“When we contemplate Him present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar, Christ draws near to us and becomes more intimate to us than we are to ourselves. Remaining in silence before the Blessed Sacrament, it is Christ totally and really present whom we discover, whom we adore and with whom we are content.”
-Pope St. John Paul II
Last spring when we conducted the survey regarding preferred weekend Mass times, we also polled parishioners about their interest in expanded opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration, and were pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming response in favor or expanding adoration times.
In light of that response, we will begin offering weekly Eucharistic Adoration in Church each Wednesday afternoon/evening beginning at 3pm and continuing until 7pm with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. This will be offered in addition to our current morning adoration times on the First Friday of each month. This will begin on Wednesday, June 10!
While all parishioners are invited and encouraged to make a Holy Hour, or at least a brief visit to Jesus, during this time, we will need at least two official adorers present at all times the Blessed Sacrament is exposed upon the altar. Adorers are asked to commit to being present for at least 30 minutes at a time, and generally make this commitment on a regular (weekly, bi-monthly or monthly) , on-going basis.
Please call Sharon Raab in the parish office (816- 436-0880) to indicate your preferred time slot(s – you may choose more than one if you wish!) and frequency. Eventually, we will compile a roster of regular adorers and substitutes which will be distributed to all regular adorers for the purposes of finding an occasional substitute when necessary. As we know the prospect of lengthy periods of silent prayer can be daunting, especially at first, we are working to provide prayer books and other resources to be made available to all who wish to avail themselves of this wonderful opportunity.
Years ago, when promoting Eucharistic Adoration, I had a parishioner, a faithful and wellmeaning man who was also very practical, ask, “What do you mean, Father, like sit in an empty Church?” I explained to him that adoration involved sitting (or kneeling or standing) in Church, but that the Church is never “empty” since the Lord always dwells with us in the Blessed Sacrament. The question, “What to do?” might be answered by the simple words of the Holy Curé of Ars, St. Jean Marie Vianney, who said: "When we go before the Blessed Sacrament, let us open our heart; our good God will open His. We shall go to Him; He will come to us; the one to ask, the other to receive. It will be like a breath from one to the other."
-Fr. Joseph Totton