Let us love God and adore Him and offer Him our praises by day and by night.
St. Francis of Assisi
Eucharistic Adoration
In 2005, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI reminded us that every authentic renewal of faith throughout Church History has always begun with a rediscovery of the Treasure that is the Eucharist–the Real Presence of Jesus Christ: Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.
St. Francis of Assisi understood this well, and was a tremendous lover of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. His relationship with the Lord in the Eucharist was the source of St. Francis’ strength and his ability to go out and serve those in need–the poor in his midst.
Over 800 years later, we still follow this example which St. Francis gave us, and strive to keep Christ in the Eucharist as the source of our strength and the center of our lives. Daily Mass is essential. From the Mass flows Eucharistic Adoration. We know the Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life”. We participate in daily Eucharistic Holy Hours. During the week we set periods of time aside for more extended hours of Eucharistic Adoration, with each member taking an hour, as the beginning of what will develop into Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration.
Eucharistic Adoration flows naturally into our apostolic works. We give priority to hosting and serving at Eucharistic-centered retreats and days of reflection. We also regularly invite diocesan priests, seminarians, other consecrated men and women and lay people to join us in Eucharistic Adoration. As we build up to perpetual Eucharistic Adoration, we will continue to invite others to participate and grow in their own personal relationships with the Lord, while interceding for the needs of the Church and the world, especially for the poor.
We are blessed by the witness of St. Francis and his ability, through His personal response to God’s grace, to keep Christ in the Eucharist at the center. As Franciscans of the Eucharist, this is our pledge and our goal, and by our personal response each day to His invitation, we will keep Christ in the Eucharist as the source of our strength and the center of our lives.