Adoration chapel

To prepare for the upcoming Perpetual Adoration chapel, we have a committee that has been meeting monthly for a little while. The group has averaged between 5-12 people each meeting in one of the classrooms on the lower level of the church. When we met today, I was ready to go to the classroom. But, as I noticed no one was in the classroom, I heard a good amount of noise coming from the parish hall. I thought, where is our (small) group and what (large) group is meeting in the hall? I walked into the hall, and it was the Adoration committee! There were 20 people waiting to begin. I literally could not believe it and needed a moment to process it.

As I processed the large turnout, I realized how great a sign it is for the success of the chapel. The committee was formed so that when the chapel opens, it will be a Perpetual Adoration chapel. This means it will be open 24 hours a day with Jesus exposed in the Blessed Sacrament all that time. Whenever the Lord is exposed in Adoration, at least one person needs to be present with Him. So, for a Perpetual Adoration chapel, that means at least 168 adorers to cover every hour of the week…every week! It is a large and ambitious endeavor. But, it is an incredibly fruitful endeavor for any parish that does it.

Just the idea of it has people excited. To think that one can go at any time to visit Jesus is awesome. It will be a secure building with a keypad at the front entrance and which adorers will be given the code. Adorers will be asked to sign up for an hour a week, serve as a substitute adorer, and / or drop in for pop-in visits from time to time. I will make an appeal at the Masses the weekend of November 16 and 17th and explain many of the details and purpose. The basis for it all that each of us should consider is what Christ says in Mt 26:40, “could you not keep watch with me for one hour?”