Eucharistic Evangelization
by Martin Lucia
On December 2, 1981 our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, began perpetual adoration, with the Blessed Sacrament exposed, in a chapel at St. Peter's. This tremendous act of faith and love should be sufficient encouragement for all of us to imitate his zeal in trying to establish perpetual adoration in each of our Catholic Churches. Repeatedly the Holy Father has spoken of the great need, value and power of Eucharistic adoration. In his letter On The Mystery and Worship of the Holy Eucharist, he states that, "the Church and the world have a great need of Eucharistic worship. Jesus waits for us in this sacrament of love. Let us be generous with our time in going to meet Him in adoration and in contemplation that is full of faith, and ready to make reparation for the great faults and crimes of the world. May our adoration never cease." He exhorts us to fill our Churches outside the timetable of the Masses with hours of adoration and prolonged periods of exposition as an expression of our personal commitment to our Eucharistic Lord and Savior. In this context, the Pope declares that, "the encouragement and the deepening of Eucharistic worship are proofs of that authentic renewal which the council set itself as an aim and of which they are the central point."
Jesus himself points to the way, the means, and the source of renewal when he says, "Come to me" for "I will refresh you" (Matt. 11:28). And again, "See, I make all things new." Striking is the fact that Jesus didn't whisper it, nor did he speak in a normal voice. Rather, scripture says that he "cried out" when he said, "if anyone thirsts, let him come to me. Let him drink who believes in me." Scripture has it "from within him rivers of living water shall flow" (John 7:37-39). In speaking of Eucharistic adoration, Pope Paul VI states in Mysterium Fidei that Jesus is "Emmanuel, God with us," and says, "Day and night He is in our midst. He dwells with us full of grace and truth. He restores morality, nourishes virtues, consoles the afflicted, strengthens the weak. He proposes His own example to those who come to Him that all may learn to be, like Himself, meek and humble of heart and to seek not their own interests, but those of God." The Pope declares that Christ is reserved in our Churches as the "spiritual center" of the parish, the community, the universal Church and of all humanity, since beneath the veil of the species, Christ is contained, the invisible Head of the Church, the Redeemer of the world, the center of all hearts, by whom all things are and by whom we exist." For this reason, he expresses "how great is the value of converse with Christ, for there is nothing more consoling on earth, nothing more efficacious for advancing along the road to holiness." The same Pope professes in the Credo of the People of God that the Blessed Sacrament is the "living Heart of each of our Churches and it is our very sweet duty to honor and adore in the Blessed Host which our eyes see, the Incarnate Word whom they cannot see, and who, without leaving heaven, is made present before us." Christianity centers itself on the loving person of Christ; his personhood and presence are found in the Blessed Sacrament. Until we center ourselves where he is, and where the power of his love flows, we will remain off-center. Eucharistic adoration is the spirit of putting Christ first, seeking first the kingdom of God and his way of holiness. There will be no renewal in the Church without an enthusiastic Eucharistic renewal.
The absolute necessity of Eucharistic adoration is made clear in the New Testament: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive the power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and praise" (Rev. 5:12). Since the glory and praise of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is directed to the Father, as we offer him the Immaculate Victim along with the gift of ourselves, this verse is definitely and specifically meant to proclaim the dignity, importance and absolute value of Eucharistic adoration. Unmistakably, the Lamb is Christ in his Eucharistic, sacrificial presence. At the elevation of the Sacred Host we say Jesus in the Eucharist is "The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." What we must do is not only say it but continue to proclaim it in our personal prayer life, our preaching, and the priorities we set for the renewal and spiritual development of the parish—worthy is the Lamb, Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, to receive honor, praise, and glory of Eucharistic adoration. The Father wills it because of all his beloved Son has done in reconciling us to the Father through his sacrifice on the cross. Christ deserves it and wants it—not only for himself, but for us also. For those who adore him, Christ generously gives what he has received—the power of grace, the riches of peace, the wisdom of light, and the strength of love. From the Lamb flows "the river of life-giving water, clear as crystal" which is the "medicine for the nations" (Rev. 22: 1-3). In other words, the answer to all the ills of man, and the world, of each parish in particular, and the Church in general, is found in the all-embracing, powerfully-healing love of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He remains with us in the Blessed Sacrament to deepen our union with him and strengthen our personal relationship with him. He stays with us in order to provide an opportunity to repair for the great evils and injustices of the world. Each time we adore him and lift up to his Eucharistic Heart a broken humanity, every person in the world receives a new outpouring of his grace, goodness and love.
