Adoration

[Michie]

I'd like to hear experiences concerning Adoration. I went tonight as part of my penance to apologize & talk to Jesus. It was relaxing but I had a very hard time concentrating once I was through talking.

I feel badly about it.

The priest & others have said they have gotten a lot of direction & comfort from the practice. That the Lord speaks very quietly, etc.

I got some thoughts but then my mind started wandering & every little noise distracted me. I looked at the people.... ugh!

Is this something that is mastered or is it a gift?

I'd love to hear about other's experiences good/bad/inbetween concerning this practice.

 

[Davidnic]

It is really something that you will need to develop as a habit. For some they take to it quickly and for some they need to overcome distraction.

There are several good devotional books for Adoration. But at first take a Bible and read John 6 and then the Last Supper discourses and ponder it in your heart. Whenever I need to rezone at Adoration that is what I do.

 

[Michie]

It is really something that you will need to develop as a habit. For some they take to it quickly and for some they need to overcome distraction.

There are several good devotional books for Adoration. But at first take a Bible and read John 6 and then the Last Supper discourses and ponder it in your heart. Whenever I need to rezone at Adoration that is what I do.

It's strange that you mentioned the Bible because one of my thoughts when there was: Where is a Bible in the Catholic Church when you need one???

Seriously though, I've never understood why Bibles are not supplied in the pews with the missals & hymnals.

 

[Davidnic]

We have an Adoration materials area with Bibles, Eucharist materials and such. I always carry my mom's Bible to Church so I usually don't notice them missing.

 

[Michie]

We have an Adoration materials area with Bibles, Eucharist materials and such. I always carry my mom's Bible to Church so I usually don't notice them missing.

I've thought of taking my Bible to Mass but I was not sure if it would be frowned upon or not.

I have taken the Bible & CCC to Adoration before in one of my pitiful attempts. But this time I was to go it alone without it. I made it about 50 minutes.

 

[Davidnic]

The goal is at least a Holy Hour. So you know...50 min is good. You'll get better. It is a slow forming of the heart. For some distractions and mind wanderings are a trial at Adoration. I think Fulton Sheen has a talk on how to do a Holy Hour. I will see if I can find it.

 

[Michie]

The goal is at least a Holy Hour. So you know...50 min is good. You'll get better. It is a slow forming of the heart. For some distractions and mind wanderings are a trial at Adoration. I think Fulton Sheen has a talk on how to do a Holy Hour. I will see if I can find it.

I'd appreciate it. I need all the help I can get.

 

[Davidnic]

Here: link

And you can listen online

 

[Davidnic]

I'll talk to my wife too...she is a champ at Adoration. It is what brought her back to the Church after college.

 

[Dylan Michael]

That's something I need to practice. It gets better with time.
I also learned that five good minutes in front of the Blessed Sacrament is better than a distracted hour or two.


Also, the Parish nearest to me that has a Perpetual Adoration chapel has a bibles in the chapel.

 

[Michie]

Thanks David.

One interesting thng I did see at adoration when I was wandering here & there was a latino couple that were saying prayers & going slowly on their knees to Jesus exposed through the host. They got up to the altar & prayed & then proceeded to the Crucifix & Blessed Mother.

Then walked back to their pews. I have also seen some in the latino community recieve communion & walk backwards to their pews. Fascinating stuff imo. I'd love to know more about those practices.

 

[Michie]

I'll talk to my wife too...she is a champ at Adoration. It is what brought her back to the Church after college.

I'm really curious about what the priest said. About that very quiet voice that the Lord speaks with during Adoration. As well as things just falling into place spiritually. It has me very curious & would love to hear about those experiences.

 

[Michie]

Funny.

Look at what I just ran across.

'Come, stay with me!' Archbishop Timothy Dolan on Eucharistic Adoration

The Church is renowned for all that we do - Catholic charities, health care, schools, youth work, love, service, and evangelization - and rightly so.But what we do must flow from who we are - people of faith, prayer, adoration, our hearts on fire with our Lord, our best friend, the way, the truth, and the life. If what we do does not spring from who we are, we are listless and ineffective.
Full Story

 

[MikeK]

I almost certainly have undiagnosed adult ADD. 1 hour of adoration is hard, it is probably not possible for me to focus on any one thing that long. I have learned to quit beating myself up over it (it really did make me feel lilke a 2nd class Catholic) and start giving what I know I can. If I try to be quiet and listen for God's voice, I end up thinking about the next thing I want to buy or work or something the house needs or som other stupid thing. I have lots of Catholic aps on my phone, they help me a lot. I like to pray the Chaplet of Devine Mercy - that's only 8 minutes or so, I can focus for that long. Then I might read a scripture versee or sing a song of praise in my head. I know that sitting for an hour in quiet contemplation is the ideal, but I also know that showing up for 20 minutes and praying in front of our Lord is better than not showing up at all.

