WHAT DOES FORMATION OF ADORERS MEAN?
- Adoration is the highest form of worship due to God alone
- We are all called to adore God
- Formation means the action of forming or the process of being formed
- Synonyms are emergence, coming into being, genesis, and development
- Opposite antonyms are destruction, disappearance, and dissolution
- Formation involves leading individuals by by example, word and deed to adore God
- Helping them to love God above all and to give divine worship due to Him alone
- Facilitating spending time adoring, enfolded in His Eucharistic embrace
- Developing and growing in profound love of the Blessed Sacrament
- Progressing in contemplative prayer through holy hours
- Leading souls to the school of silence in His Eucharistic Presence
- We learn to adore, and develop as adorers, by adoring
- “The goal of any Christian formation is to pass on this intimate sense of the incarnate and risen life of Christ. Only charity, agape, can pass on agape.” Abbot’s Homily, Dec 27, 2019 at Westminster Abbey – Lectio Divina
- Becoming catechized and educated in Church doctrine on the Eucharist
- Increasing faith in and devotion to Jesus in the most holy Eucharist
- Praying, making visits, and holy hours before Jesus in the Tabernacle or the Blessed Sacrament exposed, and encouraging others to do so
- Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon SJ called adorers “apostles of the Eucharist”
- Education is important yet keep in mind that real formation integrates into the integrity of our behaviour. Holiness is a lifelong process of integrating what we have learned; striving to know, love and serve Him and to live according to His Commandments.
Enjoy listening to Chant while reading about adorer formation
Dominican seminarians teaching Gregorian Chant:
HOW ARE ADORERS FORMED?
- Start or increase Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament:
- Pastors and parishes should provide opportunities for exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with time for silent adoration
- How can we adore Jesus Real Presence unless we have access to Him?
- Spend as much time as you can before the Blessed Sacrament and He will fill you with His strength and His power – St. Teresa of Calcutta
- Schedule a Eucharistic adoration sign-up weekend at your parish
- On this weekend, parishioners will be invited sign-up for a weekly holy hour
- We will provide suggested (not mandatory) simple, basic Eucharistic catechesis & pre-evangelization bulletin inserts, homiletics, (and sample sermons upon request) to better prepare for your Adoration sign-up weekend and maximize the response.
- We will help to let prospective adorers know the benefits of, and reasons for, making a weekly holy hour and how to make a holy hour
- Give new adorers copy of our Adorer Welcome Info kit
- Open or increase the adoration chapel/site
- Keep the church open so that people can also pray holy hours before the Tabernacle
2. Parishes & Coordinators – Continue Promotion of Adoration:
- Thank pastors, coordinators and adorers
- Provide ongoing example, preaching, encouragement, education
- Continue encouraging making weekly and even daily holy hours before Jesus in the Monstrance or the Tabernacle and frequenting the Sacraments
- Make use of our parish and adoration coordinator resources and extra resources
- Insert a Eucharistic quote in the parish bulletin on a weekly basis.
- We will provide you with a database of hundreds of quotes.
- Create a parish bulletin section called: “Benefits of Eucharistic Adoration”
- Invite the schools, have the school principal schedule teachers to bring classes to the church/chapel during the day for 1/2 – 1 hour per class.
3. Provide and read literature on the Eucharist, prayer, making a holy hour etc:
- Have Eucharistic books, prayer books and literature at the adoration site for people to peruse while in the chapel/church
- St. Peter Julian Eymard is known as the Apostle of the Eucharist. His writings are excellent resource recommended for your adoration chapel library as ideal for ongoing formation of adorers, as well as for homiletics, catechetics, bulletin inserts and quotes.
- Purchase copies of literature on How to Make a Holy Hour
- Purchase, read and keep in your chapel: A Eucharistic Retreat – 25 Meditations on the Blessed Sacrament – by Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- Also: The Blessed Sacrament, by Servant of God Father John A. Hardon SJ “at his remarkable best! Transcribed from a series of 12 conferences given by Fr. Hardon in 1998, this new publication will give you fresh insights and many avenues for meditation on Jesus in His Real, true, physical, divine Presence in the Blessed Sacrament – a thorough compendium of Church teaching regarding the Holy Eucharist.”