Mysterium Fidei was written at the height of the council in 1965. Seventeen years later, the words of Pope Paul VI are prophetic. The Pope declared that false opinions have done "great harm" and threaten to frustrate "the hope aroused by the Council that a new era of Eucharistic piety pervade the whole Church." He urged the leaders of the Church to "tirelessly promote the cult of the Eucharist, the focus where all other forms of piety must ultimately meet and converge." Instead of a full flowering of Eucharistic love and adoration, there has been a radical decline. Jesus made it quite clear that he is the "vine" and we are the "branches." Until we become serious about the absolute need and value of Eucharistic adoration, we will not, as a Church, "produce abundantly," and we will continue to suffer such effects as a sharp decline in vocations. The silence, apathy, and indifference to Eucharistic adoration that has gripped many parishes since the second Vatican Council may be due to a basic lack of humility. John the Baptist was great in the eyes of God because he was humble enough to point to one greater than himself whose sandals he felt unworthy to fasten. Reverend Bob Kelley, Pastor of Holy Family Church in Abilene, Texas, expressed this humility quite well when he related: "Perpetual adoration gives the Real Pastor, Jesus, the opportunity to work with his people. This enables the Good Shepherd to be completely available to the needs of all our parishioners."
The Blessed Sacrament is Jesus living in our midst to fulfill a promise made long ago. "I myself will pasture my sheep. I myself will give them rest, says the Lord God. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal" (Ezek. 34:15-16). If a list of priorities were drawn up for a given parish, or a given diocese, where would Eucharistic adoration be on that list? How much time, energy and concentration would be devoted in establishing it in each parish? In his first encyclical letter, Redemptor Hominis, Pope John Paul II exhorted that "every member of the Church, especially Bishops and Priests, must be vigilant in seeing that this Sacrament of love shall be at the centre of the life of the People of God, so that through all the manifestations of worship due to it Christ shall be given back 'love for love' and truly become the life of our souls." He stated that, "Indeed the Eucharist is the ineffable Sacrament! The essential commitment and, above all, the visible grace and source of supernatural strength for the Church as the People of God is to persevere and advance constantly in Eucharistic life and Eucharistic piety and to develop spiritually in the climate of the Eucharist. With all the greater reason, then, it is not permissible for us, in thought, life or action, to take away from this truly most holy Sacrament its full magnitude and its essential meaning. It is at one and the same time a Sacrifice-Sacrament, a Communion-Sacrament, and a Presence-Sacrament."
In spite of the exhortation from the documents of Vatican II stating that "the source and summit of all preaching of the gospel is the Holy Eucharist" (On Priestly Ministry), there has been an alarming lack of attention given to Eucharistic evangelization. One Bishop put it quite well when he said, "the silence is deafening." This silence from the pulpit is one of the main reasons for the radical decline of Eucharistic adoration in our churches. When Jesus gave his Eucharistic discourse in the sixth chapter of John, his disciples walked away. Peter believed him but failed to proclaim him when he told the servant girl in the courtyard, "I do not even know the man you are talking about!" Jesus has given us a beautiful, modern version of his Eucharistic discourse in Mysterium Fidei, and On the Mystery and Worship of the Holy Eucharist. The response to his modern Eucharistic discourse is the same as the response to his first Eucharistic discourse. Through silence we are "walking away." Ignoring them is a less obvious, but equally disastrous form of "walking away." The prophecy of Isaiah read on Good Friday continues to be fulfilled as we fail to esteem the Person of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament: "There was in him no stately bearing to make us look to him, nor appearance that would attract us to him. He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, one of those from whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem" (Isaiah 53).
Can't We Make The Room?
