October 23: Parish Day of Prayer

Are you new to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament or a longtime veteran? Here are some “tips” for any and all of us who feel called to “just spend some time” in the Lord’s Presence.

Be Patient. Sometimes, it can be frustrating to sit still for a stretch of time. Have you ever been out of shape and tried to go for a one mile run or walk? Suddenly, 5 minutes into it, we’re huffing and puffing and we realize we’ve only gone one block. Rather than focusing on the success – we just ran or walked for the first time in months! – we tend to focus on the difficulty. Adoration can be a bit of a “work out”… for our souls. So, let’s set ourselves up for success. If it’s been awhile, or our first time, 5 minutes of sitting with Jesus is a good goal. We can slowly increase our time – we’ll be amazed at how God fills us with His peace and increases our capacity to be with Him!

Bring your Bible and/or your Rosary. Reading God’s Word is always a good thing, but it is especially helpful and meditative during Adoration. There are many prayer books and apps that contain daily Scripture readings. We can use these to ask: How is this speaking to my heart? What changes is God asking me to make? How will I go about making those changes? We can easily make these questions (and our answers) a part of our prayer. The Rosary, the beautiful prayer that it is, can also be a big help in letting us focus our attention on Mary’s desire to lead us closer to her Son.

Learn to be okay with silence. Our lives are already filled with so much “noise.” The car radio, our phones, television, social media, streaming ... and all the rest. Even if we are in a quiet environment, we are usually accustomed to checking our phones – for a text, the latest Facebook drama, the trending hashtag on Twitter, the newest picture on Instagram ... all of this makes it difficult to focus. Being truly still and truly silent can seem uncomfortable, even foreign. But that discomfort is okay, good even. In fact, our first few minutes of quiet prayer will usually be filled with restlessness. But eventually, the Lord Himself fills us with His peace. We can learn to allow ourselves to sit in silence and to just be with Jesus.

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Our parish Day of Prayer is offered each Thursday: Mass begins at 8:30am, the Blessed Sacrament is “exposed” on the altar at the end of Mass, and then people come and go from the church all day long. We offer the final blessing (“Benediction”) at 8:30pm. Join us!