by Fr. Martin Lucia, M. S. S.
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and praise!"
"Worthy is the Lamb" is the Antiphon prayer which begins the Mass of Christ
the King. The Lamb is Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He chose the Passover meal to
institute the Holy Eucharist because He is the Sacrificial Lamb who is slain for our
salvation. Good Friday follows Holy Thursday because the sufferings of Christ on the cross
were the precious price the Lord paid in order to give us the gift of Himself in the Holy
Eucharist. The Eucharist is the fruit of our Lord's Passion. He gave up His Body on the
cross that He may give to us His Body in the Holy Eucharist. He poured out His Blood on
the cross that He may fill us with His divine love in the Holy Eucharist. Through His
death on the cross, we have life in Him in the Holy Eucharist.
Jesus chooses to come to us under the appearance of bread because bread is made from
wheat. Wheat is beaten, broken, and crushed before it becomes bread. Jesus was willing to
be beaten at the pillar, broken in Heart, and crushed in humiliation that He may be for us
"the Living Bread come down from Heaven."
The question today is: "Do we adore Him whom we receive into our heart in Holy
Communion?" The clear, specific, and unmistakable way in which Christ has
consistently and repeatedly pleaded with mankind to adore Him is through appreciation of
the gift of His total presence among us in the most Blessed Sacrament. Are we willing to
spend time with Him in prayer who is really, truly, physically, bodily, and personally
present to us in the most Blessed Sacrament? His appeal to His Apostles in the garden is
His appeal to us today: "Could you not watch one hour with me?" His words to St.
Margaret Mary are even more valid today: "Behold this Heart which has so loved men
and which is so little loved in return... I thirst with such a terrible thirst to be loved
by men in this sacrament of my love."
When one person loves another, they want to be with this person whom they love. This is
true for whatever type of relationship one may think of. A mother and her newborn infant,
a father and his child, two friends, sweethearts, husband and wife. Love seeks to be with
the object of its love. This helps us understand the great mystery of our Faith. Jesus
said, "I will not leave you orphans, behold I will be with you even unto the very end
of the world." The way He has chosen to be with us, dwell with us, remain with us, is
through the most Blessed Sacrament. Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, Christ dwells with us
seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
Full of Grace and Truth
At the height of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI wrote a prophetic encyclical
entitled Mysterium Fidei. In the encyclical the Pope states that the Eucharist is
reserved in our Church as the "spiritual center" of the parish. The Pope said
that everyone should understand "the incomparable dignity" that the divine
Eucharist bestows upon the Christian people. He proclaimed that "Christ is truly the
Emmanuel, that is, 'God is with us'." Day and night He is in our midst. Then the Pope
emphasized why Christ dwells with us in the Blessed Sacrament and the spiritual benefits
that are given to those who come into His Eucharistic presence:
"He dwells with us full of grace and
truth. He restores morality, nourishes virtues, consoles the afflicted, strengthens the
weak. He proposes His own example to those who come to Him that all may learn to be like
Himself, meek and humble of heart and to seek not their own interests, but the things of
God. Anyone, therefore, who approaches this august Sacrament with special devotion and
endeavors to return generous love for Christ's own infinite love, experiences and fully
understands, not without great spiritual joy and profit, how precious is the life hidden
with Christ in God and how great is the value of converse with Christ, for there is
nothing more consoling on earth, nothing more efficacious for advancing along the road of
holiness."
Pope Paul said that he wrote this encyclical "so that the hope aroused by the
Council that a new era of Eucharistic piety pervade the whole Church - be not frustrated
by the spread of the seeds of false opinions." The Pope openly expressed his
"serious pastoral concern and anxiety" over these false opinions which weaken
devotion and faith in the Holy Eucharist. He pleaded with pastors and bishops to
"tirelessly" promote devotion to the Blessed Sacrament so that a new era of
Eucharistic piety pervade the whole Church.
For whatever reason this has not been done. Those who believe in Eucharistic adoration
have been silent. Those who don't believe have been very vocal. The result has been
disastrous. Most every one is aware of the sharp decline in Eucharistic adoration over the
last 20 years.
But again, our Blessed Lord keeps appealing to us through His Vicar on earth, Pope John
Paul II. In his letter On the Mystery and Worship of the Eucharist, the Holy Father
wrote on Feb. 24th, 1980:
"The encouragement and the deepening
of Eucharistic worship are proofs of that authentic renewal which the Council set itself
as an aim and of which they are the central point. And this, venerable and dear brothers,
deserves separate reflection. The Church and the world have a great need of Eucharistic
worship. Jesus waits for us in this sacrament of love. Let us be generous with our time in
going to meet Him in adoration and in contemplation that is full of faith and ready to
make reparation for the great faults and crimes of the world. May our adoration never
cease."
