My name is Johnny, and I’d like to tell you about a time when I experienced God’s love in the Blessed Sacrament, and how it changed Eucharistic Adoration for me.
I’ve been a Catholic my entire life. I go to church with my family every week, we pray together on Sundays, and I had been to Adoration, but for me it was just “quiet time.” I’d say a couple of prayers and then I’d get bored, distracted, or fall asleep, just waiting for the hour to be up.
Last year I found out that my confirmation group had to go to a youth conference called Steubenville East. My sister had gone the year before, and she loved it, so I was pretty excited about it.
But something strange happened. As soon as we got to the conference, everyone kept talking about how great Eucharistic Adoration was going to be. This was a little weird for me, because I had been to Adoration, and honestly, it was pretty boring.
But once Adoration started on Saturday night, I immediately felt something I hadn’t felt before. The priest was processing around the arena with the monstrance and the band was playing worshipful music. Everywhere the priest went with the Eucharist, people were crying, laughing, and reaching their arms out. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced, and I didn’t understand what was happening.
Eventually the priest got to my group’s section, and he stopped at the end of my aisle and held up the monstrance. In that moment I realized that it was actually God. It wasn’t just a piece of bread that we put into a golden case and parade around. I knew that it was God, and I was so overcome by His majesty and felt so unworthy of His love. But I knew that, in spite of all my failures and shortcomings, He loved me anyway. This realization hit me so hard that I started sobbing, and I didn’t have any tissues, so I was a mess!
Eventually that evening ended, and so did the conference, but this experience had completely changed Adoration for me. My confirmation sponsor and I began going to Adoration every week and it wasn’t just quiet time anymore — it was time for me to be with and connect with God. Now, over a year later, I still try to do a weekly Holy Hour, and I have begun going to daily Mass as often as I can.
So in conclusion, I just want to invite any of you who are struggling with Adoration to continue going, and open your heart to the Lord in the Eucharist. Because He will change your life if you let Him.
(Taken from the MercySong Ministries E-Newsletter, Issue No. 8: Becoming Living Eucharist)
