Tag: Adoration

Wednes-dates

Since the beginning of this year, as part of my personal journey to be truly Christ-centered, one of the things I set out to do was go to adoration more. It is a practice that I only really started to appreciate and grow in last year. One of the moments that really hit me was the realization that daily mass and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament isn’t readily available in some areas as it is for many of us here in the Greater Toronto Area. I took for granted the opportunities to attend mass every single day. That’s an opportunity to literally encounter Christ in the Body, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!

Even though I may not have attended daily mass, I still had the opportunity to encounter Christ on a given day through adoration. On campus I could have gone to the Catholic chaplaincy where the Lord was present in the tabernacle. Once I was home more, I became aware of how my local parish of St. Issac Jogues had the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament after the 7:30am mass right up until the 7:00pm mass every Wednesday. If I am home doing “nothing”, then I have no excuse as to why I can’t find 1 hour of my day to go visit Jesus. So since January, I make it a point to go every Wednesday I possibly can, my weekly date with Jesus, my Wednes-dates.

What is Eucharistic Adoration?

It is where you adore and worship Christ who is present through the Eucharist. This can be done where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed and held in a monstrance (refer to blog title photo), or when the Eucharist is present in a tabernacle.

What do you do at adoration?

This is always something I struggled with at first. Do I pray? Am I allowed to ask for things? If I’m done praying do I sit in silence… my mind runs a million miles an hour so I have all these thoughts flooding my brain, so I guess I’m not doing it right?!?!

Well there’s no one “perfect” way of adoring the Lord. First and foremost you are there to adore and worship Christ in the splendid glory of his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Personally I start by prostrating before the Blessed Sacrament before entering a pew or sitting on a chair. I like to kneel majority of the time, but it is perfectly fine if you sit. Do what makes you comfortable and what is within your physical capabilities. However I think it is important that you remain aware of your posture as you are before the Lord.

If you are unsure what to do, you can get an adoration guide which has a series of prayers and reflections you can do. Again personally I start by acknowledging God and meditating upon the mysteries of the rosary. I like to do the rosary at the beginning because I ask Our Lady’s intercession to help guide me closer to her Son, Jesus, and from there I have my conversation (thanksgiving, petitions, general prayers, rants…). I sometimes take the time to journal and reflect.

The hardest part, but I think a crucial part, is also to take the time in silence. To try and listen to what God may be trying to tell you. It’s hard especially when you don’t know how to listen in the silence. Many people are uncomfortable in the silence, myself included at times. But I challenge myself to sit and listen. If I hear nothing or feel nothing, at the very least I know I am spending time in the presence of God and that alone is enough.

How long do I have to stay?

You don’t “have” to do anything. No-one is forcing you. The best part about going to adoration on your own is that it’s on your time and at your pace. There’s no check-point that say you should have completed 5 Our Father’s, 7 Glory Be’s, figure out your entire life purpose and solve global warming within 5minutes or else you’re doing it wrong. You could spend hours in adoration and still leave without any answers. I think what is important again is your posture through it all. Generally speaking, if you practice Holy Hour, which is spending 1 hour before the Blessed Sacrament, you are granted plenary indulgence.

I spend at least 1 hour because of what Jesus said during the agony in the garden of Gethsemane,

 Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour?” – Matt. 26:40

However I can easily spend over 2hours if I’m lost in contemplative prayer. I could just as easily only spend 15minutes if I realize I am running late for something but still wanted to stop in and say “Hi” to Jesus.

Why go to adoration?

Honestly, I don’t know if there are any hard and fast mandatory rules about having to go to adoration from the Catholic Church. I do know that what makes Eucharist adoration different is that it is a personal form of worship. Whereas celebrating a mass is a communal form of worship. We are called to grow both communally and personally. I believe Pope Saint John Paul II has some beautiful writings about it. I myself am still growing and learning.

