Blessed are those who hunger and thirst: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
Tomorrow evening, we will celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. In this Mass, we celebrate the Lord’s institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. Our Lord also models for us the act of charity in washing of the feet of His disciples.
But I want to focus on the institution of the Eucharist and the reason why our Lord left us with this great Sacrament. We know that the Eucharist feeds us spiritually. Adoration and worship of the Blessed Sacrament is a way in which we extend the graces of our worship of God in the Mass.
When I made my pilgrimage to Israel in 2023, my classmates and I had the opportunity to experience a holy hour at the Church of All Nations, located on the hillside of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. There, in that church, lies the rock that Jesus rested prayed on the evening after the His Last Supper.
Every Thursday evening, the Franciscan friars hold a Holy Hour of Adoration in honor the Last Supper and Jesus’ prayer in the garden. I was a transitional deacon at the time and had the opportunity to serve the Holy Hour along with a priest from Philadelphia.
As I knelt before the Eucharistic Jesus, it occurred to me why Jesus desired to leave us with this great gift! In Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to His closest disciples during His lonely agony in the garden, “Could you not spend one hour with me?”
Jesus desired to give us Himself and be more united to us.
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” -John 6:56
Secondly, Jesus desired to leave us with His presence. Jesus tells us
“I will be with you always.” -Matthew 28:20
In all Catholic churches and chapels, there is a tabernacle that holds a reserve of the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus is present in all these churches! There’s a reason why for centuries the cathedrals, basilicas, and parishes church were built with such splendor. The architecture was meant to point us towards God in heaven and be a fitting shrine to fit for Jesus in the Eucharist. All churches are indeed shrines of the Eucharist!
The Eucharistic presence of Jesus calls us towards adoration and worship of God. Eucharistic adoration is a way we worship Jesus outside of Mass. For Eucharistic Adoration, the Eucharist is sometimes displayed in a monstrance, a metal stand that resembles a sunburst that holds a consecrated host.
Other times, it is kept in a ciborium (the dish from which hosts are distributed during Holy Communion) inside of a tabernacle. A candle signals the presence of Jesus. The idea is we are physically present with Jesus, who is physically present with us in the Eucharist.
Simply being in the presence of Christ is a prayer itself. There are many things we can do in adoration. We can pray a rosary or any other devotional prayer. We can prayerfully read sacred scripture as in Lectio Divina. Or we can sit peacefully with our Lord.
One of the features of Holy Thursday is the procession of the Blessed Sacrament to an altar of repose. We don’t place the consecrated host in tabernacle because we want to remember that our Lord was arrested and imprisoned before His trial and execution. So, we have a procession of the Eucharist around the church to the altar of repose in our chapel. There, we all have an opportunity to adore our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
Like His closest disciples, we can stay vigil with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. We don’t need to go to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem because He will be truly present with us in the altar of repose our chapel. Jesus invites us to be with Him in the garden. Once we’ve spent time in prayer with our God, we disperse in silence waiting for the His trial and crucifixion.
As you we enter the Sacred Triduum, I invite you to spend time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament especially on Holy Thursday. You can also make a pilgrimage to other Catholic Churches that evening to adore our Lord. Will you heed the Lord’s invitation, “Could you not spend one hour with me?”