HOW TO START EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
PRAY!
Ask Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament to intercede for this grace for your parish! Invite others to join you in praying for this intention! Contact us for a Eucharistic Adoration Starter Kit! Review the materials in the Kit, as well as, the structure and information below!
EVANGELIZE!
Talk and share with others about Eucharistic Adoration! Invite those who are interested to help organize and participate in this mission! The laity coordinates Adoration! It therefore should not add to the many responsibilities of the Pastor and his assistants! Virtually the only responsibility that the Pastor would have is to change the Sacred Host once a month!
SCHEDULE AN ADORATION INVITATION SIGN-UP WEEKEND!
With your Pastor’s permission, schedule a sign-up weekend. Ask or invite our apostolate to help you either remotely or in-person. A local Eucharistic or parish clergy, missionary or one of our lay adoration speakers/evangelists will speak at all of the weekend Masses on the benefits of spending time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and invite people to sign up!
~ ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE ~
PASTOR
For a digital format, only a few coordinators may be necessary and no hourly captains.
COORDINATOR
Organization of program
FOUR DIVISION LEADERS
Morning ~ 6 AM to 12 Noon
Afternoon ~ 12 Noon to 6 PM
Evening ~ 6 PM to 12 Midnight
Night ~ 12 Midnight to 6 AM
Initial scheduling
General oversight of time divisions
Each division leader oversees 6 hourly captains in his time division
24 HOURLY CAPTAINS
Contact Person responsible for one hour ~ 7 days a week
Ensures that the hour is always attended and helps find a substitute, if someone cannot make his or her Holy Hour
DISTRIBUTE THE INVITATIONS
Before the weekend, enough copies of the invitation, from our Kit, should be made so that everyone at the weekend Masses can receive one. After the Adoration homily/talk at Mass, invitations and pencils are distributed by the ushers. Parishioners write their name and telephone number on the invitation. They also check off the time of day (morning, afternoon, evening or night) that they want to make their Holy Hour. They may also check a space if they are interested in helping to organize the program. The invitations are collected after Holy Communion (or at the Offertory) and counted by the Missionary or Coordinator after each Mass.
DIVISION LEADERS
The missionary or a coordinator for adoration in your parish sorts the collected invitations into five groups, according to the time-divisions checked off (morning, afternoon, evening, night or not checked off). The Coordinator needs to make a typed list of all those who have signed up for a Holy Hour. Each of the four Division Leaders fills out the hourly schedule for their time division. They call the people who have signed up to reconfirm their hour and put their name and telephone number on the Division Leader Chart. Use pencil, because there may be changes before the schedule is complete.
Adaptation: For a digital format, emails can be made to redirect those who sign up to select an hour online – those who do not do so can be called later to schedule their hours.
ESTABLISH THE SCHEDULE
Begin by calling the people who specified a day and hour. Then, call those who offered to make their Holy Hour anytime to fill in the open hours. The following guidelines are helpful:
• Thank them for wanting to spend ‘an hour with Jesus’ each week.
• Confirm the day and hour requested, and/or ask whether they would be willing to take an hour that is opened.
• Be encouraging and supportive. Share with them the many blessings that come from their Holy Hour and that they will look forward to coming each week.
• If there is a need, ask if they would like to be an Hourly Coordinator and/or if they would be willing to take more than one Holy Hour a week.
• Record their address so that a mailing list may be compiled.
Adaptation: For a digital format, emails can be made to redirect those who sign up to select an hour online – those who do not do so can be called later to schedule their hours.
HOURLY CAPTAINS
After the schedule is completed, have typewritten copies made for the Pastor, Coordinator and Adoration Chapel. The Division Leaders need 24 Hourly Captains to be in charge of each one of the 24 hours of the day throughout the entire week. Each Division Leader will fill out an Hourly Captain Chart for each of the six Hourly Captains in their time division and give a copy to each one. Each Hourly Captain is the contact person for their Division Leader.
As Hourly Captains, for instance, Joseph will be the Coordinator of the Adorers from 9:00 am to 10am throughout the entire week and Mary will be the Coordinator for the Adorers from the 10am to 11am time slot, etc. The Hourly Captain will call each Adorer on their list before Adoration begins to tell them the:
• Starting date
• Location of chapel
• Parking arrangements
• Location of rest room
• Security arrangements
• Location and use of telephone
• Adorers preceding and following their Holy Hour
• How to obtain a substitute
• Name and phone number of Hourly Captain and Division Leader
Adaptation: For a digital format, this information can be sent by email, along with instructions on how to obtain a substitute according to the software, so that telephone calls will or may not need to be made. Hourly captains are not needed with a digital online system which takes care of the whole substitution process.