I personally go to adoration because it is where Christ is. How can anyone develop a relationship with someone if you never take the time to see them? Sure things like long distance relationships exist, but if you had the opportunity to see your significant other and never take the time, then don’t be surprised if your significant other cuts you out of their life. I mean similarly, we can pray to God anywhere and anytime, but that’s just like long distance communication. When I go to adoration, I am meeting my significant other face to face. Christ will always be my constant out of all relationships I ever have and will always be significant, whether I choose to acknowledge it or not. However if I choose to keep away from God, then how can our relationship develop and grow? How can God reveal the plans He has for me? How will I know His love for me, even in the hardest of times when I do not feel his presence?

Adoration is where I come face to face with Jesus, and I am able to grow in agape love.

Does it work?

Yes. In God’s timing. All my prayers, heart aches, trials and tribulations, hopes and dreams – from this past year alone I can see a definite increase in how God is working with me, in me and for me. It’s not to say you go to adoration, pray to win the lottery and wake up a millionaire (although, hey, always worth the shot… lol) Rather after dedication and constantly going to adoration I can see how God has changed me and is still continuously working on me. My prayers are being answered in His perfect timing (even though sometimes I may not like the waiting part) but because I know that He is taking care of me, it allows me to hope and for my faith to be made stronger.

In Christ,

Meagan Webb

Choose your Battle

After several months of preparing for the conference, I have gone through a lot of challenges and stressful situations. One of which for 2 weeks now, is that 4 of my scheduled one on ones have been postponed twice already. Majority of it is because a lot of things happened on their end which are not in their own hands or something comes up with my schedule. Because of the postponements, these are carried over to the next week which makes my schedule so filled up. On the other hand I still continue to go to my personal adoration time. Recently, it was hard for me to hear the Lord. No matter how long I spend there, there is an estrange feeling.

I have been figuring out my schedule for the week and searching for the times when I can rest and release the stress (either doing something physical, sports or watching shows that can temporarily refresh my mind and feelings). I told myself maybe i should shorten my adoration time anyway I am not doing or getting anything from it so I can do more “recreational” activities.

Few questions crossed my mine; Is it really worth my time and effort to be stressed out by the hectic schedule? Do i have a choice? Can i just rule out adoration time anyway I am already serving the Lord? These questions were so loud.

I have to learn to see which is more essential and make that a priority. If there’s anything else that I should be stressed out, it is the quality of time that I give to the Lord. It is to prioritize my relationship of the Lord. The battle I choose to fight is my relationship with the Lord above all else.

 

 

Candy

Philippians 1:29

Crown of Creation

This past weekend I attended ‘Princess Diaries‘ that Toronto SFC hosted for all the sisters. I was excited to just be a participant and not have to worry about serving. But then a week before the event, Renee, the GTA West Head asked me if I could lead the Praisefest for Saturday night. And you know what happened that whole week before the event? PANIC.

I was so mentally drained from trying to figure out the dynamics of a worship, the order of the songs, the prayers that go before the songs, the appropriate songs, the transitions, and everything else in between. On Friday morning I reached some point of mental desperation and just exasperatedly told God that he really should have chosen someone else.

———————
To understand this more let’s look at the three  desires planted in every woman’s heart:

photo-2014-02-24-21-35-00-913

a) the desire to be romanced
b) the desire to play an irreplaceable role in an adventure
c) the desire to unveil beauty

Those desires are often misunderstood which is why a lot of sisters end up broken. We turn to the wrong sources to fill the void. I myself sought those desires out in multiple people, men boys who had no other agenda other than to fulfill their own desires.

Fifteen minutes before the session ended (New Heartbeats) He granted me the grace and wisdom to finally see all the pieces come together. And when it finally sank in, I could not contain the peace, joy and love that was pouring out of my own heart!

He said,

“My dearest Therese. These desires are not something to be afraid of. Do not deny yourself these desires because each one will lead you closer to me. Do you not already know that every movement in your heart is known to me? I fashioned that very thing that beats inside of you. Unite it with my sacred heart and will understand better the plans I have for you, as woman.”

