Surrendering

Adoration, like Confession, can get a bad rap. Just like people make the argument, "Why do Catholics need to confess their sins to a priest?"; others make the argument, "Why do we need to sit for an hour or so in front of some fancy box and speak to Jesus?" The fancy box is not just a fancy box, but a monstrance where we can truly see Christ.

The major difference between praying in front of the tabernacle and praying in front of the monstrance is someone needs to be present in front of the monstrance as the Blessed Sacrament is fully exposed. The tabernacle holds the Blessed Sacrament, but it is enclosed. Sitting in front of an exposed Blessed Sacrament can stir up some raw emotions. While sitting in front of the Blessed Sacrament, one can allow themselves to totally surrender to Christ. To allow those raw emotions to be felt, does not only change one's soul, but allows one to completely surrender oneself to Christ. We are able to give everything to Christ.

In Adoration, I have seen people with headphones listening to Christian music. There are the people reading Catholic books. Then, some people are using the time to journal about what is in their heart. Sometimes, Father will come in and say that he wants to hear Confessions, offering people the opportunity to really surrender to Christ. While sitting in front of the Blessed Sacrament, it is easy to think about the sins one has committed. Other times, it is easy to think about everything one has to be grateful for.

Adoration is about being present with Christ. We are surrendering one hour of our time to just be there with Christ. At times, the hour will seem like forever, but many times, the hour goes by so fast that one will be surprised that the hour is up already. There are many times that my hour became two hours. The most important part is that we are just present with Christ. He was so willing to give His life for us that we can give Him more than just Sunday Mass. As a priest once told me, "There are other days between Sunday and Sunday. It is okay if you don't know what to do in Adoration. It is taking the baby steps of going, and if you stay five minutes, that is fine. You work yourself up to the hour."

Taking the first step of surrendering to Christ allows us to have the invitation of spiritual communion with Christ. Most importantly, it gives us the awareness that Chris is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. It is the sake of truly knowing Christ and sharing in the fact that Christ was willing to lay down His life for us.