Isn't this a beautiful picture? Right now it is the current image on my desktop and if you like it, you can download it here. Anyhow, my family and I have been participating in weekly Adoration for about 12 years now. At first, when the kids were all little, my husband and I would switch off every week. Now that the kids are old enough, we pack up the van every Monday night and head off to our local Poor Clare Monastery to spend an hour with Our Lord.
Adoration, in case this is new to you as it was to me at one time, is the adoring of Our Lord in the Eucharist, Who is encased in a monstrance on the altar. The proper form for entering into a chapel where Adoration is taking place is, first and foremost, silence, and then genuflecting with both knees on the ground while making the sign of the cross. Many people, while entering and exiting the chapel, prefer not to turn their back on Jesus while He is exposed in the monstrance.
On a spiritual level, Adoration is like a drug. What I mean is, once you get used to going, you find that you need to KEEP going. The Lord draws you in and captures your heart and you want to and need to keep returning to Him. It is a wonderful, peaceful way to pour out your cares, concerns and thanksgivings to the Lord.
Over the years people have told me that they are afraid to go because they don't know what to do once they get there. Other than the silence and genuflecting that I described above, there is not set "formula" for spending an hour, or even a few minutes, with the Lord. You can pray on your knees, lay prostrate, sit or stand. The only stipulation would be that you not interfere with others that may be there with you. You can read a book, read the Bible, write, pray the rosary or chaplet or any other prayers you like to pray. You can just sit quietly and let the Lord speak to your heart. I've also been told that some people "rest quietly in the Lord" while dozing in His presence (just try not to snore, or drop you book loudly on the floor!).
If you don't have a church or chapel near you that offers Adoration on a regular basis, hopefully you're close to a church that offers it once in awhile. If you don't even have that, then just pop into a church for a visit with Jesus in the tabernacle. Even a few minutes every week will bring graces into your soul.
The world is so troubling and the stress in our lives seems to be increasing at a rapid pace. Adoration is just what you need to soothe your soul and calm your nerves. Many weeks I just don't want to drag myself out, especially when it is cold or raining, but I always feel better when I get back home. If you haven't already, I hope you will make weekly Adoration a part of your schedule. God cannot be outdone in generosity, so what you receive back from that time will be immense.
God Bless!
