Introduction
“Eucharistic Renewal” is a resource to help us overcome the difficulties perpetual adoration is facing as a consequence of the corona virus pandemic.
The first words are words of gratitude directed to you, the adorer, for the sacrifices and love in being faithful to your weekly holy hour. You are one of more than a million adorers who have made this commitment in chapels of perpetual adoration throughout the world, and are facing this unique situation together. This pandemic has resulted in the temporary closure, either partially or completely, of almost every chapel of perpetual adoration in the world.
This is a good moment to reflect upon all the graces you have won for the world and everyone in the world by your commitment. It is worth appreciating them now because this crisis is TEMPORARY but the effect of each one of your holy hours is ETERNAL, PERMANENT. This means that even if you can't come to your holy hour now all the graces of your past holy hours are still radiating out to the world. Contemplate this for a moment, multiplied by the grace of more than a million holy hours each week, and we see a picture of a flood of graces continually bathing the world in God's love and mercy. "The Eucharist is the wellspring of this ocean of mercy, for in it the Lamb of God… makes flow from his pierced side streams of living water... Mercy thus enters the veins of this world …" Pope Francis 1
This is the effect of your holy hour, the importance of your sacrifice and the impact your weekly commitment has on the entire world. In union with every adorer you affect the course of history. "Through adoration, the Christian mysteriously contributes to the radical transformation of the world…" John Paul II 2
Your contribution of course is unknown to the world but known to the heart of God "and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you." (Mt 6:6)
God wants you to realize that whilst this crisis has stopped the world your holy hour in union with every other hour prayed in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament keeps the world turning. Let us therefore spare no effort to get this back on track and dare we say make it even better than before. “We know that all things work for good for those who love God” (Rm 8:28)
Working Together
Adorers throughout the world are living different circumstances. Whilst some adorers have been able to go to their hour all throughout this time, most have not. And even as restrictions are being lifted and chapels are opening not all adorers are able to come back for their hour immediately. This is understandable! God knows every one’s situation. In practical terms this means that even when a chapel reopens fully, 24 hours a day 7 days a week, there will be empty hours on the schedule until all adorers can return.
Every hour is a vital link in an unbroken chain of love offered to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and in order for that chain not to be broken at this time coordinators will need the support of adorers to cover these empty hours. e.g if there is more than one adorer on your hour your coordinator may ask you to consider shifting to a vacant hour either permanently or temporarily.
No one knows how long this situation of uncertainty will persist but more than ever teamwork will be necessary to ensure things run smoothly.
Many people are also facing new challenges in their life, for example, you might need to reorganize your daily commitments and these changes might conflict with your current hour in the chapel. If this is so, you would need to contact your coordinator to discuss choosing a new hour on the schedule.
Another reality for many of us is that after having been away from work, family, friends etc for so long we might find ourselves overloaded with activity trying to recover what was lost due to the restrictions. Our challenge amidst all this is to keep our weekly holy hour as a priority, to combine the roles of Martha and Mary, holding fast to "the one thing necessary…the best part" (Lk 10:42)
The Lord invites us not to forget that,
if it is necessary to worry about bread,
it is even more important
to nurture our relationship with Him,
to strengthen our faith in Him,
who is the “bread of life” Pope Francis 3
EUCHARISTIC EVANGELIZATION
This material is a Eucharistic evangelization aimed at deepening our Eucharistic faith and helping us understand the need for adoration in our life. Adoration takes its importance from the holy mass “the source and summit of the whole christian life.” 4
The Church emphasises “the centrality of eucharistic adoration in the life of the faithful” and its indispensable connection with holy mass: “adoration of the Blessed Sacrament goes hand-in-hand with the Eucharistic Celebration, thus prolonging the mystery of the Holy Mass.”5 Adoration is "an extension and at the same time a preparation for the Sacrifice of the Mass and Communion”6. This Eucharistic evangelization combines the teachings of the Church and Holy Scripture with inspiration on the importance of developing a personal Eucharistic spirituality: “our essential commitment in life is to grow spiritually in the climate of the holy Eucharist” 7
All these resources are provided to accomplish a comprehensive renewal of perpetual adoration. The purpose of this renewal is threefold: to confirm the commitment of existing adorers: to invite new adorers to take an hour in the chapel each week; and a call for the parish to recommit to put "the Eucharist at the centre of the life of the people of God".
Dear friends… set the Eucharist at the centre of your personal life and community life: love the Eucharist, adore the Eucharist and celebrate it… I entrust to you, dear friends, this greatest of God’s gifts to us… The world must not be deprived of the gentle and liberating presence of Christ living in the Eucharist! John Paul II 8
Explanation of the material
This renewal is designed to be done individually, and intended to be done over a period of 4 weeks. Each week a short talk (approx 15 min) and a pamphlet is provided. The idea is that you have the whole week to listen and meditate on the content in a relaxed and prayerful manner.
AUDIO
The audios are recordings of talks used to start chapels of perpetual adoration in a parish. Each talk has a different theme.
You may also want to share these talks with others e.g.,
encouraging them to join you in the chapel. In doing this we can turn this difficult situation into a blessing for others by sharing this grace with them: “The divine life which Christ pours out into his Church in the Eucharist is too great to be contained. It must be offered with loving urgency to all the world.” John Paul II 9
NOTE: This webpage is offered in both English and Spanish. More languages will be added as they become available. To change your language please use the Language box in the top right hand corner of each page.
There are more than four audio talks available in both languages. If you would like to listen to more recordings please check the "Other Resources" page for all options. A limited selection of audio recordings in additional languages are also being added as they become available.
PAMPHLETS
There are 3 pamphlets provided here:
- Behold the Lamb of God
-
The Value of Sacrifice
-
”I call you friends”
These pamphlets are an essential part of the Eucharistic renewal. You will find a detailed explanation of each during the Renewal itself.
If you are not yet an adorer and are doing this renewal please consider accepting Jesus’ invitation to spend one hour with Him each week in the Blessed Sacrament. For more information please contact the coordinator for perpetual adoration in the parish.