​Praised be Jesus Christ!
 
In my last two columns, I spoke about a number of topics pertaining to Eucharistic Adoration: what we, as Catholics, believe about the Eucharist; what Eucharistic Adoration is; why we do it; and what we do when we come for Adoration.  I have also heard several persons ask about the history of Adoration, and why we hear of it again today after a period of recent history in which it was seldom practiced.
 
The belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is rooted in and grew out of the New Testament, particularly the Gospels and the writings of St. Paul.  The early Church clearly understood that Jesus was present and continued his mission in the Eucharist.  Early Christian hermits kept the Eucharist in their cells, not only so that they could give themselves Holy Communion, but also to be near the presence of Christ.  As early as the fourth century, the Eucharist began to be reserved in the churches of monasteries and convents, probably in rooms separate from where the Mass was celebrated.  This special reservation was so that the Eucharist could be taken immediately to those who were sick or dying.  This place set aside in which the Eucharist was reserved had automatically a sacred character associated with it.  By the 9th century, the Eucharist was more commonly kept in the main body of the church, close to the altar.
 
Until the 11th century, belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist had been taken for granted.  At that time, an archdeacon by the name of Berengarius in Angers, France publicly denied that Christ was truly present in the consecrated bread and wine.  Since Berengarius’ ideas began to circulate, Pope Gregory VII ordered him to retract his teaching and make a statement of faith that was consistent with what the Church had always believed, but up to that point in history was never challenged.  Following Berengarius’ profession of faith, there was a significant development in the devotional life of the Church toward the Eucharist that would continue throughout the Middle Ages.  This development would include Eucharistic Processions, acts of adoration, visits to where Christ was reserved in the Eucharist, etc.  From the 11th century on, devotion to the Eucharist reserved in the tabernacle became more and more the norm, especially in religious order communities.
 
In the 13th century, Pope Urban IV instituted the feast of Corpus Christi for the whole Church, following his encounter with a Eucharistic miracle just north of Rome.  St. Thomas Aquinas would compose Eucharistic hymns that we still sing today at Adoration and Benediction: “O Salutaris Hostia,” “Tantum Ergo Sacramentum,” and “Panis Angelicus.”  Later, in the 16th century, the Protestant reformers challenged the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist.  The Council of Trent responded by clarifying its teaching on the Mass as a sacrifice and the Eucharist as the Real Presence.  The Council also stated that the Son of God in the Eucharist is to be worshiped as God is to be worshiped, and that “… the Sacrament is to be publicly exposed for the people’s adoration.”  By the end of the 16th century, Pope Clement VIII had initiated the Forty Hours Devotion, in which there was forty hours of continuous prayer before the exposed Blessed Sacrament in a given church.  This devotion quickly spread throughout the Church.  Perpetual Adoration also became widespread.  “Perpetual Adoration” is a term used broadly that could mean uninterrupted Adoration that is literally perpetual, or even uninterrupted Adoration for an extended period of time, such as a day or several days.
 
It’s worth noting that over the last few decades, for various reasons, Eucharistic Adoration had become virtually unheard of by many Catholics.  The Forty Hours Devotion almost completely disappeared.  Along with this, many churches in recent past decades moved their tabernacles out of the center of their sanctuaries and into side chapels out of sight.  There were many reasons for these somewhat “unofficial” changes that occurred in the Church following the Second Vatican Council.  Some of which were perhaps efforts to dialogue more with Protestantism, or to be more Protestant-friendly, etc.  But regardless of what has taken place in recent times and the lack of familiarity with the devotion to Christ in the Eucharist that has resulted from it, we still cannot ignore that our Catholic Christian faith is a Eucharistic faith, and prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in Eucharistic Adoration is an important and fruitful expression of that faith.  Please join us at St. Mary’s on First Friday mornings for Adoration.  If you have questions, contact our Adoration coordinator, Petrine Pongratz at 715-652-2421.
 

Praised be Jesus Christ!
 
As you may recall in my column last week, I mentioned that Fr. Dan Thelen, associate pastor of St. Matthew’s and Holy Name Parishes in Wausau, would be coming to celebrate the weekend Masses November 26th-27th and speak about Eucharistic Adoration in his homily.  I also explained a bit about what we, as Catholics, believe about the Eucharist – that it is truly the Body and Blood of Christ, truly the Real Presence of Christ with us.
 
