The Presence of Jesus in Adoration

Written by Lauren Stark
A Sophomore on the Leadership Team
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            Growing up Catholic and attending 13 years of Catholic school, I had experience in practically every Catholic activity. I was an altar server and Communion minister. I attended and led retreats. I prayed the rosary. But for some reason, I avoided one event:  adoration.

            I guess I considered adoration something I could do without. I prayed on my own, so why did I need to do it in front of a shiny monstrance?

            So when I attended the Steubenville Youth Conference this summer with my home parish and found out that we would be participating in an hour-long adoration, I was a little nervous and skeptical.

            But that all changed the minute the priest came out holding the monstrance in the air.

Something inside of me stirred. I felt…Jesus. It seems almost too cliché to say, but in that moment when the monstrance was right in front of me, I for the first time truly felt God’s presence—His real presence—inside that host. I fell to my knees and joined all the people around me in prayer. I cried and smiled. The feeling of God’s love filling me was something I had never felt before.

That hour was the quickest of my life, and from that day on, I was hooked on adoration.

Adoration is something uniquely Catholic. When the monstrance that holds Christ is set before the worshippers, He is really and truly in that room. Although we do believe that God is always with us, this is a more tangible way to recognize that—and to remember Jesus’ sacrifice for us. I am truly lucky to be a Catholic and to have adoration as a way for me to worship.

A few weeks ago, I was struggling. I felt disconnected from my friends, my school life, and my faith. And I didn’t want to stay that way. I had been wanting to participate in adoration in Indy since the start of school, but I had been putting it off, once again thinking that I could do enough on my own.

But that day, something—God—was tugging at my heart, telling me to go see Him. I jumped in my car and drove to St. Luke’s down the street. There, in the beautiful adoration chapel, I saw my God again. It was only a short thirty minutes of prayer. And for most of that time, I didn’t say anything. I just sat in His loving presence. And it worked. My spirit was revived, and I felt happy and full again. Adoration connected me again to my faith and the world around me.

I know adoration can seem intimidating or unnecessary. But I really encourage you to give it a try. Just twenty minutes. Bring a prayer book or the Bible. Bring a rosary. Bring some worship music like I do (“Savior, Please” by Josh Wilson is my favorite song to adore God to). Bring your needs and desires. Or just bring yourself and your openness to hear what God has to tell you. You won’t be disappointed.