Eucharist

Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
50 West Somerset Street, Raritan

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” John 6:51

At the Last Supper, on the night He was betrayed, Our Savior instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of His Body and Blood. In every mass this same sacrifice of Calvary is made present to us.

In 2003 Pope John Paul II wrote, “The Church draws her life from the Eucharist.” He went on to say, “For the most holy Eucharist contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth: Christ Himself.” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia) The Eucharist is the most precious gift the Church has to share with the people of God in this pilgrimage of life.

All Catholics are invited to share this treasure every Sunday or even daily. In addition to Sunday and daily mass our church has a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration every Monday from 7:45-8:45PM and all day exposition and adoration every Friday from 9:00AM – 6:00PM. Pope John Paul II said, “The Church and the world have a great need of Eucharistic worship.” You are invited to grow in faith and love of our Lord by coming to Eucharistic Adoration at Immaculate Conception.

What is Adoration?

Eucharistic Adoration is a posture of love, the placing of oneself in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, whether reposed inside the tabernacle, or exposed inside a special stand called a monstrance.

Adoration allows for a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, who is truly and physically present in a special way in the Eucharistic liturgy, and in the Eucharistic species.

People come to Eucharistic Adoration with a variety of motives and methods of prayer. Some people come who are suffering in some way, who are experiencing turmoil in their lives and who seek refuge in the love of Jesus. Others come to give praise and thanksgiving to God for His grace working in their life. Still others come to simply sit or kneel in His presence, to find a moment of peace with God in the midst of a busy life. Some people bring the Bible or a spiritual book to read (our church has copies of the Bible in the pews), others pray the Rosary or the Divine Mercy chaplet, to help them focus their minds and hearts on the mystery of our salvation in Jesus Christ.

Why Have Adoration?

While Mass is, of course, the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the primary weekly gathering of our parish family, the Eucharist that is consecrated into Christ’s Body and Blood at every Mass (and reserved in every Catholic church’s tabernacle) remains His Body and Blood. As Christ was incarnate for us in His humanity, so too is He present before us still, in all the tabernacles of the world, as He promised – “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” The Real Presence of Christ remains for us so that we may be able to bring the Eucharist to the sick and home bound, but He also is present for us to visit Him throughout the day with our prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving.

In the gift of the Eucharist, Jesus is with us in a very special way, a substantial and physical way. As human beings, composed of both body and soul, we find comfort and strength in not only recognizing God’s spiritual presence throughout our world, but also in the small white Host, placed before us for our adoration. Such humility He has, as St. Therese exclaimed, to become a “prisoner of love” for us, with His splendor hidden and veiled from us behind the appearance of mere bread.

You can pray anywhere, it is true, but the personal relationship with Jesus Christ that grows with time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament is a unique source of encouragement and peace. Rather than take away from the importance and central aspect of the Mass, the practice of Eucharistic Adoration should complement the Mass. Adoration helps you to participate more fully in the Mass, by increasing your loving awareness of Christ in your life, by renewing your faith in His merciful love, and by deepening your understanding of the Mass.

Quotes from the Saints and the Church

“Christ held Himself in His hands when He gave His Body to His disciples saying: ‘This is My Body.’ No one partakes of this Flesh before he has adored it.”
-Saint Augustine

“Love cannot triumph unless it becomes the one passion of our life. Without such passion we may produce isolated acts of love; but our life is really not won over or consecrated to an ideal. Until we have a passionate love of our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament we shall accomplish nothing.”
-Saint Peter Julian Eymard

“Neither theological knowledge nor social action alone is enough to keep us in love with Christ unless both are proceeded by a personal encounter with Him. Theological insights are gained not only from between two covers of a book, but from two bent knees before an altar. The Holy Hour becomes like an oxygen tank to revive the breath of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the foul and fetid atmosphere of the world.”
-Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

“When the Sisters are exhausted, up to their eyes in work; when all seems to go awry, they spend an hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. This practice has never failed to bear fruit: they experience peace and strength.”
-Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta