Life-Giving

“Jesus has made Himself the Bread of Life to give us life. Night and day, He is there. If you really want to grow in love, come back to the Eucharist, come back to that Adoration.”  Yesterday night, I came across this quote from St. (Mother) Teresa in a little prayer book I was flipping through.  While much of the world was asleep, I sat in Eucharistic Adoration.  From 10:30-11:30 PM, I was able to tune out the noise of the outside world and be still in the presence of Jesus.  And that one hour made all the difference in my week.  How different would our world be if we spent more time sitting in front of the Blessed Sacrament?  As the quote says, the Bread of Life is life-giving and He is there at any time, night and day.  

Many parishes offer adoration at some point, at least throughout the month.  Whether it’s in the early morning, late at night, in the middle of the day, or 24 hours, there are many opportunities to go and pray.  Aside from mass, going to adoration is one of the most important things we can do.  The past couple of Sundays, we’ve been hearing the Bread of Life discourse at mass.  If this passage in scripture does not convince us, what will?  We believe that Jesus is fully present in the Eucharist, body, blood, soul, and divinity so why would we not go and spend time sitting in his presence?
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There are a lot of excuses we may make for ourselves. We all have busy schedules and other commitments.  But making time for and committing to spending time in adoration will be the best thing you do.  Maybe it’s hard to sit in silence for an hour.  The good thing is, there is no time requirement.  Stay for 30 minutes, 15 minutes, or even five.  We might find ourselves distracted or bored.  Nobody is perfect so our minds will wander at times.  Maybe we feel like we can’t hear God or we don’t know what to do in adoration.  Whether we hear God or not, he is there and He sees our efforts and desires to know Him better.  There are so many resources and materials we can use to guide us in our time in adoration.  The world will tell you that this is unproductive and the biggest waste of time, to sit in silence and “do nothing.”  But how could we expect a world that glorifies busyness, noise, and productivity, to understand silence, contemplation, and prayer?

Time spent in adoration will change you.  It will deepen your prayer life and your relationship with God.  It will help you carry on throughout your day and bless you in many ways.  Jesus is waiting, day and night.  Go and spend time with Him because the Bread of Life is truly life-giving and life-changing.