Person: “Why don’t I feel anything in adoration?”
God: “What, exactly, were you hoping for?”
Person: “I don’t know. You and I are both in the room together, it seems like I should have this overwhelming feeling, or have a vision, or hear a voice, or something.”
God: “So, what you are saying is that you want proof that I’m there with you.”
Person: “Well l… yeah!”
God: “So, the whole Creation thing, sending my Son to be born of a virgin, to minister to you, love you, teach you, perform miracles, then die for you, then rising from the dead just isn’t cutting it for you when it comes to proof?”
Adoration is about us being in the presence of Christ with few to no distractions. Sometimes we are silent, sometimes we are reciting prayers and sometimes we are praying what is on our heart. The point is, we are in the presence of our Lord.
Sometimes, answers come to us; other times, we leave with the same questions we came in with — and sometimes we leave with more questions. The point is, we are in the presence of our Lord.
Have you ever sat in the same room or driven in the car with a loved one and didn’t say a word? Sometimes, our presence with one another is enough, because we appreciate the simple fact that, that person is in our life and they are not going anywhere. We don’t have to entertain the person or worry about if they are enjoying their time with us — we are past that point in the relationship.
The same is true with Jesus. The loveHe has for us is unbreakable, and it radiates from Him. Adoration is a time to bask in that love and, through prayer and reflection, come to a deeper understanding of that love. Sometimes, we see people tear up, cry uncontrollably, laugh or even rest in adoration. The hearts of these people have been touched by our Lord. There are people who say they feel jealous when this does not happen to them. I do not see that as jealousy, but as a burning desire to know the love of Our Lord on a deeper level. It is that burning desire that drives us to know Him deeper, and thrusting a person out of the temptation to be apathetic to the faith and to the relationship Our Lord desires to have with us.
By Chris Roger
Director for the Office of Youth and Young Adult