Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

Place yourself in divine presence, contemplating God’s grace at work in your own life, and discovering His love through a profoundly intimate experience with Jesus Christ.

Adoration is a wonderful opportunity to pray and spend time in the Real Presence of Jesus, quietly giving Him thanks, praising Him, asking His help and listening to Him speaking to our hearts.

AdorationThe simple act of adoration deepens one’s friendship with Jesus. Jesus will provide all of the graces needed to be happy in life. In return, He asks that His people maintain His Divine peace in their hearts at all times.

Eucharistic adoration has transformed many lives and parishes. St. Pope John Paul II said, “‘The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of love. Let us not refuse the time to go to meet Him in adoration, in contemplation full of faith, and open to making amends for the serious offenses and crimes of the world. Let our adoration never cease” (CCC 1380).

Jesus is infinitely deserving of thanksgiving and adoration for all He has done for salvation. He will rejoice in your faithful commitment to spending just one hour each week with Him in the Blessed Sacrament.

Weekly Opportunities for Adoration

The Blessed Sacrament is exposed each Monday following the Daily Mass at 9:00AM. Adoration concludes with Benediction at 6:00PM.

On Wednesdays Adoration is offered starting at 7:00PM and concludes with Night Prayer and Benediction at 7:45PM.

Forty Hours Devotion

A parish is blessed with the opportunity to worship the Eucharist during the celebration of Forty Hours, typically once every liturgical year.

A Philadelphia Archdiocese Tradition

The Forty Hours Devotion holds a special place among traditions in the Philadelphia Archdiocese because of St. John Neumann. During his tenure as the fourth bishop of Philadelphia in the 1840s, the city experienced a period of religious oppression and anti-Catholicism riots. St. John Neumann sought a way to share his unconditional love of the Blessed Sacrament with his people to help spiritually guide them through the difficult times. The voice of the Lord God called him to fulfill his plans to organize a special Eucharistic adoration, despite fear and opposition in his community.

St. John Neumann first introduced his parishioners to Forty Hours in April 1853 and instated it as a regular custom throughout the region. His schedules for the parishes, explanations of indulgences and booklets on devotions were so inspiring that the practice spread to other dioceses and throughout the country.

Experiencing the Love of the Eucharist

A parish is blessed with the opportunity to worship during the celebration of Forty Hours once every liturgical year. This special time of devotion allows each person to intensely grow in spirituality and as a member of the faith community.

In the Bible, the number 40 is associated with a sacred period of time – God sent Noah 40 days of rain during the great flood, and the Hebrews wandered in the desert for 40 years on the way to the Promised Land. Jesus also fasted for 40 days before beginning his public ministry. During these 40 hours of continuous prayer, Catholics are called to implore the Lord to pour forth His abundant graces not only for themselves but also for their neighbors. Through adoration, the faithful may pray in His presence, repent of wrongdoings and experience the oneness with the Lord that reveals His everlasting love.

Prayers for Adoration

The Divine Praises

Blessed be God.
Blessed be His Holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Blessed be the name of Jesus.
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the paraclete.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception.
Blessed be her glorious Assumption.
Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Blessed be Joseph, her most chaste spouse.
Blessed be God in His angels and in His Saints. May the heart of Jesus, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, adored, and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time.Amen.

Prayer of Spiritual Communion

Most loving Jesus, I adore You with a lively faith. You are present in this Sacrament by virtue of Your infinite power, wisdom, and goodness. Although conscious of my unworthiness, I place all my hope in You. I love You, O Lord, with all my heart and I desire to receive You now spiritually. Come therefore, O Lord, to me in spirit. Feed me, for I am hungry; strengthen me, for I am weak; enliven and sanctify me with Your sacred Body and Blood. Deliver me from all sin and make me always obedient to Your commands. Let me never be separated from You, my Savior, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit live and reign one God forever and ever.

Amen.

Act of Adoration and Reparation to Jesus

I adore Thee profoundly, O my Jesus, in Thy sacramental form; I acknowledge Thee to be true God and true Man, and by this act of adoration I intend to atone for the coldness of so many Christians who pass before Thy churches and sometimes before the very Tabernacle in which Thou art pleased to remain at all hours with loving impatience to give Thyself to Thy faithful people, and do not so much as bend the knee before Thee, and who, by their indifference proclaim that they grow weary of this heavenly manna, like the people of Israel in the wilderness. I offer Thee in reparation for this grievous negligence, the Most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from Thy five wounds, and especially from Thy sacred Side, and entering therein, I repeat a thousand times with true recollection of spirit:

O Sacrament most Holy,
O Sacrament Divine,
All praise and all thanksgiving,
Be every moment Thine.

Amen.

Click here for more Catholic Prayers & Devotions.