PERPETUAL ADORATION OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT
Perpetual Adoration is devotion to The Holy Eucharist where the Catholic faithful, usually parishioners, commit to hours of adoration before the Most Blessed Sacrament during the day and throughout the night, seven days a week, so Our Lord is always accompanied 24 hours a day.
Those who sign up for a weekly Holy Hour with the Blessed Sacrament commit to accompany Our Lord and intercede through prayer for the needs of others for at least one hour, usually scheduled weekly. Our Perpetual Adoration is an important form of worship and a powerful means for strengthening our faith in Christ. Committing a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament gives us graces needed to overcome temptations, endure sufferings, and diminish anger so we may courageously live out the commandments of God. In this time with God, we gain the wisdom needed to understand his will for our lives, to build up our families in Christ, and to gain every blessing that comes in serving the Kingdom of God.
Adoration is the first attitude of man acknowledging that he is a creature before his Creator. It exalts the greatness of the Lord who made us and the almighty power of the Savior who sets us free from evil. Adoration is homage of the spirit to the "King of Glory," respectful silence in the presence of the "ever greater" God. Adoration of the thrice-holy and sovereign God of love blends with humility and gives assurance to our supplications. (Catechism 2628)
How To Make a Holy Hour at Good Shepherd
Making a commitment to accompany Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel one hour a week is simple and can be a truly transformative experience. Please take a moment to review how to make a Holy Hour at our parish:
- After making a decision to commit one hour a week before the Blessed Sacrament, contact the Adoration Coordinator, Ivette Gonzalez at adoration@gscatholic.org or call the office at (305) 385-4320 and leave your contact information. Ivette will secure a time slot of your convenience but please ask what time slots are of greatest need to determine if you might be able to fill those openings first.
- Once you arrive at your assigned time, the most important thing to realize about making a private Holy Hour is that you don’t have to do anything. All you have to do is be present to the One who is present to you. Many times, we need to be silently present - not analyzing, thinking, or saying prayers with our lips, simply being present with our hearts. Even a few short moments of this silent presence to the Lord is a precious treasure, for it is in this silence that the Lord speaks to us. As we sit in silence before the Lord, we are irradiated by His Eucharistic presence. In the silence of his presence, he ministers to us with his healing and merciful love.
- If after an initial period of silent Adoration, you feel a desire to pray, or read, or write, then simply allow yourself to move naturally into whatever activity you feel led to do at each moment. Reading the Scriptures, pamphlets, or books is always appropriate. Many like to pray the Rosary or make the Stations of the Cross. The Chaplet of Divine Mercy and other prayers from the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska are especially suitable during Eucharistic Adoration. Traditional prayers in preparation for Holy Mass or in thanksgiving after Mass can also be very fruitful. The Chaplet of Divine Mercy holds a special place of honor as a Eucharistic prayer because it is a continuation of the offering of the Mass.
- A good way to end a Holy Hour is to thank the Lord for his presence, for his love, for all he has done and will do in your life. Express your adoration with your whole body and soul, and renew your commitment to live each moment of your life as a living sign of his presence, of his mercy to the world.
- Please take a moment to review the Adoration Guidelines which provides a more detailed description of proper adoration conduct.