The Eucharist is the summit and the centre of Christian life. It is the greatest means through which one can attain union with Christ since the latter comes to life in one in his very flesh and blood.
In his last encyclical Ecclesia De Eucharistia, which deals with the Eucharist in its relationship to the Church, Pope John Paul II spoke with great clarity and emphasis on the importance of Eucharistic adoration. He said that as a daily practice it is an infinite source of holiness.
The worship of the Eucharist outside the Mass has an unparallelled value for the lives of believers. In the mysterious silence before the real presence of Christ under the Eucharistic species, one is invited to enter this communion of love with him, the beloved of our hearts. It is in this privileged moment, the adoration, where the door of our heart receives that gentle yet persuasive knock, inviting it to open up and welcome the Son of God made man for us and for our salvation.
For Pope John Paul the special time of adoration is in fact a pleasant one. Yes. It is beautiful "to lie close to his breast like the Beloved Disciple (cf. Jn 13:25) and to feel the infinite love present in his heart" (Ecclesia De Eucharistia 25). The more we experience the bitterness, emptiness and hopelessness of the contemporary hedonistic and materialistic culture in which we are living, the more we are to feel the great need and urgency to spend a considerable time in spiritual conversation, in silent adoration, in heartfelt love before Christ as present in the Blessed Sacrament. In entering into a deep and intimate conversation with Him, we become more familiar into his ways of thinking, feeling and acting. His very loving presence becomes for us our strength, consolation and support!
The Eucharist is an unsurpassable gift. Any time spent before it should be considered as time wisely spent. Before the Eucharist, the Church is strongly built up as well as it becomes what it is in reality: "one, holy, catholic and apostolic; the people, temple and family of God; the body and bride of Christ, enlivened by the Holy Spirit; the universal sacrament of salvation and a hierarchically structured communion" (Ecclesia De Eucharistia 61).
The Eucharist is the sacrament whereby Christ is powerfully experienced in the heart of the believer. Together with the frequent reception of the Eucharist, the adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament is a special means of how Christ walks beside us as our strength and our food for the journey, as the hope that never fades away, and as the one and only truth, way and life. Facing this greatest mystery of our faith, when God Himself continues to incarnate himself each time a Eucharist is celebrated; our response would be that of bowing low in adoration and unbounded love.
I pray that much more parishes undertake that noble and holy initiative of opening up chapels for the perpetual adoration of the Blessed Eucharist. In this way, Christ's promise that he will be with us till the end of time will be fulfilled.
Also, worshippers of Christ as present in the Eucharist would have an extraordinary opportunity to experience the truth and efficacy of Christ's assuring and comforting words: "Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matt 11, 28-30). So let us go and adore him every day in the Sacrament of the Altar. Let us be captured and changed by his Transfigurative Presence. Venite adoremus! O come, let us adore Him!