Hello All,
This past week had our first successful week of adoration at our beautiful St.Wendelin church. Thanks to all the hard work and dedication of the Adoration Committee, staff and volunteers as well as all those who so generously gave an hour to spend in prayer with Our Eucharistic Lord. What a great gift this is to our parish, area, Archdiocese and the Universal Church! The reality of time spent in prayer in front of Our Lord in the Eucharist is akin to what heaven will be. It is in a way an extension of heaven because we are spending time in the presence of Our Lord, which is what our heaven will be spent doing. We will spend heaven praising, worshiping and adoring Him, who is our hearts only true desire. Spending time with Our Eucharistic Lord is a time to sit quietly and allow God to speak to us in the silence. In this silence we give Him a chance to pour His grace into us, bringing with it much peace and joy to the human heart. It gives us energy, zeal, and courage to live out our Faith in the day-to-day events of our lives. It increases our love for Him and the desire to be close to Him above all else.
Eucharistic Adoration is such a powerful form of prayer.
Eucharistic Adoration is not only life-changing for those who spend time in prayer but it will also win untold graces for our world and the Church. God’s grace and how it works is a mystery to us. In the many hours that people will spend praying and interceding on behalf of others many graces will be won that we may never know about in this life. The Church, the Mystical Body of Christ is lifted up by every good act done by one of its members. This prayer will help all the members of His Mystical Body, especially those in most need. St. Teresa of Calcutta says, “Our hours of adoration will be special hours of reparation for sins, and intercession for the needs of the whole world, exposing the sin-sick and suffering humanity to the healing, sustaining and transforming rays of Jesus, radiating from the Eucharist.” It is always important to remember those who are in most need of conversion when praying in front of the Eucharist. This prayer as St. Teresa says exposes them to the light of grace which pours out of His heart.
If you have not signed up for an hour slot please consider it. If you can’t sign up for a weekly slot make sure to just stop by and say hello to Jesus and spend a little time with Him. For those of you who have signed up for a slot please pray for unity in our parishes and pray especially for those in our area who have turned away from God’s grace in the sacraments and no longer practice their faith.
I will leave you with a couple more quotes from St. Teresa,
“When the Sisters are exhausted, up to their eyes in work; when all seems to go awry, they spend an hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. This practice has never failed to bear fruit: they experience peace and strength.” (This applies to all of us not just sisters!)
“When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you. When you look at the Sacred Host you understand how much Jesus loves you now. This is why we need Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in every Parish throughout the entire World.”
Know that Father Hess and I are always praying for all of you, our spiritual children, that you will always grow in love for our Eucharistic Lord.
Fr. Jacquemin
