What is Adoration?

With this time of Eucharistic Revival, something that receives a lot of emphasis is Eucharistic adoration, so you might be wondering: What is it?  Here are a couple things to know.  

In the first place, Eucharistic adoration is worship of the Eucharist, the same flesh offered on Calvary for the salvation of the world, the same flesh that sits at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, made really present in a mystery of faith.  The Eucharist is Jesus.  This is the faith of the Church, distinct from any protestant belief.  But even so, why worship Jesus?  In short, because worshiping God sets us free from idolatry of ourselves and the world (CCC 2097).  One of the biggest turnoffs for people that I’ve spoken with is hypocrisy: you think you’re in a special category above everybody else.  Worshiping God acknowledges, among other things, that you’re not him.  Will it cure you of hypocrisy?  Maybe not completely, but it will give you perspective, not to mention the relief of not having to be anything other than yourself.  

In the second place, Eucharistic adoration is a place of connection with the rest of the Church.  The Eucharist is often called Holy Communion, and one of the reasons for this is that faithful reception of the Eucharist is the primary source and sign of communion between Christians, as Jesus himself said that “whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:56).  But the Communion extends even beyond the reception.  By visiting Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, I visit all those who abide in him: friends and family and people I’ve never met, both on earth and in heaven.  Some Catholics close letters or emails to each other with “see you in the Eucharist!”  Maybe that sounds too cute to you, but it speaks accurately to a deeper reality.  For example, a dear friend of mine is in a convent in Minnesota; her father in Iowa, who misses her a lot and doesn’t know much about the faith, has started visiting his local parish frequently to pray before the Eucharist.  He says he feels closest to her there.  The same goes for me, and there’s nothing like that sort of confidence or connection.  

Quick recap: Eucharistic Adoration is a time to worship God and pray to him, as well as an opportunity for connection with others who are in communion with him.  Coming up next… What to do when you’re face-to-face with God. 

Seminarian Timothy Sanchez