- The 1983 Code of Canon Law abrogated the penalty of anathema mentioned in the Council of Trent, which had historical value, but is not current law. Catholic Apologist Jimmy Akin actually has a brief article on the change here. Current Canons on the Eucharist can be found on the Vatican website here
- Promote videos on the Mystery of the Eucharist
- Read materials from The Real Presence Association
- Promote frequenting the sacraments and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
- Understanding the Eucharist – the Greatest Need in the Church Today – Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- Form Eucharistic prayer and study groups in parishes
- Listen to Eucharistic audios of Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon SJ of the Real Presence: Audio Archives – A Eucharistic Retreat by Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- Profession of the Catholic Faith by Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- Audio Archives – Sermons by Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- Audio Archives – Basic Catholic Morality by Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- Archives Index by Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- History of Eucharistic Adoration by Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- Through this, we grow as lovers of the Blessed Sacrament
- Make a commitment to a specific hour or time frame. There are many distractions otherwise.
- Start and Pray holy hours
- Consider getting a copy of and praying the “Prayer of the Church” (also known as Liturgy of the Hours, Divine Office, or the Brievary) before the Blessed Sacrament and at home
- We learn how to adore by beginning to adore
- How to Adore – Fr. Jerome MSE
- Our Blessed Mother leads people to adore her Son and Lord in the Eucharist
- God and Our Blessed Mother call and form Eucharistic adorers
- We learn by example – seeing priests and others adoring, forms and inspires us
- We learn by watching others adore and emulating them
- The Father, Son and Holy Spirit form us as adorers, through Mary
- Start forming adorers as young as possible: Adoration for children and young people
- Continue inviting seniors who have more time to spend in prayer
- Evangelize – invite others to your adoration site
- Tell people how meaningful the time spent in adoration is to you
- Use a prayer journal to write on how Our Lord may inspire and speaks to your heart and mind. Note blessings, favours granted, petitions, prayers, resolutions
- Have a prayer bag with the rosary, books, prayer cards, a journal, to take to the adoration chapel, which is a spiritual engine room for the parish and your life
- There may be a number of organizations or groups in your diocese that will boost your prayer and spiritual life i.e. Marian Movement of Priests Cenacles of Prayer, Opus Dei Recollections
5. Increase and Grow in Personal Prayer:
- Pray for the gift of prayer
- Ask the Holy Spirit and Our Lady for help and guidance
- Repeat spontaneous aspirations and prayers: “Jesus I love and adore You!”
- He is there. He will do it. If we only come to Him
- Over time we develop our own adoration practises as we spend time in prayer
- Pray silently at the Consecration at Mass: “My Lord and my God!” “My God I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee. I ask pardon for all those that do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.” (Prayer given by a holy angel of peace to Servant of God Sr. Lucia Santos – approved Fatima prayer)
- Persevere in committed prayer, through consolation, desolation, sorrows and joys.
- Fr. Mark Goring CC refers to adorers in his parish as a “community of beloved disciples”.
