Eucharistic Adoration

The Archbishop's Committee for Eucharistic Adoration was established in 1997 to support the Archbishop's Strategic Plan Goal #1: To foster conversion through prayer and the Sacraments; and Priority #1: To revitalize participation in the Eucharist, with the primary emphasis on achieving the Archbishop's goal for increased participation in Eucharistic Adoration in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

The committee is a catalyst and a resource to help parishes and schools institute Eucharistic Adoration and increase participation in Eucharistic Adoration. To this end, the committee:

  • conducts various conferences and meetings
  • provides assistance and publicity
  • develops appropriate resources such as prayer cards and pamphlets

We hope the information on these pages will help you increase and promote devotion to the Eucharist.

Download Parish Adoration Times

consecrated life contemplative nuns Eucharistic Adoration Times

Liturgy Notes | Sacred Worship | Archdiocese of St Louis (archstl.org)

Letter from the Chaplain

Venite Adoremus!

By: Msgr. Timothy Cronin

 “O come, let us adore Him” is the familiar antiphon which resounds on Christmas morning and throughout the Christmas season.  In our time the Church continues to call out, “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” by inviting us, her sons and daughters, to believe, to hope, to love and to adore the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

As Chaplain of the Archbishop’s Committee on Eucharistic Adoration and the Legion of One Thousand Adorers at the Carmelite Monastery and Mt. Grace Convent (Pink Sisters), it is my privilege to encourage our priests, deacons, consecrated religious, seminarians, and lay faithful to come to our churches, chapels, and oratories for silent prayer with the Lord.

None of us is immune from a culture that bombards us with stimuli, noise, and distractions.  The clatter of the world is pervasive.  It is difficult to slow down.  Silence can be unsettling.  And the Devil loves this.  He hates the Holy Name of Jesus and is good at spreading lukewarmness about prayer, liturgy and the Sacraments, which Satan abhors.  Yet “wisdom begins with wonder,” as Socrates said.  It may seem impossible to add anything extra to our busy lives, but this is precisely why God draws near to us, more intimate with us than we are with ourselves, to strengthen His divine life within us. 

In his book, The Day is Now Far Spent, Robert Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, reflects upon the loss of the sense of God in our world.  Cardinal Sarah writes, “The West is perhaps too accustomed to [a loss of the wonder of God].  It no longer shivers with joy before the manger scene; it no longer weeps with gratitude before the Cross; it no longer trembles with amazement before the Blessed Sacrament…The inability to wonder is the sign of a civilization that is dying” (p. 127).

God hears our prayers anywhere, of course, but those who visit Him in the Tabernacle will obtain abundant measures of grace.  This wisdom is affirmed by the saints and anyone who has spent time in Eucharistic adoration.  What a gift we have from God, and yet how easily forgotten Jesus’ Real Presence in the tabernacles of our churches has become.  It is no wonder that a recent Pew Research Center (February 2019) found that nearly seven-in-ten Catholics (69%) did not believe that the bread and wine actually become the Body and Blood of Jesus at Holy Mass.  To them, it is just a symbol.

As Catholics, we know innately that if our Churches are slowly emptying from a lack of worshippers at Sunday Mass and Eucharistic adoration, we are in need of remedy.  I encourage my brother priests to witness their love for the Real Presence of our Lord in the Tabernacle by, first of all, daily seeking Jesus out in the Most Holy Eucharist by abiding in His Presence for their own personal prayer, and by encouraging Eucharist adoration among their people.  This is a “proof of gratitude and a pledge of love and a display of the adoration that is owed to Christ the Lord who is present” wrote St. Paul VI in Mysterium Fidei (#69, 71).

Many parishes have Eucharistic exposition with our Lord in the monstrance, but is He left alone?  The Blessed Sacrament must never be left exposed when no one is present.   The use of drapes, or veils, or doors, or glass to shield the monstrance is not the required reposition of the Blessed Sacrament.  If there are no worshipers, the Blessed Sacrament is to be placed in the tabernacle for security and respect. 

The Archbishop’s Committee on Eucharistic Adoration is planning to visit each deanery and those parish representatives who take responsibility for adoration in their parish.  The Committee is available to answer questions and to encourage parishes in their desire to promote prayer before our Eucharistic Lord.  Jesus Christ is reserved in every Tabernacle around the world because you are the most important person in the world to Him, “the Invisible Heart of the Church, the center of all hearts”  (St. Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei).

Wisdom begins with wonder.  Recently this sense of wonder filled my heart when I was praying quietly in the front pew before the manger in our Church on New Year’s Day morning, gazing at the Tabernacle where our Lord is hidden, yet very present.  One by one, parishioners arrived early to Holy Mass for prayer.  The world had just celebrated the arrival of 2020 at the midnight hour, and some of them celebrated at that time too, to welcome a new year.  But now they were kneeling in stillness before the Creator of the world to honor Him and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.  Our Blessed Mother continues to speak the words she said to Her Son at Cana, “They have no wine.”  Our Lady, Mother of the Church and Mother of the Eucharist, is still leading us, Her children, to be filled with the abundance which comes from Her Son at Cana, at Calvary, at every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in every Tabernacle of the world.  May we heed her call:  Venite Adoremus!