 

THE DESIRE TO BE ROMANCED, I placed in you so that you will come to me in Adoration. I will embrace every part of you in the silence. Come to me, and I will pour myself out to you. Do not be afraid to glance out at me for I long to look out at your face. Each time you come, the heavens rejoice. This is where you belong, this is where you are meant to be- here with me. My beloved I have waited for you and you are finally here! Have FAITH that I am here.

THE DESIRE TO PLAY AN IRREPLACEABLE ROLE, I placed in you so that you will come to the House of Worship and receive me in the Holy Eucharist. Come to me exactly as you are. You say to me, Lord but I am broken, battered, shattered.  And His reply: “But I NEED YOU. YES, YOU.” From the moment you receive me on your tongue you become the ultimate living tabernacle and you are NO longer broken, battered, shattered. I pour out my Holy Spirit within you, and my love which is far more precious than gold will bind you back together. There will always be HOPE.

THE DESIRE TO UNVEIL BEAUTY, I placed in you so that you will come to me in Confession. No sin you’ve committed, no sin that you are committing, no sin that you will commit can ever be too much for my cross. Nothing is more beautiful than a woman who humbles herself and acknowledges her weaknesses and limitations. All those layers you choose to hide behind, the masks you choose to wear around you will all be washed away. In every single instance, you come out as clean and pure just as I intended for you to be. I meet you with nothing but LOVE.

Wow. Praise the Lord. I could not contain myself in that tiny little seat. The Lord fulfilled ALL THOSE DESIRES in me within the past 24hrs! He granted me my trinity run; Adoration at Our Lady of Lourdes the night before, Confession before the last session, and Eucharist shortly after. The Lord loved me so much that He made straight my paths right before I stood before my sisters with a heart that was now READY AND WILLING.

“You, eternal trinity, are a deep sea. The more I enter you, the more I discover, and the more I discover, the more I seek you.”- St. Catherine of Siena

Amen.

Zion.

I just came from Hillsong United’s Zion concert, and it had a very profound effect on me. It was something unexpected for sure. Having been listening to Hillsong for most of my YFC life, it’s hard not to dream that one day you’ll worship with the band who actually made the songs. And they did not disappoint, the lights were on point, the songs sounded like they came off a CD played on loud speakers, they sang some of their old songs and of course their new songs. If I was in the same concert 5 years ago, I would’ve easily said that this was the best experience of my life. But tonight, everything about it was off.

I understand that Hillsong is a different church altogether, that I had to do the sign of the cross myself when they started and ended. I knew that, and I was okay with that. In one of their first few songs however, I found myself crying, not because of the song being sung – which was musically beautiful by the way – but because there was a real longing and realization of the truth.

I cried not because it was a song I would play when I wanted to be in prayer, but because today was a Tuesday. Tuesday is the one day of the week that I go to Adoration, Confession, and Mass aside from my Sunday obligation. I cried because I thought I made the better decision in spending my Tuesday night in Hamilton with thousands to “worship” The Lord, only to realize I left The Lord at the altar waiting for me for our weekly date. You see, I realized that though worship is beautiful and should be done, it fails in comparison to the actual presence of God in the blessed Sacrament. To actually behold Him in adoration, to be reunited with Him in confession, and to be offered Him in the Eucharist. No amount of jumping up and down can compare to being with the real presence of Jesus in the blessed Sacrament.

The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. – CCC 1324

The mountain upon which the City of God is built is called Zion. But its source and summit will always be the Eucharist.

And I say this with complete confidence because I say this in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

And let all the people say, Amen.

This blog is originally hosted on my personal blog at http://www.kevinmuico.com/2013/11/13/zion/

Trinity Run

Winter is fast approaching, and I can already feel my body starting to switch over to hibernation mode. Soon enough it’ll be too hard to get up out of bed, nearly impossible to escape out of those double duvets. Tis the season for excusing our way out of health habits.

I used to run regularly to maintain some sort of physical activity but that died down since who knows when. Spring is always difficult to face after long winters because of the three month break. I personally loathe treadmills and will refuse to get on one. I’d rather wait. I much rather prefer the great outdoors, but Toronto winter weather does very little to help with that. Daylight savings mean shorter days and longer nights. It takes approximately two weeks to adjust. My body is definitely losing on this front.