This week, I would like to address the questions: What is Eucharistic Adoration, why do we have it, and what do we do in Adoration?  Since we believe that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, we give to the Eucharist the same adoration and devotion we would give to Jesus himself.  As you know, at the end of Mass, the remaining consecrated bread is placed in the tabernacle.  This is why it is appropriate for us to genuflect to the tabernacle when we come into church – because Christ is truly present there.  At the beginning of a period of Adoration, when Christ in the Eucharistic Host (a.k.a., the Blessed Sacrament) is exposed (called “Exposition” or “Solemn Exposition”), the priest or deacon takes the Blessed Sacrament from the tabernacle and places it in the monstrance on the altar so that it is visible for everyone in the church.  The monstrance is the, often elaborately decorated, gold vessel used to display the Blessed Sacrament.  The word “monstrance” comes from the Latin verb “monstrare,” which means, “to expose.”  It is also sometimes called an “ostensorium.”
 
Often during a period of Adoration, usually at its conclusion, the priest or deacon will offer Benediction.  The word “Benediction” simply means “blessing.”  During Benediction, the priest or deacon picks up the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament and gives a blessing to those in the congregation by making the sign of the cross with the monstrance.  Also, as a sign of reverence, the priest, when giving the blessing, does not touch the monstrance with his bare hands.  He instead uses a wide band of cloth known as a humeral veil (coming from the Latin word “humera,” meaning “shoulders”), which covers his shoulders and extends down to his hands.  Often, the rituals of Solemn Exposition and Benediction are accompanied with various hymns and prayers, as well as incense.
 
Eucharistic Adoration expresses our faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  Simply being in the presence of the Lord in this way WILL have an effect on us!  Jesus wants us to spend time with him and surrender ourselves to him.  What one does during the time of Adoration is not rocket science.  We can begin by simply praising God (silently, of course, unless there is no one else in the church), directing attention to him and away from ourselves.  We can do this with our own words, or the help of the Psalms, a hymn, or any other prayer.  It may be helpful at times to begin with something structured, such as the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, or some kind of spiritual reading.  In addition to the Bible, there are many great books in the back of St. Mary’s Church that can guide us in our time of Adoration.  We also want to have sufficient time for quiet, allowing us to speak to Christ about whatever might be on our hearts, and to listen as he “speaks” to us.  Be present with Him, even if it SEEMS that nothing is happening.  St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) once said, “The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time that you will spend on earth.  Each moment that you spend with Jesus will deepen your union with Him and make your soul everlastingly more glorious and beautiful in heaven, and will help bring about an everlasting peace on earth.” 
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Please consider stopping in for a few minutes, or an hour, or more, of Adoration at St. Mary’s on first Fridays from after the 8am Mass to 12 noon.  If you have any questions, or would like to sign up for an hour, call Petrine Pongratz at 715-652-2421.
 

​Praised be Jesus Christ!
 
As you may know, on the first Thursday/Friday of the month, at the end of the daily Mass at each of our parishes, I would expose the Blessed Sacrament for a few minutes while we pray together the Litany to the Sacred Heart to renew our parishes’ (as well as personal) consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  After the Sacred Heart devotion, I have also had Benediction before reposing the Blessed Sacrament back in the tabernacle.  Over the last couple months, however, instead of immediately reposing the Blessed Sacrament at St. Mary’s on First Friday, we have had additional hours in which anyone has been welcome to come to pray in church before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, i.e., a period of Eucharistic Adoration. 
 
I would like to again invite and encourage you to come at Adoration on First Fridays if you are able, but I realize you may have some questions first.  Perhaps you are unfamiliar with Adoration and might wondering: What exactly is Eucharistic Adoration and why do we have it?  Isn’t that just something they used to do in the Church many years ago?  Why now?  What exactly do I do when I come for adoration?   These are all good questions and I will attempt to answer them in this and future bulletin columns.  Also, I have invited Fr. Dan Thelen, associate pastor of St. Matthew’s and Holy Name Parishes in Wausau to come and celebrate our weekend Masses on November 26th-27th, the first Sunday of Advent.  During the homily, he will speak about Adoration and share some of his own personal experience.  (This will also give me the chance to celebrate Mass at my own home parish of St. Matthew’s in Wausau, which I have been unable to do in years.)
 
