Brad Shaffer, who works in the Finance Office for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, regularly takes part in adoration on Thursday mornings at the Catholic Pastoral Center. Photo by Diane SchlindweinSpending time with the Lord
How adoration helps Catholics grow in faith

By DIANE SCHLINDWEIN

     Managing Editor

There is a sacred silence that surrounds adorers in the adoration  chapel at Blessed Sacrament Church in Springfield. Many people come there at their scheduled times, faithful in their holy obligation. Others come in when life has thrown them a curve, and they need to feel the special presence of Our Lord. Still others visit to say thanks for prayers answered. It’s that way in all adoration chapels, it seems.

Blessed Sacrament Parish is just one of the many places around the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois that offer adoration — either many hours every day like Blessed Sacrament does, or with a designated shorter time period each week in other places. Remarkably, July marks 30 years since HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital in Effingham first began having adoration in their chapel.  Currently, ongoing adoration takes place there from Tuesdays at noon through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.

“One of the great ministries here at Blessed Sacrament Parish is perpetual adoration,” wrote Father Jeff Grant, pastor of Blessed Sacrament, in a recent parish bulletin. “Our goal is to have someone praying before the Blessed Sacrament in the adoration chapel at all times. A volunteer — or volunteers — commits to covering a given hour. They show up and pray or spend time with the Lord. It takes a large number of volunteers to make this happen.”

The monstrance at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Springfield is exposed in the adoration chapel many hours a day, seven days a week. Photo by Andrew HansenAdoration has been taking place at Blessed Sacrament since Jan. 5, 1997, and was started with the help of long-time parishioner Merle King, said David Senger. Senger is one of the parishioners in charge of keeping adoration going at Blessed Sacrament. He serves along with his wife Barb Senger, as well as Eric and Susan Portz. People who pray there are all ages, including some younger people who stop in. “However, I’d say that the majority of the people who take part are at least in their 30s, and a lot of the people are retired,” Senger said.

The adoration chapel at Blessed Sacrament is currently open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the monstrance is not exposed at Masses. “We have about 140 of our spots filled, and generally we have about 30 that are not filled, and we do have a substitute list,” Senger said, noting that during the day “most of the spots are filled.” He says people sign in at the chapel when they arrive. “There’s also a book where people can ask for prayers. And there’s a thank you book,” he said.

He says as a leader of the program, he takes shifts, as do his wife, and the Portz’s.  When he enters the adoration chapel, Senger immediately begins his hour by “thanking God for all the gifts He has given me.” “If someone has passed away, I pray for them,” he said. He also prays the breviary or reads the Bible.

Adoration at Blessed Sacrament is open to parishioners at Blessed Sacrament and also to volunteers from other Catholic parishes.  “They just have to get a hold of us,” said Senger.  The easiest way to volunteer for adoration is to check the Blessed Sacrament Parish website at www.bsps.org/Perpetual-Adoration, sign up by email at , or contact the parish office at (217) 528-7521.

As Senger pointed out, not all adorers are older people. For example, Maggie Deckard, a young author in her early 20s and schoolteacher at St. John Neumann School in Maryville, worked on her poetry and Scripture book while participating in adoration when she was still in college at SIUE.

“I knew I wanted the poems to tell a story, and I wanted the book to end in a place of hope,” Deckard said. “So, one day, I printed out all the poems in the book and I sat in the adoration chapel at Mother of Perpetual Help (in Maryville), and I created the order of the poems in front of Jesus. The poems came before the Scripture quotes. I wanted Jesus to have the final word on the book, so Scripture felt like it was the best way to do that. The process was not too hard, because again, Jesus helped me. I matched most of the poems and Scripture during one afternoon in the adoration chapel.”

In this CT file, photo Lisa Rexroat prays during adoration at her parish, St. Isidore in Dieterich. Father Dominic Rankin, a priest of our diocese, also feels strongly about adoration. “One Christmas when I was a boy, my mom and dad gave me a watch that, if you pushed the right buttons and stood still for several minutes, would actually synchronize with satellites and update itself to the exact current time,” said Father Rankin, who is master of ceremonies and priest secretary to Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, and promoter of vocations for the diocese.

“Adoration is kind of like that,” Father Rankin said. “We give our attention to God, we open our hearts to God, and if we’re willing to invest that quiet time with Him, we find that He was already giving us His attention, and heart, and by staying there with Him, we find our hearts synchronizing with the beat of His.”

All adoration is fulfilling, depending on each individual’s experience, concludes Senger. However, in speaking about adoration, perhaps the late Pope Benedict XVI said it best: “In a world where there is so much noise, so much bewilderment, there is a need for silent adoration of Jesus concealed in the Host. Be assiduous in the prayer of adoration and teach it to the faithful. It is a source of comfort and light, particularly to those who are suffering.”