WORKING TOGETHER
The following should be explained to each Adorer:
• The importance of their Holy Hour
• The necessity of signing in and out of the register book so that the Pastor is assured that each hour is covered.
• The Blessed Sacrament should not be left alone. As Guardians they need to stay until the next Adorer arrives. Explain the procedure in case of an emergency.
• If an Adorer is unable to keep his or her appointment with Our Lord, they should first contact their prayer partner for that hour.
• If this fails they should try to find a Substitute, then call the Hourly Captain or the Division Leader.
Adaptation: For a digital format, this information could be sent by email, along with instructions on how to obtain a substitute according to the software, to try to eliminate most telephone calls.
LEADERSHIP MEETING
Once the schedule is set, the Division Leaders and Hourly Captains call a meeting to familiarize themselves with their responsibilities and have a clear understanding of their duties. Eucharistic Adoration should begin within two to four weeks after the sign-up weekend.
SMALL PARISH
Parishes that are not large enough to have Perpetual Adoration can join together. One host Parish can satisfy the needs of several Parishes. One missionary can speak at all the Masses at the host Parish and do the same at a neighbouring Parish the following weekend. Alternatively, parish clergy can be provided with our sample sign-up sermon.
WHAT THE LAITY CAN DO TO EVANGELIZE
• Educate yourself about the benefits of and reasons for Perpetual Adoration.
• Talk to the parishioners who have not signed up and invite them to participate in spending one hour each week with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
• Place announcements in parish bulletins.
• Give video presentations on Eucharistic Adoration.
• Have a lending library with books and audios.
• Pass out pamphlets, prayer cards or newsletters.
• Put up some posters.
• Call your friends and invite them and their families to Eucharistic Adoration.
• Make home and neighbouring parish visits.
• Use networking.
• Give presentations to existing organizations in the parish (i.e. Legion of Mary, Altar Rosary Society, Knights of Columbus, St. Vincent de Paul Society, prayer groups etc).
• Ask Adorers, who are already signed up, to take an extra Holy Hour each week.
LOCATION FOR EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
Commonly approved locations for exposition include a chapel that is distinct from the main body of the church and in the main body of the church when Mass, communal Stations of the Cross or other activities are not taking place (Code of Canon Law CIC 941§2). Since Covid, many parishes began or moved to the main body of the church for more space. It is not necessary to have separate chapel, especially if you are not having 24 x 7 hours. “The best location for Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration is in a chapel. It creates an atmosphere of quiet and intimacy with Our Lord and can easily be kept warm in the winter. If the church does not have a chapel any small room can be used; a cry room, the altar boys’ sacristy, a room in the rectory. A chapel may be created by an extension outward from the church building or within the confines of the church building.” (Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Handbook Guidelines)
COORDINATOR & PARISH RESOURCES TO START EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
MATERIALS AVAILABLE TO START EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
A Eucharistic Adoration Starter Kit is available from us and comprises:
- Preparing for your Sign-Up Weekend
- Invitation to a Weekly Holy Hour
- Bulletin announcement
- Pre-evangelization bulletin inserts
- Suggestions for comprehensive pre-evangelization
- Ushers/Volunteers Instructions
- Sign-Up Instructions
- Sign-Up pencils in plastic bins (we supply these for proximate sign-ups)
- Organizational Guidelines – Coordinator instructions
- Division Leader Charts
- Hourly Captain Chart
- Daily schedule layout – Adoration Scheduling System
- Substitute Chart
- Testimony of favours granted
- Adorer Information Welcome Kit
- Reasons for Eucharistic Adoration
- Ways to attract more adorers
- Templates for flyers to promote your adoration chapel
- Eucharistic posters (we bring these to the weekend)
- Inspiring Eucharistic Quotes to print in bulletins after the Sign-Up weekend
- Adaptation: For the digital system, we will provide adaptations and only a few coordinators will be needed.
For a detailed manual with guidelines, please see the section on our website: Coordinator & Parish Resources here.
Good materials for prayer and meditation before the Blessed Sacrament should be made available at the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel. We offer Eucharistic printed materials and books in our ordering centre here.
O COME LET US ADORE HIM, JESUS CHRIST, OUR EUCHARISTIC LORD!