Things to Do During Private Eucharistic Adoration
Fr. Benedict Groeschel points out in the book, "In the Presence of Our Lord : The History, Theology and Psychology of Eucharistic Devotion" that there are "four kinds of prayer most appropriate in the presence of the Eucharist, namely adoration and praise, thanksgiving, repentance and trusting intercession." Accordingly, here are suggestions for what to do during private Eucharistic adoration.
1. Pray the Psalms or the Liturgy of the Hours
Whether you are praising, giving thanks, asking for forgiveness or seeking an answer, you'll find an appropriate psalm. The ancient prayer of the Church called the Liturgy of the Hours presents an excellent way to pray through the Book of Psalms throughout the year.
2. Recite the "Jesus Prayer"
Say "Lord Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner", repeatedly as you quiet your heart and mind.
3. Meditate using Scripture
Choose a passage from the Bible. read the words and ask God to let the passage speak to you. Pay special attention to anything that strikes you and ask God what He wishes for you to draw from that message.
4. Read the life of a saint and pray with him or her
Most holy men and women have had a great devotion to Our Lord in the Eucharist. Therese of Lisieux, Catherine of Siena, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Aquinas, Peter Julian Eymard, Dorothy Day. Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Baroness Catherine de Hueck are just a few. Read about them and pray their prayers before the Blessed Sacrament.
5. Pour out your heart to Christ and adore Him
Speak to Jesus, aware that you are in His presence, and tell Him all that comes to your mind. Listen for His response. Pray the prayer that St. Francis instructed his brothers to pray whenever they were before the Blessed Sacrament: "I adore You, O Christ, present here and in all the churches of the world, for by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world."
6. Ask for forgiveness and intercede for others
Think of those who have hurt you and request a special blessing for them. Ask God to forgive you for all the times you have neglected or hurt someone else. Bring before the Blessed Sacrament all those who have asked you to pray for them. Ask the Lord to address their concerns.
7. Pray the Rosary
Pope John Paul II reminds us, "...is not the enraptured gaze of Mary as she contemplated the face of the newborn Chris and cradled him in her arms that unparalleled model of love which should inspire us every time we receive Eucharistic communion?" (The Church and the Eucharist, 55) Ask Mary to join you as you gaze on Christ in the Eucharist and as you pray the Rosary.
8. Sit quietly and just "be" in the presence of God
Think of a visit to the Blessed Sacrament as coming to see your best friend. Sit quietly and enjoy being in each other's company. Instead of talking to the Lord, try listening to what He wants to tell you.
Taken from: http://www.uga.edu/cc/liturgy/adoration.htm
Adoration Prayer - by Saint Faustina
I adore You, Lord and Creator, hidden in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I adore You for all the works of Your hands, that reveal to me so much wisdom, goodness and mercy, O Lord. You have spread so much beauty over the earth and it tells me about Your beauty, even though these beautiful things are but a faint reflection of You, incomprehensible Beauty. And although You have hidden Yourself and concealed Your beauty, my eye, enlightened by faith, reaches You and my soul recognizes its Creator, its Highest Good, and my heart is completely immersed in prayer of adoration.
My Lord and Creator, Your goodness encourages me to converse with You. Your mercy abolishes the chasm which separates the Creator from the creature. To converse with You, O Lord, is the delight of my heart. In You I find everything that my heart could desire. Here, Your light illumines my mind, enabling it to know You more and more deeply. Here streams of graces flow down upon my heart. Here my soul draws eternal life. O my Lord and Creator, You alone, beyond all these gifts, give Your own self to me and unite Yourself intimately with Your miserable creature.
O Christ, let my greatest delight be to see You loved and Your praise and glory proclaimed, especially the honor of Your mercy. O Christ, let me glorify Your goodness and mercy to the last moment of my life, with every drop of my blood and every beat of my heart. Would that I be transformed into a hymn of adoration of You. When I find myself on my deathbed, may the last beat of my heart be a loving hymn glorifying Your unfathomable mercy. Amen.
