Promoting Reverence and Belief in the Real Presence
Our Church’s teaching on the Eucharist is long standing, clear and includes the following: the Eucharist must be the source and center of our daily lives; whenever possible Catholics Churches are to keep their doors open for some period of time each day to facilitate visits before the Blessed Sacrament; pastors are to encourage such visits; they are also to promote and encourage their parishioners' participation in Eucharistic Adoration, setting an example for their flock by doing so themselves; and they are to support the establishment and continuation of regional chapels of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration when their own parishes are unable to sustain such a vital devotion solely by themselves.
What a different world this would be if we were to follow these life-changing practices!
As someone who has spent more than ten years coordinating Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in a local parish and encouraging this devotion elsewhere, it has been difficult to understand at times why there is so much reluctance, if not outright opposition, to promoting Adoration - this despite our Lord's invitation for us to do so and the overwhelming evidence of the fruits that flow from such devotions. Is it because so few Catholics still believe that Our Lord is really and substantially present in the Eucharist?
So when others speak up or take concrete action to promote our Eucharistic Lord we must take notice and give thanks!
Bishop Robert Cunningham of the Diocese of Syracuse, New York should be commended for taking "God to the Streets of Syracuse" this Corpus Christi
Kudos also to the Knights of the Holy Eucharist who (Catholic Online informs us) are doing their best to "call us to Eucharistic Faith".
Why not think about passing up one of your favorite half hour TVs shows (it won't kill you), listen to what this young man has to say about our Eucharistic Lord and the response He deserves and then share his video with your pastor, family and friends? Thanks to Anne Costa of Charismata for having brought this to my attention.
This leads me to one final suggestion. Father Z is fond of saying "brick by brick" with respect to the need for liturgical reform. Maybe we who love and seek to promote Eucharistic Adoration might adopt "two knees at a time" as our rallying cry. What do you think?