Eucharistic Adoration is reopening Monday May 25th!
Eucharistic Adoration is available every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 8 AM to 8 PM at St Joseph the Worker Parish Take a moment from your day and pause for even a brief visit with our Lord.
Guardians are needed to keep our adoration offering alive!!
Here are answers to some common questions concerning Eucharistic Adoration.
I already go to Mass every Sunday, pray privately at home, and
try to be a good person. Why should I go to adoration? Isn’t
Christ in each of us? God hears my prayers even at home already,
right?
Yes, Christ is in all these things, and all these things are good. The
reason we go to Adoration is similar to why we go to Church: to worship
as communion/community and to build our relationship with God
and others. We find our spiritual nourishment, and we encounter God.
The Eucharist at its pinnacle is the consecration and consumption,
becoming our spiritual food, but it also is so much more than that.
Because Christ is dually both God and man, one cannot separate the
divine nature from the physical. The consecrated host becomes truly
the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus. While many struggle with
this great mystery, both today and in the time of Jesus, it is part of the
foundation of the Catholic Church, and the basis for Eucharistic Adoration.
What is the difference in having Christ in the Tabernacle versus
Christ in the Monstrance?
The Monstrance allows for a more personal experience with Christ in
the Eucharist. God gives the Church the sacraments because he
seeks to interact with us physically as well as spiritually. In the same
way that a visit would be more personal than a phone call or email,
spending time with Him near the monstrance, gives us real personal
time that we just cannot experience in prayer alone or hidden by the
tabernacle. We exalt Christ and honor his sacrifice when we display
the Eucharist. We can see the elevated demand placed on protecting
the Eucharist when in exposition and that should give us a notion of
the intimacy that comes from that same vulnerability.
What is the time requirement of adoration?
Guardians make a commitment to the Lord to be with him for a
one-hour time frame on the same day each week. Guardians may
take as many of these one hour shifts as they like but need to
commit to that same hour every week.
What happens if our schedules change or we go on vacation?
While you should make every effort to spend your hour with the
Lord each week and try to be steady about it, we know your
schedule will change. If you are unable to find your own replacement
from among your friends or family members, (a great way to
evangelize!) please let someone on the management team know
that you need a substitute. For further assistance we are preparing
a list of all Guardians with phone numbers, who may be able
to trade or cover for you in the event of your absence. The Adoration
Coordinators will also be able to help you switch your times
or find a replacement. If you are going to have a scheduled absence
please let the Adoration Coordinators know in advance. If
you are sick, you may also call a coordinator to let them know as
soon as possible and they will be able to schedule a substitute.
Why is it so important that someone is always present?
In the Catholic Church, we have many sacramentals: the rosary,
holy water, the bible, a crucifix, statues of Angels and Saints, etc.
These are holy items that are given due respect for what they
represent. The Eucharist is not a sacramental, but a sacrament. It
is not just an item that reminds us of Christ, but it is the physical
body of Christ himself. The exposition in the monstrance leaves
Christ vulnerable and must be properly attended at ALL times.
Just as a Marine would never leave the body of another fallen
Marine behind, faithful Catholics would never leave Christ’s Body
unattended, EVER.