual adoration began to develop on a world-wide scale. Moreover, Christ's divinity is present because of its admirable hypostatic union with His body and soul. It is, therefore, perfectly true that just as much is present under either species as is present under both. For Christ, whole and entire, exists under the species of bread and under any part of that species, and similarly the whole Christ exists under the species of wine and under its parts. Given this fact of faith, [the Council of] Trent could logically go on to declare that, "The only-begotten Son of God is to be adored in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist with the worship of latria, including external worship. The Sacrament, therefore, is to be honored with extraordinary festive celebrations (and) solemnly carried from place to place in processions according to the praiseworthy universal rite and custom of the holy Church. The Sacrament is to be publicly exposed for the people's adoration." Approved by Pope Julius III (October 11, 1551), these conciliar statements became the foundation for dogmatic and devotional progress ever since. Building on the teaching of his predecessors, [Pope] John Paul II has come to be known as the Pope of the Real Presence. In one document and address after another, he has repeated what needs repetition for the sake of emphasis: "The Eucharist, in the Mass and outside of the Mass, is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, and is therefore deserving of the worship that is given to the living God, and to Him alone" (Opening address in Ireland, Phoenix Park, September 29, 1979). It is at one and the same time a Sacrifice-Sacrament, a Communion-Sacrament, and a Presence-Sacrament (Encyclical Redemptor Hominis, March 4, 1979, IV, 20). The Mass is the Sacrifice-Sacrament of the Eucharist. As the Council of Trent declared, the Sacrifice of the Mass is not only an offering of praise and thanksgiving. It is also a source of grace: "By this oblation, the Lord is appeased, He grants grace and the gift of repentance, and He pardons wrongdoings and sins," the blessings of Redemption which Christ won for us by His bloody death on Calvary are now "received in abundance through this unbloody oblation" (September 17, 1562). Holy Communion is the Communion-Sacrament of the Eucharist. As the same Council of Trent defined, Christ present in the Eucharist is not only spiritually eaten, but also really and sacramentally. We actually receive His Body and Blood, and we are truly nourished by His grace. It was Christ's will "That this Sacrament be received as the soul's spiritual food, to sustain and build up those who live with His life." It is also to be "a remedy to free us from our daily defects and to keep us from mortal sin" (October 11, 1551). The Real Presence is the Presence-Sacrament of the Eucharist. How? The Real Presence is a Sacrament in every way that the humanity of Christ is a channel of grace to those who believe that the Son of God became man for our salvation.1
For more information: http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Eucharist/Eucharist_017.htm.
Prayers of Blessed Mother
Teresa
"O God, we believe You are here. We adore You and love You with our
whole heart and soul because You are most worthy of all our love. We desire to
love You as the Blessed do in Heaven... Flood our souls with Your spirit and
life. Penetrate and possess our whole being utterly, that our lives may only be
a radiance of Yours. Shine through us, and be so in us, that every soul we come
in contact with may feel Your presence in our soul. Let them look up and see no
longer us, but only Jesus!"
The fruit of silence is PRAYER. The fruit of prayer is FAITH. The fruit of faith is LOVE. The fruit of love is SERVICE. The fruit of service is PEACE.
Prayer of Pope John Paul II
"Lord Jesus, Who in the Eucharist make your dwelling among us
and become our traveling companion, sustain our Christian communities so that
they may be ever more open to listening and accepting your Word. May they draw
from the Eucharist a renewed commitment to spreading in society, by the
proclamation of your Gospel, the signs and deeds of an attentive and active
charity."
Fatima Prayers
Angel’s Prayer – With the Blessed Sacrament suspended in the air, the angel at Fatima prostrated himself, and recited this prayer:
O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners.
"Christ Jesus, ... is present in many ways to his Church . . . most especially in the Eucharistic species."[198] (1373) The mode of Christ's presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the sacraments as "the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend."[199] In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist "the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained."[200] "This presence is called 'real' - by which is not intended to exclude the other types of presence as if they could not be 'real' too, but because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present."[201] (1374 ) It is by the conversion of the bread and wine into Christ's body and blood that Christ becomes present in this sacrament. (1375)
For more information on the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Additional Information & Resources
Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament
1 This text is reprinted with permission from the booklet, "The History of Eucharistic Adoration" by Rev. John A. Hardon, S.J. This 40 page booklet traces the historic development and spiritual benefits of this praiseworthy practice, from apostolic times to the present, and underscores its vital importance for today. It is available for purchase for $3.95 + S&H from the Institute of Religious Life by calling 877-267-1195 or by visiting http://www.religiouslife.com.
More about the author Rev. John A. Hardon, S.J. at: Father John A. Hardon, S.J.
