ADORATION THAT LEADS TO PEACE
“I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap, so is my soul within me.” -Psalm 131:2
The prayers of our rich Catholic heritage for the faithful departed are largely centered on a fervent petition for peace—that they may be at rest. The ultimate goal of the human life is to find rest in God’s presence. In Augustine’s classic formulation, “our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee”.
Chesterton put it this way: “There are, as a matter of fact, any number of old pictures in which whole crowds are crowned with haloes, to indicate that they have all attained Beatitude. But for Catholics it is a fundamental dogma of the Faith that all human beings, without any exception whatever, were specially made, were shaped and pointed like shining arrows, for the end of hitting the mark of Beatitude. It is true that the shafts are feathered with free will, and therefore throw the shadow of all the tragic possibilities of free will; and that the Church…does also draw attention to the darkness of that potential tragedy. But that does not make any difference to the gloriousness of the potential glory. In one aspect it is even a part of it; since the freedom is itself a glory…”
We all long for rest in God; we don’t just long for it, we were made for it and we will not be at peace until we are found in union with Him. Our experience in this life however often leaves us restless and agitated, like a fussy baby unable to find serenity and peace of soul. This is why Eucharistic Adoration is so profound for us, because it is a foretaste in this life of the Beatific Vision when we will find rest in the sight of God, not veiled beneath the appearance of a Eucharistic Host, but face to face. Prayer before our Eucharistic Lord is a path to peace.
Since the early 1990s, we have been blessed with the robust ministry of Eucharistic Adoration here at Holy Cross. Although our adoration schedule has had to be modified through the years, we are determined that Adoration must remain a core spiritual activity of our parish. Next weekend at all our Masses we will focus our attention on Eucharistic Adoration within our parish as we prepare to shift our adoration schedule beginning at the start of Advent. Beginning on December 3rd our schedule for adoration will be as follows:
Monday—7:15-11:00am (Holy Cross Church)
Tuesday-Friday—7:15-8:15am (Holy Cross Church)
Tuesday—10:30am-8:00pm (St. Hedwig Church)
Wednesday—3:00-6:00pm (Holy Cross Church)
Thursday—1:00-6:00pm (St. Hedwig Church)
You will note that one of our priorities is to add additional afternoon and evening times for those who are not available for daytime hours. You will also note that we will be shifting away from using the current Adoration Chapel in the Holy Cross Convent. By shifting adoration into our beautiful churches, we will be able to have for better accessibility, climate control, access control, and security measures. This new schedule keeps the total number of hours consistent with our current offerings but longer-term, we hope to grow the hours as we are able.
Our ability to make these adjustments to our schedule of Eucharistic Adoration depends on our securing additional committed, weekly adorers to sign up for a consistent day and time as well as substitute adorers. Our goal for each hour is at least two, but ideally three, committed adorers. Please let us know if you wish to become a Committed Adorer or a Substitute Adorer for a particular time slot. You can reach out to adoration@ourholycross.org. You will hear some testimonies next weekend and have an opportunity to make a commitment. If you are looking for greater peace and stillness in your heart, consider making the commitment to draw close to Christ in adoration.
Peace is His gift to us!
Fr. Howe