Our spiritual health suffers from the same changes. We have cycles where we’re going  strong- we’ve found some sort of groove with our prayer time and involvement with the sacraments. At these moments, our relationship with Christ is toned and trimmed. Excess weight cut off. The closer we get to Christ the less baggage we carry- our material and worldly desires no longer necessary. We are tied down to less.

But then, at some point, we face an itch of sorts. An itch that just needs to be scratched. A craving that just needs to be satisfied. A thirst that needs to be quenched. But instead of reaching for the healthy & obvious choice of water we go for the Coke. Pepsi. Ginger Ale. Root Beer.  And just like that, our impenetrable fortress comes crashing down. Why? Because we foolishly ignored that cracked wooden frame that started to break- little by little. It was easier to feign ignorance to something that needed fixing. It’s easier to give in and let our human needs win.

“I’m only doing it once.” I still exercise anyway. Cheating won’t hurt.” 

That’s what I realize happened to me. And for some reason or another, I kept making excuses and reasoned my way out of a very fruitful, beautiful prayer habit. It only took one small “set back”. I cut down my prayer time, my weekday church dates, and adoration drop ins so that I could bulk up on old habits which I knew were only going to get me in worse (spiritual) shape.

Negative thoughts filled my head. I became impatient, moody, and lethargic. Two weeks passed since my last confession, and although I knew I needed it PRONTO …my body would magically (temporarily) shake off the anxiety. It made me think I could keep going. Nyeh, it can wait.

Nope.

Confession is our detox. Our body needs to get rid of built up toxins the same way our soul needs to get rid of impurities. Getting through it is tough, but we always come out healthier afterwards. Praise God, for God because I finally went for that detox round. He knew I needed it. And I knew I needed it. The hardest step is always the first, the hardest run is always the most dreadful.

Our prayer life can be a long outstretched summer. However if we trip and fall into the darkness of winter, we shouldn’t despair. We don’t have to endure three months of waiting. We can choose to fast forward to spring.  My winter lasted 8 days too long, but today’s TRINITY RUN (adoration, confession and Holy Eucharist) allowed me to see the Son rise gloriously. Thankfully, our salvation and redemption is not bound by time, because we are loved by a God whose love is endless and timeless. 

 “A clean heart is a free heart. A free heart can love Christ with an undivided love in chastity, convinced that nothing and nobody will separate it from His love.”
-Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

Exchange of Hearts

Whenever I go to adoration I always ask the Lord to reveal Himself in ways that I can easily recognize Him. I believe that with His presence there, as adorer there will be an additional personal manifestation of the Lord that is very intimate between the two of us. I believe also that the more I go to adoration, the more my relationship with Him progresses.

When we go to adoration, we go to the Lord with our hearts open. We approach Him with honest, open and real hearts. We expose ourselves to the Lord in the adoration. It is where the meeting of our heart and the heart of the Lord. What the Lord wants to happen when we are in front of Him in the Blessed Sacrament is an exchange of hearts. I give to Jesus my imperfect, wounded heart, He replaces it with His heart full of joy, love, mercy, compassion, patience and hope. That’s why in when I go out after adoration, my heart is different from when I entered. My heart is just so ready to love, full of zeal and ready to conquer the world for Him. During adoration, the renewal of hearts happen. In adoration, He heals our hearts. In adoration He sees our hearts – the joy, the laughters, the aches, and the tears. In adoration, He touches and kisses our hearts so our hearts are transformed to be His heart. We expose ourselves to Him because He first exposed Himself. The adoration is where the divine heart consumes the human heart.

Candy

Philippians 1:29

He is already there

When I pray I just have to believe that the Lord is there, that He is always ready to listen to me. Human as I am, how I want to physically feel the Lord or emotionally at least. In one of my adoration times, this is what the Lord revealed to me. I may not hear Him, feel Him but I believe He is here. When I go to adoration He is already there waiting, I just have to bring all myself to Him. I think what is more important is that He is there whether I am still preparing myself, trying to focus. Thank You Lord for going before me. You are always there!