 

[SpiritualAntiseptic]

I'd like to hear experiences concerning Adoration. I went tonight as part of my penance to apologize & talk to Jesus. It was relaxing but I had a very hard time concentrating once I was through talking.

I feel badly about it.

The priest & others have said they have gotten a lot of direction & comfort from the practice. That the Lord speaks very quietly, etc.

I got some thoughts but then my mind started wandering & every little noise distracted me. I looked at the people.... ugh!

Is this something that is mastered or is it a gift?

I'd love to hear about other's experiences good/bad/inbetween concerning this practice.

That's only normal. What the priests are talking about and what you are trying to attempt is contemplative/silent prayer. It can only be described without words, experienced without experience, felt without feelings and known without knowledge. Contemplative prayer, which is found in Eucharistic adoration can only be described in a long string of contradictions and confusing statements.

There is no how to guide on it because by its nature there cannot be. It is deeply personal and goes into the deepest aspect of faith, where words, images and imagination have no meaning. Worst of all, so many people think they know what this form of prayer is and insist upon a particular method and usefulness that it leaves people empty, confused and even let down.

Adoration and contemplative prayer is about love itself, the purest and highest form of love which exists between people and God. Like love among humans itself, which is far simpler, it can't be described and instructions cannot be written. It can only be known initially from the description of the experience of others, which cannot be replicated with any other person. In time, these descriptions and other devices go away, leaving the person along with God, seeing only through faith and darkness, and finding light itself and a knowledge more real than anything on Earth.

It is not a skill, because a skill is an ability directed at achieving something and finding it after exercising it.

 

[FullyMT]

I'd like to hear experiences concerning Adoration. I went tonight as part of my penance to apologize & talk to Jesus. It was relaxing but I had a very hard time concentrating once I was through talking.

I feel badly about it.

The priest & others have said they have gotten a lot of direction & comfort from the practice. That the Lord speaks very quietly, etc.

I got some thoughts but then my mind started wandering & every little noise distracted me. I looked at the people.... ugh!

Is this something that is mastered or is it a gift?

I'd love to hear about other's experiences good/bad/inbetween concerning this practice.

One good practice when distracted during prayer, is to notice it, offer it to God, and then go back to the original prayer. It's good to have a centering word to go back to. If you find yourself distracted by a particular thought, perhaps it is an invitation from God to consider how that thing may be trying to bring you closer or further from Him.

When distracted by someone else in the Church, just say a quick prayer for them and move on (I do that with crying babies and when cell phones go off...I also try to give the phone people the benefit of the doubt...maybe they are awaiting urgent news about a sick relative/friend, or perhaps they are a doctor on-call).

 

[Michie]

I'm more confused than ever.

I'm sorry.

I sit there & my mind wanders. Thats it. *shrug*

I'm frustrated. Maybe I should just skip it all together.

 

[Andrew21091]

I sit there & my mind wanders. Thats it. *shrug*

I'm frustrated. Maybe I should just skip it all together.

Just keep going, keep praying, and just work on keeping your mind focused. It will take some time. FullyMT's post is great. You have to keep working at it.

 

[Michie]

Well...I'm going to try but I cannot deny my frustration. Come to think of it...the priest did say I needed to do it more than a couple of times.


I forgot that till you posted Andrew.

 

[Michie]

Strange I keep running across these articles all the sudden.

The Power of Eucharistic Adoration...

While there’s no doubt that we can pray anywhere, there are special graces that can be received by praying before the Blessed Sacrament. If you’re skeptical (as I once was), I encourage you to try it for yourself. Try spending some time each week with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and see what happens. If you can do it for an hour, that would be ideal. If you can only spend 15 minutes, you will still receive many graces.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen made a holy hour every day of his life and wrote his homilies in Our Lord’s presence. Numerous Saints and popes throughout the ages spoke of the importance of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. The time I spend in adoration is my refuge from the craziness of my daily life and a tremendous source of blessing. Why not try it and see what happens in your own life?

Archbishop Timothy Dolan recently wrote an excellent piece about the relationship between Eucharistic adoration and parish vibrancy. I’d highly recommend that you read it and think about how the power of the Eucharist can transform your life.

Continued- http://www.followingthetruth.com/the-power-of-eucharistic-adoration/