Can we say that we hold him in esteem when the majority of our Catholic churches are either locked or empty? The Good Lord has provided most of us with comfortable rectories to live in. If a church has to be locked for any reason, why couldn't a small, safe place be provided for as a converted adoration chapel, so that Jesus could be totally available for those who are drawn by his grace to visit him? While it is true that many pastors have become discouraged in regard to the small attendance during Eucharistic adoration, it is equally true that many Catholics have never heard from the pulpit a homily completely devoted to the importance and value of Eucharistic adoration. Can we say we hold him in esteem if we fail to exhort our people to come to him, who waits for them, in the Sacrament of his love? Jesus remains hidden in the Blessed Sacrament because he is asking for faith, hope and love. The Eucharist is not only the greatest gift of our Lord's Passion, it is also the continuation of his risen presence among us. From the Blessed Sacrament flows the unlimited power of the Lord's resurrection. Why should we get excited about the resurrection if we are neglectful, fearful, or ashamed of proclaiming where our risen Savior dwells? The laity not only need to be challenged, they want to be challenged as they look to their priests for leadership, guidance and motivation. St. Paul tells us that faith comes through hearing. "And how can they hear unless there is someone to preach" (Rom. 10:14). What is needed is a Eucharistic evangelical thrust in the Church to awaken God's people to his real presence and personal love in the Blessed Sacrament. Whenever and wherever this is done, the laity generously respond to the invitation of Eucharistic prayer.
Many Are Receptive
The purpose of this article is to reach out to my brother priests who want to help renew God's people through Eucharistic evangelization. If there was one priest in each diocese available to preach on the value of Eucharistic adoration, it would be a great help in implementing Pope John Paul II's letter On the Mystery and Worship of the Holy Eucharist. Since this letter was written, February 24, 1980, I have shared its contents with the laity in about eighty parishes in thirty-five different dioceses. The result has been the establishment of perpetual adoration in each of these parishes. This is only a drop in the ocean in comparison to what must be done, and what could be done if there were more of us involved. This involvement could be on a part-time basis or a full-time basis, within one's own diocese or beyond. If we work together, what has happened in a few parishes and dioceses can happen in all of them.
There are many wonderful Bishops, pastors and laymen who would be very receptive and cooperative if there was someone to help them. For instance, some dioceses have already made plans to have perpetual adoration in each of their parishes as the main thrust of diocesan renewal. What is needed is Eucharistic evangelization — someone willing to preach the tremendous love of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. If you think Our Lord is calling you to this, please contact me by phone or by mail. If you can't come to me, I would be more than willing to come to you in order to offer any help or training assistance. Also available are testimonies from pastors who have perpetual adoration, information, and taped cassettes on homilies about Eucharistic adoration. If you are a pastor and want to have perpetual adoration in your parish, please contact me. What I do is give a simple homily at all the Masses on Sunday on the value, need and importance of Eucharistic adoration. The laity are invited to spend at least one hour each week in prayer before the Eucharist. They are encouraged to follow their own inspiration as to how this hour is to be spent. Some use holy hour booklets meant to encourage faith, trust and commitment. Others bring a Bible and speak to our Eucharistic Lord "heart to heart." There are those who pray the rosary and offer to Jesus the love and praises of Mary while meditating on the mysteries. Many simply sit or kneel and enjoy the profound peace and love of Christ as they draw near to him in wordless prayer and silent contemplation.
Eucharistic adoration is explained as an acknowledgement of our complete dependency upon him who is the "vine," a profession of faith and gratitude in his Real Presence and an expression of love in desiring him and his holy will as the center of our lives. More than devotion, Eucharistic adoration is a commitment to the Eucharistic Christ and the Good News of his Gospel. After each homily on Sunday, a printed invitation is extended to those parishioners willing to participate in perpetual adoration. The basis of this invitation is to find out what day and time is most suitable for each parishioner. Also, there is a question to find out who might want to help coordinate the various hours by being willing to be on a telephone committee.
Adoration Facilitates Prayer
The extent of perpetual adoration is based on the response of the parish. For example, if fifty people respond to the invitation of committing themselves to an hour each week, then one day each week is set aside for an ongoing Eucharistic vigil for the parish. For instance, a small parish with only thirty-five families in Manchester, Georgia, has perpetual adoration once a week from Thursday morning to Friday morning. If one hundred people respond, then two days each week are specified. Many parishes are able to have perpetual adoration on a twenty-four hour basis, seven days a week. Before these parishes were presented with the opportunity and challenge of perpetual adoration, the majority of them could not attract enough people to come before the Eucharist for even a few hours each month. There is more than one reason that made the difference. First, because time is a precious commodity in today's lifestyle, the practical advantage of perpetual adoration is that it opens up and makes available all 168 hours in the week for people who otherwise might have a time conflict if adoration were limited to only a couple of hours. Adoration on a twenty-four hour basis enables the vast majority of parishioners to participate by allowing them to choose an hour compatible with either work or family responsibilities.
