“Revival: A Lenten Devotional for Eucharistic Renewal,” is a series of simple, daily reflections that will help Catholics rekindle a living relationship with Jesus by reflecting on their relationship with the Lord, the Eucharist, and our missionary call to share the love of God with our neighbors.
Every hour of Eucharistic adoration is “a meeting of our soul and of our whole being with Jesus.” — Blessed James Alberione
Our hearts are made for God. We yearn to know that we are loved. We want the certainty that God is with us and that he hears us. We search for a place where it is safe to lay down our burdens and experience the relief that we don’t have to carry them on our own.
Alone with Jesus before the tabernacle, we can speak freely with him about everything in our lives, what’s in our minds and hearts, what we and our loved ones dream about and fear and need. It is a heart-to-heart moment of intimacy and trust. It is where we offer God our praise and adoration and blessing, where we are called to conversion and confidence and thanksgiving. Eucharistic adoration is where we hear God whisper his love, a place that is quiet enough that we can listen in the stillness for the voice of the God who made us, loves us, and ever sustains us.
Yet, weak and distracted and weary as we are, the noise within us and the tyranny of our problems and responsibilities can make it difficult, sometimes, even to sit still.
If you think about it, almost every important meeting has a structure. Team meetings have agendas. If you are meeting Pope Francis or King Charles, you are briefed ahead of time about the structure of the meeting, what to expect, how to act, when to speak. Even family times together come with subtle expectations and traditions, ways of relating that have built up over many years of being together. Flexible and open models for our encounters with each other are important because we don’t want to sit down in meetings and wait for something to happen. Time is too fleeting and our relationships too precious to leave them to chance.
In the same way, we can prepare for our meetings with Jesus in Eucharistic adoration. It’s like getting serious about the most important appointment in our life, and not just letting it happen. Here is a simple guide that unfolds in four “moments” that are easy to remember:
“The word of God draws each of us into a conversation with the Lord: the God who speaks teaches us how to speak to him” (Pope Benedict, Verbum Domini, no. 24).
Begin by settling down, giving your worries to the Lord, putting away your phone, and saying to Jesus, “Here I am. I need you.” Notice what’s in your heart and on your mind, and offer it to him. Talk to him about whatever is weighing on you, then tell Jesus you need him to take care of it and let it go for now.
Open your Bible, and choose a passage to read prayerfully. The Word of God leads to a dialogue between your life and God’s wisdom and love for you. It is through the Scriptures that Jesus teaches you.
After reading the passage, speak to Jesus about what you’ve read. Ask him: What do you want me to know about this? How does this affect my life? What new thing are you desiring to bring about for me?
Reflect on how the Word sheds light on what’s most important to you in your life.
“The important thing is that the strings of my heart are tuned to the melody we want to play, that is, the song [of the angels]: ‘Glory to God and peace to humanity.’ The strings of my heart are my internal dispositions. These must be made to vibrate so that we can know if they are in tune: do they sing the glory of God? Or do they sing my self-love?” (Blessed James Alberione, Carissime in San Paolo).
In this second moment, look at your life in the light of Jesus’ life. This image of Alberione is that of tuning a guitar or a harp. As we listen to the strings of a guitar to see if they are in tune, you are invited to be attentive to the “strings of your heart,” to see if they are in tune or not. Is your life in harmony, or is there an aspect of it that is out of sync with the Heart of Jesus? Talk with Jesus about what you notice, and ask him to show you what he wants to transform in you: any patterns of thought, your ways of relating to others, your desires, the extent to which you make a gift of yourself to others. Ask Jesus to make you more completely his disciple.
Jesus desires to heal you: as you sit with him, gently listen to your life’s story in the light of his mercy. Conclude this reflection with an act of sorrow, asking Jesus where he is prompting you to move in new directions and follow him with a more open heart.
“Make my soul… your cherished place, your home of rest. Let me never leave you there alone, but keep me there all absorbed in you, in living faith, adoring you” (from St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s Prayer to the Holy Trinity, Give Peace to My Soul).
In the third moment of Eucharistic adoration, take time to rest in prayer. You could say the Rosary, the Way of the Cross, the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Or you could simply rest in Jesus’ presence, letting him love you, knowing that he is interested in every aspect of your life. Be there with Jesus. Listen. Receive.
Bring to Jesus all the needs of the world and the intercessions close to your own heart. Let Jesus love the world through you.
“The world still does not know it, but everyone is invited to the supper of the wedding of the Lamb (Rev 19:9)” (Pope Francis, Desidero Desideravi, no 5).
Every single person on this earth is called to the table of the Eucharist. After our time of intimacy with him, Jesus sends us to others who yearn to know they are seen and loved and held and taught and cherished and healed by God. That they are not alone.
Before you end your time of prayer, take a few moments to reflect on what the rest of the day or week ahead looks like. What is it that you brought with you into this time of prayer? What has Jesus shown you? How are things different now, as you prepare to leave this time of prayer? Ask Jesus to show you those people he desires to reach through you. You could end with the Our Father or another favorite prayer.
Sr. Kathryn Hermes, FSP, is a Daughter of St. Paul and author of Reclaim Regret: How God Heals Life’s Disappointments. She blogs at touchingthesunrise.com.
