The Eucharist, Part 18
Jesus Christ: Yesterday, Today, and Forever ~
Today we continue our twenty part series on the Eucharist. In case you missed the first three, you can find them here. This is in keeping with Archbishop Etienne’s pastoral letter on the Eucharist that you can find here (in case you missed it). Enjoy.
May God Bless You,
Fr. Thomas Nathe
Trent Horn, 20 Answers – The Eucharist. Catholic Answers Press. 2015
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Question #18:
What is eucharistic adoration?
The Church, of course, adores the Eucharist at every Mass, and treats it with adoring reverence whenever it is transported. The practice popularly called “eucharistic adoration” refers specifically to praying before the Eucharist outside of a liturgical setting, when it has been reserved or exposed in a sacred vessel.
The first recorded instance of eucharistic adoration took place on September 11, 1226, when, “In compliance with the wish of Louis VII, who had just been victorious over the Albigensians [a group of heretics], the Blessed Sacrament, veiled, was exposed in the Chapel of the Holy Cross, as an act of thanksgiving. So great was the throng of adorers that the bishop, Pierre de Corbie, judged it expedient to continue the adoration by night, as well as by day, a proposal that was subsequently ratified by the approval of the Holy See,”
Eucharistic adoration can take place with the Blessed Sacrament exposed in a gold container called a monstrance, or unexposed and kept in the tabernacle. The word tabernacle means “dwelling place”; there is even a feast of tabernacles in Judaism, that is also called the feast of booths or, in Hebrew, Sukkoth. During one part of this feast, temporary shelters are erected in honor of the tents the Israelites dwelled in as they sojourned through the desert. It’s fitting, then, that the Eucharist is given its own “dwelling place” in the form of the tabernacle.
According to the Code of Canon Law, “The tabernacle in which the Most Holy Eucharist is reserved is to be situated in some part of the church or oratory which is distinguished, conspicuous, beautifully decorated, and suitable for prayer. “It should also be “immovable, made of solid or opaque material, and locked so that the danger of profanation may be entirely avoided.”
The Code of Cannon Law also says, “A special lamp which indicates and honors the presence of Christ is to shine continuously before a tabernacle in which the Most Holy Eucharist is reserved.” According to the general instruction of the Roman Missal, this lamp should be “fueled by oil or wax, [and] should be kept alight to indicate and honor the presence of Christ.” This means that the lamp should generally not be an electric light or candle, though such devices are not explicitly forbidden. The lamp has traditionally been red, but there is no liturgical law or precept that requires it to be any particular color.
During the period of adoration, the faithful may offer up either spontaneous prayers or formal prayers such as the rosary. However, the eucharist may not be exposed for the sole purpose of formal prayers. The congregation for Divine Worship in the 1998 edition of Notiatiae said, “One should not expose the Eucharist only to recite the rosary. However, among the prayers that are used during adoration, the recitation of the rosary may certainly be included, emphasizing the Christological aspects with biblical readings relating to the mysteries, and providing time for silent adoration and meditation on them.”
When the Eucharist is exposed for longer periods of time, it is called perpetual adoration. But this should be done only when there is a reasonable certainty that someone will always be able to worship in the presence of the sacrament and not leave it unattended. Redemptionis Sacramentum says that “the Most Holy Sacrament, when exposed, must never be left unattended even for the briefest space of time. It should therefore be arranged that a least some of the faithful always be present at fixed times, even if they take alternating turns.”