- Show reverence, remember whose presence you are in, genuflect, maintain silence
- Westminster Abbey Lectio Divina
- Monastic Resources from Westminster Abbey in Canada
- Lectio Divina – Saint John’s Abbey
- Lectio Divina Guide from Saint John’s Abbey
- Christian Prayer Starting with the Psalms
- Pdf of the Lectio Divina guide
- Online intercessor experiences: Marian Devotional Movement
6. Education and Catechesis – study and learn more about Catholic teachings regarding the Eucharist and adoration
Watch videos – links you may want to include on your parish website or show in parish for pre-evangelization, catechesis and chapel renewal:
- The Holy Eucharist as the Real Presence – by Fr. John A. Hardon SJ – The body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ, therefore the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
- The Real Presence of Christ # 1 – by Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- The Real Presence of Christ # 2 – by Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- The Real Presence of Christ # 3 – by Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- The Real Presence of Christ # 4 – by Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- The Real Presence of Christ # 5 – by Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- The Real Presence of Christ # 6 – by Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- The Real Presence of Christ # 7 – by Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- The Real Presence of Christ # 8 – by Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- The Real Presence of Christ # 9 – by Fr. John A. Hardon SJ
- “Dominus Est: The Eucharistic Spirituality of Fr. John Hardon, S.J.,” by Rev. Louis Guardiola, C P M
- Ven. Fulton Sheen on Adoration – Sensus Fidelium
- How Do I Pray? By Bishop Cozzens – audio link
- https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mse-homilies-and-talks/id1084236880?mt=2
- http://www.biblicalcatholic.com/apologetics/s16.htm
- Eucharistic Adoration at Catholic Underground
- Adore – Nadia’s Testimony on Shalom World
- Shalom World TV is interested in adoration and our apostolic efforts to establish adoration in parishes across Canada. They are looking for people, including clergy, that want to be on a video about why they go for adoration/exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, including the blessings and graces or healings and miracles, that may have been experienced. If you know someone that is interested in being on a video, they can contact Shalom TV. They make Online videos and post them at this link: http://www.shalomworldtv.org/adore
- Encounter Jesus at Adoration
- EWTN – Eucharistic Miracle in Buffalo
- Eucharistic Miracles – videos
- The Mystical Eucharist – Fr. Nick Schneider, S.L.D & Kathleen Beckman’s Personal Testimony
- Eucharistic Miracle of Sokolka Poland
- Part I Scott Hahn: The Eucharist Source & Summit of our Faith
- Scott Hahn on how the Eucharist made him Catholic
- Mary Mother of the Eucharist Retreat by Fr. Zachary SOLT
- Contemplating the Eucharistic Mystery with St. Thomas Aquinas – with Fr. Hezuk Shroff, 16 episodes
7. Imbibe inspiring tips from St. Peter Julian Eymard, in The Eymard Library, Volume I, The Real Presence:
LET US LOVE THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
- “Our Lord wants to instill in us a passionate love for Himself.” “Certainly, our Lord loves us passionately in the Eucharist; He loves us blindly without a thought for Himself, devoting Himself entirely for our good. We should love Him as He loves us.” pg. 180
- “Love the Eucharist passionately. Love our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament with all the ardour with which people love one another in the world, but for supernatual motives.” pg. 181
- “To ensure success in this, begin by placing your mind under the influence of this passion. Foster within you the spirit of faith. Convince yourself invincibly of the truth of the Eucharist and of the reality of the love which our Lord shows you therein.” p. 182
- “Value highly the love and the Presence of Our Lord; contemplate them in an ecstasy of delight. You will thus add to your love a fuel that will feed its flame and ensure its constancy.”
- “Fix your mind on our Lord in the most Blessed Sacrament and ponder on His love. Let this thought take hold of you; let it enrapture you.”…
- “The heart leaps towards the Blessed Sacrament… the heart would burst its walls of flesh, if it could, to unite itself more intimately to our Lord.”
- “Look at the saints. Their love transports them, makes them suffer, sets them on fire; it is a fire that consumes them…”
- “Is there anyone in the world that you love? … transfer this love to our Lord… what we do for a creature is what we must do for God; with the difference, however, that we must love the Good God beyond all measures… more and more.”
- “We cannot consider the Blessed Sacrament attentively without concluding ‘I must love Him, and come to visit Him. I must not leave Him alone; He loves me too much!'”
- “But with the Eucharist, we must give ourselves; we must abide and live in our Lord! The Eucharist is the noblest aspiration of our heart.”
- “If you love the Eucharist passionately, you will habitually have our sacramental Lord in mind; you will find your happiness at His feet; and you will be constantly seeking His good pleasure. Come, let us all be taken up with our Lord… Let us forget ourselves and give ourselves to this good Saviour? Let us sacrifice ourselves a bit!” p. 186
THE EUCHARIST OUR WAY
- “Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is the unchanging way to holiness. He is the means as well as the model…. In the Blessed Sacrament Jesus is the model of every virtue…”
- “There is nothing so beautiful as Jesus in the Eucharist. But only the pious souls who have the habit of receiving Communion and of meditating are able to understand it… Few people think of His virtues, of the life or of the state of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. We treat Him like a statue; we live under the impression He is there merely to forgive our sins and listen to our prayers. This is a wrong viewpoint. Our Lord lives and acts in the Eucharist. Look at Him, study Him, and imitate Him. .. Men may show you the way of acquiring virtues, but no one other than our Lord can give them to you and see to the education of your soul. .. as we grow to know His voice better, and our hearts become more detached and more in sympathy with Him, our Lord reveals Himself in a clearer light and with an intimacy know only to those who love Him.” p. 192
- “All our virtues must come from the Eucharist. For instance, if you wish to practise humility; see how Jesus practises it in the Blessed Sacrament. Start with this…”
- “Self-abasement is a characteristic of Eucharistic holiness”.
