Eucharistic Reflection - Don't Be Afraid to Encounter Christ

"Encountering Christ in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is an invitation, for all people, to deepen their relationship with the Lord, and to grow in communion with his Church. In adoration, we grow in unity and friendship with Him—we learn to hear His voice, to know His will, and, most especially, to know and trust the power of His love.

Everyone—no matter his circumstances—can kneel before the Eucharist, and encounter, in visible reality, the mystery of God’s transformative and powerful love. We all long for love, and in the gift of Eucharistic adoration, we can all experience the love of the Lord.

No one needs to be a mystic to kneel before the Lord in adoration. Everyone begins the practice of prayer without knowing much about how to pray. But in silence, kneeling before Jesus, we learn how God speaks to us. We learn to hear his “still, small voice,” and we learn to speak to God from the depths of our own hearts. In silence, we learn to put aside the plaguing distractions of our time—the chirping and buzzing of our technology—and simply experience the presence of God, which transforms us in peace.

'God’s first language,' said St. John of the Cross, 'is silence.' In the silence of Eucharistic adoration, we learn true humility. As we kneel before our Creator-God, we are confronted with the power and the mystery of God’s love. And it is from this silence and humility that we experience a deep communion and friendship with God."

A Pastoral Letter On Adoration of the Most Holy Eucharist by Bishop James Conley