The Life of our Souls
And again, in the Pope's encyclical letter Redemptor Hominis, he stated:
"Indeed the Eucharist is the ineffable sacrament." He exhorted us by saying that
our "essential commitment" in life is "to persevere and advance constantly
in Eucharistic life and Eucharistic piety and to develop spiritually in the climate of the
Eucharist." The Pope called upon every member of the Church to be "vigilant in
seeing that this sacrament of love shall be at the center of the life of the People of
God, so that through all the manifestations of worship due to it, Christ shall be given
back 'love for love' and truly become the life of our souls."
The Holy Father put his words into action by beginning perpetual adoration with the
Blessed Sacrament exposed on Dec. 2nd, 1981. Since Dec. 2nd there has been uninterrupted,
continuous adoption in the little chapel at St. Peter's in the Vatican. This should be a
tremendous light of encouragement shining out to all pastors and laity alike. In his
opening prayer, "Stay with us, Lord," the Pope urged all parishes to begin
perpetual adoration.
Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is simply making Jesus the
"center" of the life of the People of God as the Holy Father has exhorted us.
Since the Pope started this on Dec. 2nd, 1981, many parishes have begun this in their own
church. There are only 168 hours in the week. The vast majority of parishes has two,
three, four, five, or six times more people than there are hours in a week. If only
one-half, or one-third, or one-fourth of the people in the parish are willing to make a
holy hour each week, then perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is easily
established.
The practical advantage of perpetual adoration is that it opens up all 168 hours of the
week. This makes it very easy for anyone to choose one of the hours during the week to
make a holy hour of prayer. When each hour is covered it also makes the Blessed Sacrament
available to anyone at any time. When people know that they have an opportunity to visit
our Blessed Lord any time they desire, it is surprising how many people respond to this
opportunity.
To Heal the Brokenhearted
Everyone experiences today a deep need for personal prayer. The burden of being a
faithful Christian is becoming heavier in a non-Christian world. To those who are heavily
burdened and find life difficult, Jesus said, "Come to me" and "I will
refresh you." This hunger for prayer increases with the many trials and heartaches
which many encounter in family life or the business world. Jesus dwells with us in the
Blessed Sacrament to fulfill His mission of "healing the brokenhearted."
But how can we come to Him when most of our Catholic churches are locked? How is He to
"restore morality," "console the afflicted," "nourish
virtue," and "strengthen the weak," when we have so effectively separated
Him from the people by making it almost impossible for anyone to visit Him in the Blessed
Sacrament? The Apostles did the same thing to Jesus 2,000 years ago. The little children
wanted to visit our Lord and come close to Him. The Apostles tried to "protect"
Christ and told the little children to go away. It was one of the few times in the Gospel
where the Lord became angry. He said: "Let the little children be, and do not hinder
them from coming to me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matt. 19:13-15).
A Room in the Inn
Many wonderful pastors across the country have found ways to make our Lord in the
Blessed Sacrament completely available to the people, even though they lock the church
doors because of safety measures. Some of these pastors make a Blessed Sacrament chapel
somewhere in the body of the church, while keeping the rest of the church locked. This can
be done by converting a baptistry in the back, or a sacristy in the front into a perpetual
adoration chapel. Other pastors have converted a small room in either their rectory or
convent into a perpetual adoption chapel by making a door with an outside entrance. In
this way people have access to the Blessed Sacrament without violating the privacy of the
rectory or convent. Where there is a will, there is a way to find "a room in the
inn" where people can come to their Lord and their God. A pastor in Rosenburg, Texas,
even built a new chapel when no place could be found for perpetual adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament. May God bless him a hundredfold! We spend so much money on so many
other things for the parish that it is tragic not to spend whatever it takes to provide a
little place where the People of God can come to adore our Lord and receive the
"living waters" of His grace and love. Mary Magdalene opened up the
"alabaster jar" to give honor and praise to the Lord (Mark 14:3-6). Many around
her apparently did not think that Jesus was worth it because they began to complain by
calling it an "extravagant waste."
Pope Paul urged each church to have a Blessed Sacrament chapel because he foresaw the
difficulties ahead. This is what the documents of Vatican II recommend in their decree on
the sacred liturgy. And this was done at the insistence of Pope Paul, not to take away
from devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, but to help bring about a "new era of
Eucharistic piety" by making our Lord available to His people.
A priest must be like John the Baptist, who pointed to the Lamb of God. At His
Eucharistic discourse Jesus said that He is the "vine" and that we are the
branches." He said that "apart from the vine" we can do nothing, but
whoever remains in union with Him will "bear much fruit" (John 15:19-22).
There is a direct connection between the sharp decline in Eucharistic adoration during
the last 20 years, and the sharp decline in vocations and church attendance. Laymen must
join priests so that together we point to the Lamb, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, as the
answer to all the ills of the Church and human society. From the Lamb flows the river,
crystal clear, which provides the healing and the medicine for all the nations (Rev.