Institution of Perpetual Adoration and Increased Participation in Eucharistic Adoration

Key Factors 

  1. Pastor's firm belief in the graces of Eucharistic Adoration and communication of these graces to his parishioners,
  2. Primary responsibility for Eucharistic Adoration resting with a Lay Coordinator and a committee, which report to the Pastor or his designee,
  3. Six to eight people meet once a week to pray for success,
  4. Regular, eye catching bulletin notes (see below, "Promotion and Publicizing in the Parish"),
  5. Expertise of an experienced coordinator from another successful parish (Also see sign-up weekends),
  6. Confidence that Perpetual Adoration is easier to initiate than 1-2 days a week,
  7. Assistance from an experienced guest homilist to promote adoration on sign-up weekend (please refer to list below and - also see sign-up weekends)   

Children's Adoration

  • Arrange an adult and children holy hour (program/schedule)
  • Encourage teachers to bring students to visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
  • Encourage parents to bring their children to their Holy Hour.
  • Use children's prayer card for Eucharistic Adoration (Archbishop's Committee on Eucharistic Adoration) or similar prayers.

Prayers for Children's Visit with Jesus during Eucharistic Adoration

Sign-up Weekends

To increase participation in Eucharistic Adoration, conduct a sign-up weekend every 2-3 years. It is usually best to have a guest priest as a homilist at all Sunday Masses on a weekend (emphasizing the importance, graces/blessing, etc) to inspire people to signup to participate in Eucharistic Adoration. Sign-up forms and pencils should be available in the pews.

Vacant Hour Suggestions

 Vacant Hour Suggestion .doc

 Vacant Hour Suggestion.pdf

 HELPFUL POSTER.pdf

Eucharistic Adoration Newsletters

Letter of invitation to New Catholics from the RCIA

Compose a letter to the newly initiated welcoming them and informing them of the adoration times in your parish. Click here for a sample.

Organizational Requirements for Eucharistic Adoration

Organization

Have in place an organization of lay people who have responsibility for the day to day participation in Eucharistic Adoration in accordance with Parish and USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) requirements. The Head/Lead coordinator for Eucharistic Adoration normally reports to the Pastor or his designee.

Thirty One Questions on Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

view document

 

The organization for Eucharistic Adoration depends on the number days and times of adoration and also the number of adorers. This would include the Head/Lead Coordinator and an appropriate number of coordinators/committee members. The following are examples:

  • For Perpetual Adoration (24 hours, 7 days per week) - In addition to the Head/Lead Coordinator there is probably a need for Midnight, Morning, Afternoon, and Evening Division Leaders/Coordinators. Also need six Hourly Captains reporting to each of the four Division Leaders/Coordinators.
  • For Eucharistic Adoration on one or two days a week - In addition to the Head/Lead Coordinator, there may only be a need for four Monthly Leaders/Coordinators, each of who is responsible for adoration three months of the year. Also consider having a Lead Adorer on each hour of adoration who is requested to be present on time and to stay until the Lead Adorer for the next hour arrives. If the Lead Adorer is not able to be present as scheduled, that person is asked to obtain a substitute, and to tell the substitute of the responsibility of the Lead Adorer.

Attendance Requirements

"Every effort should be made to ensure that there should be at least two people present. There must absolutely never be periods when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed and there is no one present ..." "The use of drapes or doors to shield the monstrance, even for a short period of time, is not the required reposition of the Blessed Sacrament." (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops publication, Thirty-One Questions on Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament- page 11) 

Attendance Log

Provide an attendance log for adorers to sign-in as they enter the chapel for Eucharistic Adoration. Include the date and hourly times on the log and provide a space in the log for scheduled adorers to sign and a separate place for drop-ins/visitors to sign-in at each hourly time.

Contact List

Post a list of leaders and coordinators, with phone numbers, who can be contacted during adoration if there is a concern, such as lack of adorer coverage and for other concerns.

List of Substitutes

To provide for more reliable participation in adoration, develop a list of substitutes (people who are willing to sub for scheduled adorers) with phone numbers, cell, and email, which is made available to adorers for use as needed.

Communicating Changes

Have a system (bulletin, email, phone, bulletin boards, announcement after Holy Mass, etc.) to keep adorers informed of any changes in the schedules for adoration. This can include: Holydays or holidays when the Most Blessed Sacrament may not be exposed or at times when weather conditions cause delays or cancellations.  

Available Prayer Items

Provide approved spiritual reading material for adorers (adults and children) such as Bibles, appropriate books (saints, Eucharistic miracles, etc.) pamphlets and prayer cards [e.g. Eucharistic Adoration Prayers (Archbishop's Committee on Eucharistic Adoration), and other approved prayers. Also, have rosaries (inexpensive plastic rosaries that have been blessed) readily available for use or to keep.
Large Prayer Card: Large Prayer Card.pdf

Papal Prayer Card:  Papal Prayer Card.pdf

Suggested Speakers to Institute and Promote Eucharistic Adoration

Fathers of Mercy
806 Shaker Museum Rd.
Auburn, KY 42206
270.542.4146
270.542.4147
www.fathersofmercy.com

To obtain more information, contact:

Chaplain of the Archbishop's Committee on Eucharistic Adoration
Rev. Msgr. Timothy P. Cronin
St. Mary Magdalen (Brentwood)
314.961.8400 ext. 101
Email: [email protected]

Resources

Bulletin Inserts

Websites

Vatican: The Holy See

www.vatican.va

John Paul II ECCLESIA DE EUCHARISTIA

Vatican Documnets Ecclesia de Eucharistia

Pope Paul VI MYSTERIUM FIDEI ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PAUL VI
ON THE HOLY EUCHARIST
Vatican Documents Mysterium

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

www.usccb.org

The Real Presence Association

www.therealpresence.org
www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/a.html
www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/pea/history.htm

The Fathers of Mercy

http://www.fathersofmercy.com/

Marian Catechists

https://mariancatechist.com/

Eternal Life

www.lifeeternal.org

Adoremus

www.adoremus.org