Thursday: a fitting day for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

| | Comments (0)

In some places it's now catching-on that Thursday is a fitting day for Eucharistic adoration with the intention of reparation, perhaps replacing Fridays if one had to make a choice or either-or. I tend to think that Thursday is a more apt for Eucharistic adoration on a stable basis in one's life and perhaps in parish life since as Catholics our center is Eucharistic and the identification the Church makes with events that happened on Holy Thursdays and Corpus Christi. Some theologians and spiritual writers today are advocating this move for just this reason: Do this in memory of me. Whatever the case is, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is clearly a return to "the Cenacle, there to relive in adoration and joy the gift and mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist."

adoration5.jpg

Thinking about what Pope Benedict XVI has said regarding the Lord's Supper, "the Church commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, the ministerial priesthood and the new commandment of charity, left by Jesus to his disciples." In another place he said that there is a "...renewed invitation to render thanks to God for the supreme gift of the Eucharist, to be received with devotion and to be adored with lively faith. Because of this, the Church encourages, after the celebration of Holy Mass, watching in the presence of the Most Holy Sacrament, recalling the sad hour that Jesus passed in solitude and prayer in Gethsemane, before being arrested and then being condemned to death." We therefore adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, either following Mass or at another time to live in the graces of what happened at Mass. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament extends the graces of the Mass even after Mass has ended.

What better day than to work on this invitation to live in a spirit of renewal with the Eucharist, the ministerial priesthood and the theology of the Mass. The gift of sanctification (holiness) promised us by the Lord is made real in the bond we have with the Eucharistic Lord. Our lives depend on it because a strong Eucharistic spirituality centers our heart in the heart of the Church.

Leave a comment

About the author

Paul A. Zalonski is from New Haven, CT. He is a member of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, a Catholic ecclesial movement and an Oblate of Saint Benedict. Contact Paul at paulzalonski[at]yahoo.com.

Categories

Archives

Humanities Blog Directory

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Paul Zalonski published on July 30, 2009 5:10 PM.

Saint Peter Chrysologus was the previous entry in this blog.

How Communion and Liberation moved me: Fr Meinrad Miller reflects is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.