Can you not watch one hour with me?
These words echo down the corridor of time from when they were first uttered by Jesus as he suffered agony of body and spirit in the Garden of Gethsemane. How can anyone remain unaffected?
Eucharistic adoration, then, is a special gift--an invitation to be in the presence of Jesus, to spend, perhaps, an hour with him. Though we were not permitted to be with him back then, we are invited to be with him now in his eucharistic presence. To thank him for his sacrifice. To praise him in his divinity. To return him love for love. For he is as present in that sacred host as he was when he walked the earth. It's one of the fundamental truths of our faith.
This book contains the Forty Hours devotion for community worship in traditional and alternate formats, as well as a version for private eucharistic adoration. It also includes prayers and litanies that can be used during any time spent with the Lord. For his power remains unencumbered, and being in his presence can be an antidote to sin, a strengthening of spirit, and a way to expand our love and appreciation for the mystery that is the Holy Eucharist.