The second reason has to do with the nature of prayer itself. Adoration on a monthly basis is too long a wait for most people to acquire a proper appreciation for Eucharistic prayer. Imagine praying the liturgy of hours on a monthly basis. Most of us would either forget all about it, or else never acquire that facility for prayer that makes it fruitful and enjoyable. Eucharistic adoration on a daily or weekly basis helps the laity develop a taste and hunger for that deep peace and divine love which flow so generously from the open Heart of Our Eucharistic Lord.
The third reason has to do with a community faith witness. In a hectic, distracting world, perpetual adoration heightens the consciousness of people to the real presence of Our Lord, while bringing about a community awareness of the proper spiritual priorities in the life of the individual, and in the life of the parish. Perpetual adoration is putting our faith into action, expressing as a community that we believe he is truly and personally present to us in the Blessed Sacrament. Together we proclaim him as the loving Emmanuel who dwells with us as the Head, Heart and Center of our parish and family.
God Cannot Be Outdone
The fourth reason conveys the value of communication. When a pastor invites his people to perpetual adoration, the laity unmistakably perceive the message of the seriousness and importance in his challenge. Monthly Eucharistic adoration communicates a cool, casual message, whereas perpetual adoration is a statement of attitude, which cries out, like Jesus, to the essential value of Eucharistic prayer. Another factor is of course, the absolute necessity of evangelization. From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Putting something in the bulletin or making an announcement is a whisper that most people won't hear or will fail to understand. The effectiveness of this fifth reason was made evident when a nun spoke on the value of Eucharistic adoration to a particular parish after each Mass on Sunday. Although she was not eloquent and had to read her message, over 500 people responded by committing themselves to a holy hour.
The sixth reason is the effectiveness of lay involvement. Anything worthwhile requires the effort of organization. In every parish there are parishioners willing to coordinate the various hours on a weekly basis. Also, in some dioceses, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist have been given permission to repose the Blessed Sacrament when this becomes a problem for the priest. The seventh and most important reason of all is the grace of God poured out on a parish when a pastor is willing to open his doors to perpetual adoration. God cannot be outdone in generosity. The Blessed Sacrament is the sign and reality of his infinitely generous love for man. When we begin to make an appropriate faith response to this gift through perpetual adoration, he provides the power through the grace of his love to draw all to himself. I am continually amazed at the generosity of my brother priests who make Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament available to the people. For instance, in parishes where the use of the church is impractical, many have converted part of their sacristy into an adoration chapel. Others have used a room in the rectory with an outside entrance. Some have used a room in the educational building. One pastor who couldn't find space anywhere went to the trouble of building a small chapel for the purpose of perpetual adoration.
Proclaim Christ King Of Kings
The purpose of perpetual adoration is to provide an opportunity for the laity to enrich their spiritual life, deepen their faith, and strengthen their relationship and union with Our Lord. All we can do is to provide them with that opportunity. This is our serious responsibility as pastors. It is up to them to respond. That is their serious responsibility. Fear of failure may prevent some pastors from trying. God will judge us by the measure of our effort far more than by any measure of success. Fear of public opinion may be an obstacle for others. We must remember that we are "ambassadors for Christ," not ecclesiastical politicians. One is based on pleasing God alone, the other is influenced by human respect. St. Paul reminds us in his letter to Timothy that the spirit given to us by God is not a spirit of fear. Some may be afraid because of the crime wave. I have not heard of a single case of either crime or vandalism at a Church or chapel with perpetual adoration. The angels of God are stronger than any police force on the face of the earth. Ask Reverend John F. Randall, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo in downtown Providence, R.I. Fr. Randall speaks eloquently of God's protection of the perpetual adoration he has in his parish, especially since it is located in one of the most dangerous crime areas in the U.S. He refers to the book of Haggai, where God tells us that when we become zealous for the glory of God in his sanctuary, then the streets will once again be safe for the people. The Lamb is the light that casts out all darkness. The cry of heaven and earth is that he is worthy of adoration. When we proclaim him King of Kings and Lord of Lords in the Blessed Sacrament, then he will establish his kingdom on earth.
Reverend Martin Lucia was at the time of this writing a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Ordained in 1970, he was first assigned to assist Fr. Francis Larkin, SS.CC., National Director of the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the Home. Before founding the Apostolate of Eucharistic Renewal and Evangelization he worked in parishes and was a hospital chaplain. Father Lucia ministry included going from parish to parish establishing perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, beginning by preaching at all the Masses on Sunday.
© Homiletic & Pastoral Review / Ignatius Press
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