Escaping the Noise

Friday night, my brother and I were on a walk and as we were waiting for a car to turn so we could cross the street, something really weird happened.  The guy driving the car, who looked to be in his 30s, rolled down his window, stuck his head out the window, turned to look at us and screamed really loudly.  Neither of us knew who this man was and we were confused as to what had just happened and why.  We continued on with walking our normal route and were a few steps past our church when we decided to go back, pause our walk, and stop in for eucharistic adoration that was taking place that evening.  We stayed only for about 10 minutes, but those 10 minutes of sitting before Jesus in the blessed sacrament were filled with quiet and peace.  Going to adoration provides a quiet and peace that the world does not offer.

As I kneeled in the church, I could not help but think about what had happened a few minutes before, as we were waiting to turn onto the street.  The man who screamed was a perfect representation of the world.  The world around us is screaming and yelling- telling us what to believe or not to believe, telling us what we should fill our time with, and showing us what is supposed to make us happy.  The world around us is oftentimes angry and mad.  And if we let our minds be consumed by everything in the world, we will never find peace or experience the stillness and quietness.

Stepping into a church or chapel for adoration is by far the best place to encounter this peace that the world does not know.  It is the best place because we get to sit before Jesus who is truly present and who is peace Himself.  It is an opportunity to step away from the outside noise and spend time speaking to Jesus, but also listening.

Aside from mass, eucharistic adoration is the best way we can spend our time.  St. Alphonsus Mary Liguori summed it up well saying, “know that perhaps you will gain more in a quarter of an hour of adoration in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament than in all the other spiritual exercises of the day.”  Any time spent with Jesus is time that makes a difference in our relationship with Him, even if just for 10-15 minutes.
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Find time to go to eucharistic adoration.  It will not only fill you with peace and help you escape from the noise of life, but it will also change your heart.  It will help you to know Jesus better so that you can love Him more deeply.  The world is screaming because it does not know Jesus and the peace He gives.  May you take time to leave the noise behind for a while and sit before Jesus in the blessed sacrament, even if just for 10 minutes at a time.