First of all, in order to understand what Eucharistic Adoration is all about, we have to understand what we as Catholics believe about the Eucharist; i.e., Holy Communion, as we call it in the Mass.  At the moment of consecration in the Mass, the bread and wine on the altar are changed into the actual Body and Blood of Christ.  As Catholics, we call this “transubstantiation,” which means that the bread and wine maintain the appearance of bread and wine, but their substance is changed into the actual Body and Blood of Christ.  We also refer to this as the “Real Presence” of Jesus in the Eucharist, because Christ is really and truly present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.  Christ isn’t just spiritually or symbolically present, but really and truly present.
 
Our Catholic belief about the Eucharist is a radical one, and is not shared to the same degree by many of our Christian brothers and sisters.  But Christians since the earliest days of the Church have believed that Christ is present in the Eucharist in a profound way and that he desires to be with us in that way.  In fact, Christ’s words in the New Testament fully support the Catholic teaching on the Eucharist.  Just read chapter six of John’s Gospel, and you will see that Jesus speaks very clearly about the Eucharist being his Body and Blood, and he even acknowledged that many people stopped following him because it was such a hard teaching to accept.  Jesus instituted the Eucharist in order to remain with us in a real, profound, and physical way.  Adoration is a way for us to remain with him as he remains with us.

​Praised be Jesus Christ!
 
Next on our list of exploring the different Christian denominations is the United Church of Christ, or UCC.  This communion was formed as the result of a merging of the Congregationalists, and the Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1957.  The Congregationalists were a group of Christians from England originating in the 1600s who rejected any centralized organization that exercised control over individual congregations.  Hence the name: “Congregationalists.”  This same group would travel to the Netherlands to flee persecution, but not finding things better there, they would board a ship called the Mayflower set for the New World.  In the early American Colonies, these Congregationalists would make up the religious majority.  They would also be merged with the Puritans, another group that broke away from the Church of England.  Valuing a good education, these Congregationalists would eventually go on to found some of our countries most distinguished universities, such as Harvard and Yale.  Interestingly as well, the UCC has been the Christian community with which President Obama has had the closest ties throughout his life.
 
The Evangelical and Reformed Church, which would join the Congregationalists to form the UCC, were German in origin.  They rejected Martin Luther and adopted the teachings of John Calvin.  Together as the UCC, this communion is known for its liberal approach to theology and takes as its motto, “That they may all be one,” from John 17:21.  The central difference between the UCC and the Catholic Church concerns authority – the Catholic Church having a central organization and authority.  There is also disagreement on a great deal of other doctrinal and moral issues, including how we interpret the Scriptures, and how we conceive of the Trinity.  Still, together we believe that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and we are able to work together in service to the needy and in other forms of social outreach.  We also both believe in the importance of baptism, as well as the baptism of infants.
 
Another denomination is the Quakers, also known as the Society of Friends.  Today, the Quakers only number around 200,000 in the United States.  Yet, they are known for their work in social justice, as well as being pacifists and refusing to serve in the military.  It’s believed that the Quakers were founded by George Fox in 1649.  Fox rejected the corruption he saw within Protestantism.  Like Lutherans, the Quakers rejected the Pope and the seven sacraments.  Like Calvinists, they also rejected the bishops and a centrally organized church.  And, going beyond that, they also rejected all sacraments, rituals, and ministers in the church.  They also differ from other Protestants in that they do not acknowledge the Bible as their only rule of faith (Sola Scriptura).  For Quakers, the emphasis is on the individual and one’s personal experience of the Holy Spirit, which they call the “Inner Light.”  Quakers maintained a strict way of life, dressing simply, and avoiding entertainment.
 
William Penn, from whom Pennsylvania takes its name, led the first Quakers to America in 1681.  Quaker Oats takes its name from this group… note the man depicted on the label.  To be expected, there are many differences between us as Catholics, and Quakers: their rejection of baptism, as well as their understanding of the sacraments and authority in the Church.  We do both, however, still acknowledge Christ as our savior.  We also together disagree with the Protestant teaching of Sola Scriptura (that the Scriptures are our sole rule of faith).  Finally, like other denominations, we can work together in various areas of social justice.  May we continue to share our faith with those separated from us and pray for greater unity.