PRAYER & ADORATION

Prayer & Eucharistic Adoration

St. Mary Parish offers Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at Old St. Mary Church in the cemetery on Wolf Rd. You may call the parish office if you'd like the keypad code for entry. Please come and spend a few minutes with our Lord.

What is Eucharistic Adoration? Catholics believe that during the Mass which we attend each week (for some of us, daily), the priest (during the Consecration) speaks these words as he holds the communion host, " ...He took bread and gave you thanks. He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said: Take this all of you, and eat it: this is my body which will be given up for you." When the priest says, "this is my body", it is at that instant when, through the miracle of transubstantiation, the bread and wine which we offer as the bloodless sacrifice of our Lord truly become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus. It is His true Presence in the form of bread and wine. It is Christ.

 

What is Perpetual Adoration? Perpetual Adoration is when the priest takes a consecrated host, such as the one described above, and places it in a monstrance. Monstrance comes from the Latin "monstrare", meaning to show, to expose to view. The monstrance is then placed in front of the tabernacle (an ornate box which holds the monstrance and any consecrated hosts) or on the altar of the church or chapel for adoration.

 

What do you actually do during Adoration? Adoration means that you can have some time alone with Jesus to recite your favorite prayers; read the Bible; contemplate acts of faith, hope, charity, thanksgiving, and/or reparation; pray a Rosary; or do whatever type of prayerful devotion that suits you before Our Lord. You can just sit and say nothing, simply keeping him company, just as you would with a dear friend. Need some suggestions for what to do during Adoration? Click here.

 

We have a dedicated group of adorers committed to spending scheduled time in the presence of our Lord. You may sign up to be an "adorer" which allows you to schedule yourself for one or more hours per week to pray before the very presence of Our Lord, exposed in the monstrance. If you are being called to be part of this group, please fill out the enrollment form here or contact adoration@stmarymokena.org. 

 


"I encourage Christians regularly to visit Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament, for we are all called to abide in the presence of God. In contemplation, Christians will perceive ever more profoundly the mystery at the heart of the Christian life."   

 

       -Saint Pope John Paul II


Confidential Prayer Line Prayer Request

Prayers for the Sick in the Bulletin

Traditional Catholic Prayers


Prayer is communion with God. Prayer can be public or personal, spoken or silent. The psalms are prayers we sing; they have been a part of the Church’s communal prayer since the earliest days of the Church. Prayer is communication with a God who loves us and desires to be in relationship with us.


Jesus teaches us about the importance of prayer. The Gospels record seventeen times that Jesus took time apart to pray. In the Scriptures, Jesus prays often, morning and night. He prays during critical events in his life and he prays before ministering to people in need. Jesus is a model of prayer for us.


Prayer is essential to living a full, Catholic life. The central communal form of prayer for the Church is the Mass.

Some of the Church’s most traditional and foundational prayers are as follows:


Grace before Meals

Bless us, O Lord, and these your gifts which we are about to receive from your goodness, through Christ our Lord. Amen.


Glory to the Father

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.


The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.


Act of Contrition

My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In his name, my God, have mercy.


Hail Mary

Hail, Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women; and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.  Amen.


St. Michael Prayer

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Divine Power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.


Hail, Holy Queen

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To you we cry, the children of Eve; to you we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this land of exile. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us; lead us home at last and show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus: O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.




There are also contemporary ways to pray. Talking with God each day, no matter the form or words used, nourishes our relationship and helps it to grow.

 

  1. Silent prayer or meditation helps us center our thoughts on God’s goodness and offers renewal in a noisy, hectic world.
  2. Lectio Divina is a way of praying with the sacred Scriptures. Find a Scripture passage that speaks to you. Read it out loud and then reflect upon it silently for several minutes. Read it again. Notice any words or phrases that stick with you. Ask God what you are to learn from this passage. Listen.
  3. Keep a prayer journal with all of your wants, needs, thoughts and reflections related to your prayer life.

"For me prayer is a surge of the heart;

it is a simple look turned toward heaven,

it is a cry of recognition and of love,

 embracing both trial and joy."

St. Therese of Lisieux

12 Reasons from the Teachings of the Church for Spending One Hour

with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament


1. You are greatly needed!
 "The Church and the world have a great need of Eucharistic Adoration." (St. Pope John Paul II, Dominicae Cenae)

 

2. This is a personal invitation to you from Jesus.
"Jesus waits for us in this Sacrament of Love." (St. Pope John Paul II, Dominicae Canae)

 

3. Jesus is counting on you because the Eucharist is the center of life.
"Every member of the Church must be vigilant in seeing that the sacrament of Love shall be at the center of the life of the people of God so that through all the manifestations of worship due Him shall be given back love for love and truly become the life of our souls." (St. Pope John Paul II, Redeemer of Man)

 

4. Your hour with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament will repair for evils of the world and bring about peace on earth.
"Let us be generous with our time in going to meet Jesus and ready to make reparation for the great evils of the world. Let your adoration never cease." (St. Pope John Paul II, Dominicai Cenae)

 

5. Day and night Jesus dwells in the Blessed Sacrament because you are the most important person in the world to Him!
"Christ is reserved in our churches as the spiritual center of the heart of the community, the universal Church and all humanity, since within the veil of the species, Christ is contained, the Invisible Heart of the Church, the Redeemer of the world, the center of all hearts, by Him all things are and of whom we exist." (Pope Paul IV, Mysterium Fidei)

 

6. Jesus wants you to do more than to go to Mass on Sunday.
"Our communal worship at Mass must go together with our personal worship of Jesus in Eucharistic adoration in order that our love may be complete." (St. Pope John Paul II, Redeemer of Man)

 

7. You grow spiritually with each moment you spend with Jesus!
"Our essential commitment in life is to preserve and advance constantly in Eucharistic life and Eucharistic piety and to grow spiritually in the climate of the Holy Eucharist." (St. Pope John Paul II, Redeemer of Man)

 

8. The best time you spend on earth is with Jesus, your Best Friend, in the Blessed Sacrament!
"How great is the value of conversation with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, for there is nothing more consoling on earth, nothing more efficacious for advancing along the road of holiness!" (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei)

 

9. Just as you cannot be exposed to the sun without receiving its rays, neither can you come to Jesus exposed in the Blessed Sacrament without receiving the Divine Rays of His Grace, His Love, His Peace.
"Christ is truly the Emmanuel, that is, God with us, day and night, His is in our midst. He dwells with us full of grace and truth. He restores morality, nourishes virtue, consoles the afflicted, strengthens the weak." (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei)

 

10. If Jesus were actually visible in church, everyone would run to welcome Him, but He remains hidden in the Sacred Host under the appearance of Bread, because He is calling us to faith, that we many come to Him in humility.
"The Blessed Sacrament is the Living Heart of each of our churches and it is our very sweet duty to honor and adore the Blessed Host, which our eyes see, the Incarnate Word, Whom they cannot see." (Pope Paul VI, Credo of the People of God)

 

11. With transforming mercy, Jesus makes our heart one with His.
"He proposes His own example to those who come to Him, that all may learn to be like Himself, gentle and humble of heart, and to seek not their own interest but those of God." (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei)

 

12. If the Pope himself would give you a special invitation to visit him in the Vatican, this honor would be nothing in comparison to the honor and dignity that Jesus Himself bestows upon you with the Invitation of spending one hour with Him in the Blessed Sacrament.
"The Divine Eucharist bestows upon the Christian people the incomparable dignity." (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei)


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