What is the difference between praying at home and going to Eucharistic Adoration?
There is a big difference, but why not do both? A similar question is sometimes made about going to Mass versus praying at home or finding God in nature. In Eucharistic Adoration we come to adore our Lord Jesus who is truly present in the Eucharist. Yes, God is present everywhere, and we should adore God wherever we are by constant prayer and by good actions, but God is present in the Eucharist in a unique and awesome way. For Jesus said, “This is my body which will be given up for you,” and it was in the breaking of the bread that the two disciples on their way to Emmaus came to recognize the risen Christ (Lk 24:35). The difference between praying at home (which I also highly recommend) and praying before the Eucharist is kind of like talking to someone on the telephone versus seeing and talking to them face to face.
Perhaps the best way to understand what Eucharistic Adoration is about is to experience it. I first signed up for an hour when I was a somewhat recent college graduate working as a software engineer. I was a parishioner at Ascension. One Sunday they had a sign-up for adoration (like we at Cure’ are having now). I just felt called to do it, so I signed up for one of the spots that had only one other adorer signed up–Thursday morning at 12 AM midnight. It was absolutely great, and it became my favorite hour of the week. The few times I was unable to make it, my partner for the hour was able to cover. The only inconvenience was giving up the sleep, but it was well worth it. I ended up in seminary studying to be a priest only about a year later (something I had not intended to do when I started adoration). The time spent there with Jesus gave me time to think, pray, and discern what God was calling me to do. In this busy world, we need time to stop, get away from everything (including home), and come sit or kneel at the feet of Jesus. I never had experienced God speaking to my heart as much as I did during those midnight hours in Eucharistic Adoration. Other people have told me similar things about their time in adoration.
Advent is a time of watching and waiting. Jesus was born in the little town of Bethlehem which literally means the “house of bread” and he was laid in a manger which was a trough out of which animals would eat feed. Jesus still comes to us today disguised and lowly under the appearance as bread, but really present in the Eucharist!
-Fr. Greg
