Eucharistic Adoration

 On this past first Friday evening of the month, I attended the Eucharistic Adoration liturgy at San Felipe de Neri Church in Old Town, Albuquerque.  The Holy Eucharist was on display for private visitation and prayer in the Donato Gasparelli chapel which is entered from the courtyard just to the west of the main San Felipe de Neri chapel. The Eucharist was displayed in a gold Monstance on an altar with adjacent votive candles.  There were a row of pews and kneelers and an assorted group of  young and old adults were praying. After an hour of private devotion, the pastor Father Dennis Garcia arrived in his vestments, lifted the Monstrance with a wide band of cloth across his shoulders( humeral veil) and carried it to the altar in the main chapel, where he was joined by an altar server bearing an incense thurible and by the worshippers. The incense was lit and the Adoration and Benediction liturgy began with the Latin hymn "O Salutaris Hostia" and concluded with the  hymn "Holy God , We Praise Thy Name". Between these hymns the priest led the congregation in the prayers "The Litany of the Sacred Heart", "Benediction", "Oh Sacrament Most Holy" and "The Divine Praises" and paused after each prayer for private reflection. Thruout  the fragrance of burned frankincense wafted upwards, symbolizing the prayer of the faithful rising up to heaven. The liturgy ended when the Eucharist was returned to the Tabernacle and the priest left the chapel. When the worshippers dissembled there was a pronounced hush, commensurate to the sacred ceremony that they had experienced. I, too, quietly left the church with the sense that I had just been blessed to have been in His Real Presence. I encourage Catholic pilgrims to seek out and find opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration in the Catholic Churches of New Mexico. I believe it is the essence of Catholic pilgrimage to find time to meditate and pray before our Lord and Savior.
For more information on the history and Catholic Christian theology pertaining to Eucharistic Adoration, click on

History of Eucharistic Adoration - EWTN

www.ewtn.com/library/homelibr/historea.txt
 
or click on Father Robert Barron's Sermon 25 "The Real Presence" by clicking on file below
    http://c275449.r49.cf1.rackcdn.com/25.mp3