Adoration Prayer - II
I adore You, O Jesus, God of Love, truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I adore You Who has come to Your Own but were not received by them. I adore You, Whom the majority of mankind rejected and despised. I adore You, Whom the impious incessantly are offend by their sacrileges and blasphemies. I adore You, Who are grieved by the coldness and indifference of a vast number of Christians. I adore You, O Infinite Goodness, Who has wrought so many miracles, in order to reveal Your love to us. I adore You, with all the angels and saints, and with those chosen souls that are now already the blessed of Your Father and are all aglow with burning love for You. I adore You with all Your friends, O Jesus! With them I prostrate myself at the foot of the Altar, to offer You my most profound homage, to receive Your Divine Inspiration, and to implore Your grace. Oh, how good it is for me to be here with You! How sweet to hear the Voice of my Beloved! O Victim of Divine Love! A piercing cry breaks forth from Your Heart here on the Altar, as it once did on Calvary; it is the cry of Love; "I thirst," You call to Your children, "I thirst for Your love! Come all, whom I love as My Father has loved Me; come and quench the thirst that consumes Me!
Lord Jesus, behold I come. My heart is small, but it is all Yours. You are a prisoner in our Tabernacles, You the Lord of Lords! And love it is, that holds You here as such! You leave the Tabernacle only to come to us, to unite Yourself with the faithful soul and allow Your Divine Love to reign within. O King of Love! Come, live and reign in me. I want no other law but the law of Your Love! No, no, I henceforth desire to know nothing, neither of this world nor of what is in it, nor of myself; Your Love alone shall rule in me eternally.
O Jesus, grant me this grace! Break all my fetters, strip me of all that is not of Yourself, in order that Your Love may be my life here below, and my happiness and delight in eternity, Amen.
Taken from: http://www.pjp2ea.org/pjp2ea/prayer.asp
Litany of the
Blessed Sacrament
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven,
(response: Have mercy on us.)
God the Holy Spirit,
Hol Trinity, one God,
Living Bread, that came down from heaven,
Hidden God and Savior,
Corn of the elect,
Wine whose fruit are virgins,
Bread of fatness, and royal delicacies,
Perpetual Sacrifice,
Clean oblation,
Lamb without spot,
Most pure Feast,
Food of Angels,
Hidden Manna,
Memorial of the wonders of God,
Supersubstantial Bread,
Word made flesh,
Sacred Host,
Mystery of faith,
Most high and adorable Sacrament,
Most holy of all sacrifices,
True Propitiation for the living and the dead,
Heavenly Antidote against the poison of sin,
Most wonderful of all miracles,
Most holy commemoration of the passion of Christ,
Gift transcending all fullness,
Special memorial of divine love,
Affluence of divine bounty,
Most august and holy mystery,
Medicine of immortality,
Tremendous and life-giving sacrament,
Bread made flesh by the omnipotence of the word,
Unbloody sacrifice,
Our feast at once and our fellow-guest,
Sweetest banquet, at which angels minister,
Sacrament of piety,
Bond of charity,
Priest and victim,
spiritual sweetness tasted in its proper source,
Refreshment of holy souls,
Viaticum of those who die in the Lord,
Pledge of future glory,
Be merciful, spare us, O Lord.
Be merciful, graciously hear us, O Lord.
(response for below: O Lord, deliver us.)
From an unworthy reception of Your body and blood,
From the lust of the flesh,
From the lust of the eyes,
From the pride of life,
From every occassion of sin,
Through the desire by which You desired to eat this passover with Your disciples,
Through the profound humility by which You washed their feet,
Through that ardent charity by which You instituted this divine sacrament,
Through Your precious blood which You have left us on our altars,
Through the five wounds of this Your most holy body which You received for us,
We sinners,
(response: We beesech You, hear us.)
That You would preserve and increase our faith, reverence, and devotion toward this sacrament,
That You would conduct us, through a true confession of our sins, to a frequent reception of the holy Eucharist,
That You would deliver us from all heresy, evil, and blindness of heart,
That You would impart to us the precious and heavenly fruits of this most holy sacrament,
That at the hour of death You would strengthen and defend us by this heavenly Viaticum,
Son of God, Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world : Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world : Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world : Have mercy on us, O Lord.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
V. You gave them bread from heaven,
R. Containing in itself all sweetness.
LET US PRAY:
O God, in this wonderful sacrament You left us a memorial of Your passion. Grant us so to venerate the sacred mysteries of Your body and blood that we may ever continue to feel within us the blessed fruit of Your redemption Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
Litany taken from: http://prayers.pray-with-the-heart.org/litany_BlessedSacrament
