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“Anyone who has discovered Christ must lead others to Him. A great joy cannot be kept to oneself. It has to be passed on”. Pope Benedict XVI
There is something special about the stories recorded in the Gospels: every time Jesus, so to speak, “enters the scene”, the lives of the people are changed, if they are open to His grace. We can think of how Jesus called His disciples. They left everything behind to follow Him. Prostitutes and sinners were converted. The sick were healed, the blind received their sight, the lame began to walk. The same happened on the road to Emmaus. There was a transformation that took place. The downcast disciples, lacking all hope for a better future, encountered a “stranger” along the way. As they listened to His words, their hearts burned within them. It was only at the moment of the breaking of the bread that their eyes were opened to the reality of Jesus’ presence in their midst. Yes, an encounter with Jesus changes everything.
The Emmaus story happens everyday. We, like those two disciples, can be filled with different fears and doubts. Perhaps we are “low on fuel”, struggling to make it through the day with all its difficulties and hardships. Yet, Jesus is in our midst as a faithful companion on the journey of life. Perhaps you are wondering how we can share in the same encounter that the disciples had over 2,000 years ago? Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He reassured His Apostles that “I am with you always, until the end of time.” (Mt. 28:20). This statement is fulfilled in the reality of Jesus’ Real Presence in the Eucharist, in the hands of the priest at Mass every day, reserved in the tabernacles in the heart of our Churches, and right before our very eyes in Eucharistic Adoration. We gaze upon His Sacred Heart, and the love that radiates from the little white host in the monstrance is transforming.
As Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, the Eucharist is at the heart of our vocation. Our lives are dedicated to adoring Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament, exposed in our chapel. Each hour, the Sisters replace one another for a time of prayer before His Eucharistic Presence. (For communities of 12 or more Sisters, adoration is non-stop! That means day and night, 24/7!) During our time of Adoration, we kneel before Him as intercessors for the Church and the world, praying for the needs of all. Our prayer is one of thanksgiving, petition and reparation. We thank Him for the many blessings that we receive each day. We petition Him, knocking on the door of His Heart, pleading for His Mercy upon all sinners. We make reparation, asking pardon for all those who offend Him, who do not know Him, who do not return His love. As contemplative religious, we desire to begin here below what we shall all be doing in Heaven: loving, adoring and praising God for all eternity!
When we adore Him exposed in the Blessed Sacrament, He dwells in us, lives in us in a very special way. Jesus stays with us in the Blessed Sacrament to refresh us in mind, heart, and spirit by lavishing on us, graces that encourage us, console us, strengthen us, guide us and inspire us. The power of His love can cast out every fear, doubt, worry, and anxiety that we have. We experience the comforting, consoling rays of His healing love and mercy.
We would like to challenge you to take a little time to adore Jesus. Go before Him in the Holy Eucharist, whether it is in your local parish or in your Newman Center chapel. Talk to Him, heart to heart, as you would with a friend. He wants to hear about all that is happening in your life, your studies, your hopes and dreams for the future, even your frustrations and disappointments! Your very presence before Him is so pleasing, as are the sacrifices you make to spend time with Him. You will see that a transformation takes place. Christ’s grace passes through you into your family and your community, into our country and the entire world. It is said that the time one spends in Adoration is more precious in the eyes of God and more profitable to the whole Church than all the good works put together. Imagine what the “power of an hour” can do!
When you spend one hour with Jesus you walk with Him as two of the disciples did on the road to Emmaus. When you spend one hour with Jesus, you are spiritually united with the other members of the Church’s Mystical Body who happen to adore Him throughout the world at that same hour. The joy that we personally experience through our time of Adoration, we want you to be able to share in. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain…. Some of the many fruits of Eucharistic Adoration include a return to the sacraments, particularly confession and Holy Communion, a daily conversion of heart and a deeper relationship with Christ. Will you not take one hour a week, or even daily, to encounter Jesus? Know that we are praying for you and your intentions before His Divine Presence.
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