Some older classic on the Eucharist in e-book format:
Note: please remember that use of digital devices in church can be a distraction to others and emits EMF which others may be sensitive to, especially children:
- The Holy Mass (extracts from saints) – pdf, text, epub, kindle format
- The Hidden Treasure or The Immense Excellence of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (St. Leonard of Port-Maurice) – pdf, text, kindle format
- The Sacrifice of the Mass (Fr. M. Gavin) – read online; or audiobook here
- The Holy Mass (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, epub, kindle format
- This Is the Mass (Abp. F. Sheen, H. Daniel-Rops) – read online
- The Holy Mass, Sacrifice for the Living and the Dead (Fr. M. Mueller) – pdf, text, kindle format
- The Holy Eucharist (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, epub, kindle format
- The Blessed Sacrament, or, The Works and Ways of God (Fr. F. G. Faber) – pdf, text, kindle format
- The Blessed Sacrament Book (Fr. F. X. Lasance) – pdf, text, kindle format
- The Blessed Sacrament: Preparation, Attendance, Giving of Thanks, Spiritual Communion (Fr. F. G. Faber) – pdf, text, kindle format
- The Blessed Eucharist, Our Greatest Treasure (Fr. M. Mueller) – pdf, text, kindle format
- The Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Penance (Fr. M. Mueller) – pdf, text, kindle format
- The Sacrifice of the Eucharist, and Other Doctrines (Fr. C. B. Garside) – pdf, text, epub, kindle format
- The Bread of Life, or, St. Thomas Aquinas on the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar – pdf, text, kindle format
- The Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Eucharist, Proved from Scripture (Cardinal Wiseman) – pdf, text, kindle format
- The Catholic Doctrine of the Eucharist: Demonstrably Proved from Scripture, from Tradition and from the Writings… (M. D. Talbot) – pdf, text, kindle format
- The Sublimity of the Holy Eucharist (Fr. M. Meschler) – pdf, txt, epub, kindle format
- Visits to Jesus in the Tabernacle (Fr. F. X. Lasance) – pdf
- Month of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament – St. Peter Julian Eymard ‘If, then, we desire to be the children of this loving Mother, we must clothe our selves with her modesty. Let us make it the ordinary subject of our meditation, for it is the heritage left us by Mary. Let her modesty be the rule of our virtues. Let her simplicity, which forgets itself to see only God, which inclines to duty rather than to pleasure, to God rather than to His consolation, to love for love, be our portion, the aim of our efforts, and the seal of our life.’
- The Divine Eucharist (St. Peter Julian Eymard) – pdf
- The Priest of the Eucharist: St. Peter Julian Eymard (M. E. Herbert) – pdf, text, kindle format
- Venerable Pierre Julien Eymard, Priest of the Eucharist (Fr. E. Tenaillon) – pdf, text, kindle format
- https://stpeterjulianeymard.com/monographs/
- The Real Presence – Eucharistic Meditations by St. Peter Julian Eymard
- Eymard, P. J. (n.d.). Let us love the Most Blessed Sacrament, Electronic source:
https://eymardbibliography.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/eymard-let-us-love-the-most-blessed-sacrament.pdf (100kB) - My Eucharistic day: Rules and practices recommended by Blessed Peter Julian Eymard, P. J. (1954). Kenosha, WI: Franciscan Marytown Press. 145pp. Note: “Work compiled from the writings of Saint Peter Julian Eymard with the permission and encouragement of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers.” Electronic sources: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=3753. https://eymardbibliography.files.wordpress.com/ 2018/03/library-_-my-eucharistic-day-_-catholic-culture.pdf (1MB)
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