Eucharistic Adoration
Eucharistic Adoration is a special devotion, celebrated by Catholics all around the world, in which one will simply sit and adore Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. It is our Catholic belief that Jesus is fully present (body, blood, soul, and divinity) in the Eucharist, and when the Eucharist is placed in the monstrance (the golden receptacle in the picture) we can sit before our Lord in silence, and allow Him to speak to us.
For more information click here.
In the past ten years or so through the work of Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XIV, there has been a greater devotion to the Eucharist and a push for members of our faith to attend Eucharistic Adoration. It is my personal belief that now, more than ever, the young children of our world need to reclaim this devotion. In a world full of constant entertainment, technology and noise, there are few seconds in our day that can spent in silence--and let's face it, many of our students do not want to spend those moments in silence. Silence has become awkward and "unnecessary" for those that have grown up in all of our world's noise, and yet, for those of us who have experienced the graces that come from being still and silent, we know it is completely necessary. It is through this silence that we are able to calm our hearts from the many worries and distractions of the day, and refocus on the one who gave us life.
Just like reading, writing, adding, and subtraction--silence must be taught. Being still and praying must be taught. This is why I have spent time looking up other resources, and creating this lesson plan to try to prepare students to be still and silent in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It is my hope that one day, students in all Catholic divisions will be able to experience Eucharistic Adoration--and not just once, but many times, as a devotion to the Blessed Sacrament may not increase after one experience. In fact, the first time that children are placed in front of a monstrance may be a bit of an awkward experience for them, but it is my hope that the lesson I have created will truly explain to them what they are to experience. The movie clip below shows Father Antoine, and students that he has worked with to promote Eucharistic Adoration in the young.
For more information click here.
In the past ten years or so through the work of Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XIV, there has been a greater devotion to the Eucharist and a push for members of our faith to attend Eucharistic Adoration. It is my personal belief that now, more than ever, the young children of our world need to reclaim this devotion. In a world full of constant entertainment, technology and noise, there are few seconds in our day that can spent in silence--and let's face it, many of our students do not want to spend those moments in silence. Silence has become awkward and "unnecessary" for those that have grown up in all of our world's noise, and yet, for those of us who have experienced the graces that come from being still and silent, we know it is completely necessary. It is through this silence that we are able to calm our hearts from the many worries and distractions of the day, and refocus on the one who gave us life.
Just like reading, writing, adding, and subtraction--silence must be taught. Being still and praying must be taught. This is why I have spent time looking up other resources, and creating this lesson plan to try to prepare students to be still and silent in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It is my hope that one day, students in all Catholic divisions will be able to experience Eucharistic Adoration--and not just once, but many times, as a devotion to the Blessed Sacrament may not increase after one experience. In fact, the first time that children are placed in front of a monstrance may be a bit of an awkward experience for them, but it is my hope that the lesson I have created will truly explain to them what they are to experience. The movie clip below shows Father Antoine, and students that he has worked with to promote Eucharistic Adoration in the young.
This lesson plan, along with the PowerPoint and movie, will help explain what Eucharistic Adoration is, and its importance. To help have your students comfortable with spending time in silence and prayer, I suggest spending a couple minutes every day to listen to a song (see the playlist I have created in the resource page) and then reflect on the words in the song and any feelings and emotions that came with them.
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Two lessons to prepare students for Adoration
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PowerPoint presentation needed for the pre-adoration lesson.
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A possible scenario for how your time in Adoration would look.
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