A Time to Give Honor in Christ's Presence: The Incomparable Blessing of Eucharistic Adoration

Not even two years ago, parishioner Lisa Roth was leafing through the St. Benedict Cathedral bulletin when a particular notice caught her eye — the Eucharistic Adoration coordinators, Bruce and Ginny Bonenberger, were seeking more people to commit to a weekly hour of adoration. For Lisa, this bulletin sighting was all about the timing. With her children grown and life a little less hectic these days, she had been hoping to try something new. Little could Lisa have known where her phone call to Ginny that day would eventually lead her!

Today, Lisa continues to have a weekly adoration hour, in addition to serving as coordinator of the adoration chapel. What began with a simple desire to get more involved in parish life became a long-lasting devotion.

“I was just trying to do something that could draw me in a little bit closer with my faith,” Lisa says. “I thought adoration would be a nice thing to try, and I’ve been doing it for over a year now. I do like to pray daily, so it was a natural fit for me. I feel like I’ve been called to do this.”

Like many regular adorers, Lisa has settled into a familiar routine during her scheduled hour of adoration each week. For her, the time begins with prayers of thanksgiving, followed by her expression of the prayer requests of family and friends. She also says a Rosary — often praying more than one mystery — and the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Lisa often brings a Bible to read as well. As she is quick to point out, everyone chooses to spend their hour differently — there is generally no “wrong way” to spend time in the Lord’s presence.

In fact, simply sitting with our Lord in silence can become a deeply enriching spiritual experience.

“It is nice to have that one hour with no disruptions during the day,” Lisa says. “It’s always peaceful. It helps you kind of rethink things and get a new perspective on things. It makes me more aware of my daily actions in general and how I need to make good decisions and be loving to others.”

The spiritual gift of Eucharistic Adoration at St. Benedict has been an answered prayer to many. When churches closed last spring due to the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, adoration had to be suspended. Once people were allowed to return to the church building for Mass and other activities, Fr. Godfrey approached Lisa about restarting this important devotion safely in our parish. As Lisa began to seek both new and old adorers to fill the weekly hours, she was amazed by the enthusiastic response of our parishioners.

“When we started adoration back up again, Father said if we could just start with a couple of hours each day, that would be enough,” Lisa says. “But when you are doing what you are supposed to be doing, things fall into place. Some of the people I called were so joyful and couldn’t wait to get started again, and that made me more excited. Every single slot got filled, from 11:30 to 4:30, Monday through Friday. That’s the Holy Spirit working right there, drawing individuals into adoration.”

Both Fr. Godfrey and Lisa are thrilled to have our weekday adoration up and running again and hope to have two adorers for each hour soon. Knowing firsthand the abundant blessings that come from a devotion to Eucharistic Adoration, Lisa hopes that many more parishioners will take the same leap of faith she did almost two years ago when she saw a bulletin announcement and decided to try something new to enrich her faith life.

“I just think adoration is a great way for you to give honor to Christ,” she says. “This is strictly your time, your one hour of solitude. It reminds us how important it is to pray. If people are nervous about trying it, they should just have faith and stop by and see what they think. They will feel better when they leave, I can guarantee that!”

If you are interested in learning more about Eucharistic Adoration or becoming a scheduled adorer at St. Benedict, please contact Lisa Roth at Lisaroth1969@gmail.com.