7 years ago I was single, had just bought a new house, and had my first full time job. I went to mass up at Lumen Christi and a young enthusiastic seminarian gave the homily inviting people to sign up for an hour of Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel. So, I signed up for Tuesday nights, midnight to 1am. We still have that same hour at Lumen Christi.
Only looking back over the years, do I fully see the abundance of grace this hour of adoration has brought me. In all that I have learned about my faith over the past several years, in all the events life has brought me from marriage, to 3 children, to my Mother's death, to many family changes, and the list goes on, the Adoration Chapel has been a place of refuge for prayer and grace. I find that I embrace it more and more as time goes on.
Having this hour of adoration slowing tuned me in to Christ's holy and real presence in the host. Christ instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper and education of my Catholic faith over the years has brought me to new understanding of the sacredness of the priests' consecration of the host. My wedding day was the first time I received the Eucharist on the mouth from the priest (instead of in my hands) and I have not ever gone back. This, actually, was somewhat of a 'mistake' and I only had the priest put it in my mouth because Mike did this and we were up on center stage. But, surprisingly, I appreciated it. There was a reverence and a new level of meaning when I had the priest put Jesus directly in my mouth. It made sense. The next step was as we moved over to St. Agnes, kneeling at the altar railings to receive the Body of Christ. There is a solemness and seriousness to everyone going up to the rail, kneeling, praying and receiving the Eucharist directly from the priest. It is meaningful and life-changing - every time it happens. The Last Supper happens over and over and over again and we reflect on Jesus' sacrifice for us.
When we were married, I remember a friend saying "Oh, it doesn't really matter what church you get married in. God is everywhere." (At that point in time we were scheduled to get married at Lumen Christi and then we switched to the Cathedral 2 weeks before our wedding date!) Well, in a sense it is true that God's handiwork and his mark is everywhere we look. His grace and goodness sustain everything. But, Churches are a special place. It is God's home and his real and true presence is there. They are a refuge from the grind of daily life. They are a place of silence and solitude where I can look for God to speak to me. They are meant to be holy. Jesus experienced this same understanding of a 'Church'. He had the temple. Mary and Joseph were worried sick about him for several days and they found him in the temple, learning from his teachers. He says, "Didn't you know I need to be in my Father's House?". When I go to the Adoration Chapel, St. Agnes Church or any beautiful church, it takes me outside of myself. It lifts my thoughts and spirit to think of the eternal, to think of God and to humble myself before him.
I am so thankful for perpetual Adoration in the 2 churches close to us and the ability to 'stop in' and visit Jesus anytime. Faustina and Jude also like going there now too. They ask to stop by the chapel so they can see Jesus!
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