22:1-3). The Lamb on the throne will shepherd us and lead us to springs of life-giving
water (Rev. 7:17). The lamp is the Lamb whose light cast out the darkness (Rev. 21:22-24).
Those in authority fight against the Lamb, but the Lamb is victorious because He is
"the Lord of lords and the King of kings."
The war against the Lamb is the terrible indifference toward Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament. His friends who believe in Him but do not respond to His appeal to be loved by
men in the Blessed Sacrament, do far more harm than those who do not believe in Him and
who openly criticize Eucharistic adoration.
There is a vast difference between an "intellectual faith" and a "living
faith." A priest who comes before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament "knows"
Him personally with a living faith. And to know Him is to love Him and want everyone else
to love Him also. A priest who makes a daily holy hour is a priest who wants Jesus in the
Blessed Sacrament to be adored perpetually.
Never Left Alone
The purpose of this article is to appeal to those priests and laymen who
"know" the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and want to proclaim Him "Lord of
lords and King of kings" through perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. What I
do is speak at all the Masses on Sunday on the value and spiritual benefits of spending a
quiet, personal, holy hour of prayer in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
After the homily each person is given an invitation and a pencil. Those wanting to
participate in perpetual adoration by being willing to spend an hour a week with our Lord
sign their name and give their telephone number.
Because of the faith of the laity and their hunger for prayer, enough people always
make themselves available for perpetual adoration. The invitation includes a request for a
telephone committee to help organize all the hours so that each hour is covered and Jesus
is never left alone. A meeting of these people is held in the parish to teach them how to
organize perpetual adoration in a smooth, effective way that will last for years to come.
Some pastors think that there will not be enough people interested because only a
handful respond to First Friday Eucharistic adoration. For some reason, parishioners are
far more responsive to perpetual adoration than to First Friday devotion. One practical
reason for this responsiveness is that a person has any hour of the week to choose from.
Another reason is that perpetual adoration appeals to our faith. Perpetual adoration is an
authentic witness to our belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
Perpetual adoration is putting our faith into action. This ideal form of witness to our
faith is very attractive to people today who live in such a false, shallow, hypocritical
world. When a pastor offers the opportunity of perpetual adoration to the people, they
perceive the importance of the Real Presence and the seriousness involved in responding to
our Lord's love in the Blessed Sacrament. People have a "take it or leave it"
attitude toward First Friday devotion because if we truly believe that Jesus is truly and
really present in the Blessed Sacrament, then we would do far more than make our Lord
available to the people once a month. The message is too weak to appeal to anyone other
than those with a deep faith.
Perpetual adoration is in keeping with the serious message our Lord gave on the last
day of the festival when He cried out and said, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come
to me" (John 7:37-38).
The Lamb is worthy of the unceasing adoration of men (Rev. 5:12). "Day and night
without pause," He receives honor, glory, and praise. The translation of this is
simply that Jesus deserves it; Jesus deserves our unceasing adoration and thanksgiving.
Hostility and Terrorism
Some think that it is dangerous to make adoration available in the middle of the night.
Never once has anyone been harmed while either coming to or going from Eucharistic
adoration. Sacre Coeur in Paris has had perpetual adoration in Paris for over 100 years
without a single incident. St. John Neumann began 40 hours in Philadelphia in the face of
hostility and the terrorism of the Know-Nothings. Through the power of Eucharistic
adoration the terrorism disappeared. Through the power of Eucharistic adoration the same
thing happens today. Many pastors have reported that the incidence of crime in their area
has declined since perpetual adoration began in their parish. One pastor in a downtown
area has not had a single case of vandalism in two years. Before perpetual adoration began
vandalism was a daily occurrence. Recently a request for perpetual adoration came from a
missionary in Guatemala He was inspired to have perpetual adoration because of the Church
of San Marcus. San Marcus has perpetual adoration and not a single priest or parishioner
has been harmed during the terrible war there. In the four surrounding parishes the
priests have been killed and the villages wiped out.
Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is infinitely more powerful than all the armies that
ever marched, or all the police forces which ever gathered. The Eucharist is our Risen
Lord with all the power of His Resurrection flowing out to all who come into His
Eucharistic Presence. His words to us today are the same as ever "Take courage. It is
I. Do not be afraid!" (Mark 5:50).
If you are a layman interested in perpetual adoration, please ask your pastor. I would
be delighted to come and speak at all the Masses and help get perpetual adoration
organized in your parish. If you are a priest, I would be delighted to help you in any way
possible to establish perpetual adoration in your parish.
Through perpetual adoration Jesus longs to open up the floodgates of His merciful love
on a troubled world. He longs to heal a broken humanity. Otherwise, He continues to weep
in spirit and say: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you slay the prophets and stone those who
are sent to you! How often have I wanted to gather your children together as a mother bird
collects her young under her wings, and you refused me! Your temple will be abandoned I
say to you, you shall not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who
comes in the name of the Lord'" (Luke 13:34-36).
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