11:30, 12:30, 1:45, 2, 2:30, 2:35, 2:45: all the times I woke up in the night and looked at my
alarm clock. I was too excited to sleep! Too nervous to miss my 3am alarm. It was my first hour
of overnight adoration in the perpetual adoration chapel!
What a gift that the Sisters stay before the Lord in the Eucharist perpetually, unceasingly.
My first night of joining them gave me a great sense of responsibility and of being a part of
something much bigger than myself. As I began praying, I thought of all the sisters over the past
150+ years that came to that chapel, with their sorrows and joys, with their tired and delight,
rain or shine, always coming back faithfully to adore our Lord. Now was my chance to join in
their fidelity. No one person could do this great task alone, but united in the same mission, we
can accomplish this great labor of love as a community. You know who else adores the Lord
perpetually? The seraphim, the angels closest to God. You may know the hymn “Holy God We
Praise Thy Name”. This is the second verse, which sings of their occupation:
Hark! The loud celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising;
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising,
Fill the heav’ns with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy Lord!
I listen to their song, as they are packed in and around the chapel like bees swarming a hive.
Like a booming pipe organ, they sing so loud the ground trembles. They praise God unceasingly,
never leaving his side, so close to God that they are engulfed in flames. The name seraphim
means “the burning ones”. In the adoration chapel, Jesus in the Eucharist is truly present,
gazing at me, and I’m so close I think I might burst into flames. If his cover of simple bread was
to be lifted for a moment, my eyes would be too overwhelmed with awe, so I keep them
closed. But it is 3:30 am, so if I close them, I might fall asleep. A compromise: I look at the
ground, the floor of the holy place where God is dwelling, and that is enough for me.
Since all of God’s love is too much for my one little heart, I’m prompted to share it, to pray
for those who have never been open to encountering him, who have rejected him, who have
lost hope. I also read through the binder where we compile prayer requests. How should I
intercede for them? A rosary? Speaking to the Lord and asking him for the graces they desire? I
decide to simply hold the binder up to my heart and let it rest there a few minutes. I hold these
people’s cares, struggles, needs, and desires, and trust that the Lord will give them what they
need. “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14).
I close my time in adoration with some of what I like to call “behold and be held”: just be!
Be with the Lord. Keep him company. Behold God in front of you, the king of the universe,
really present in the same room where your feet are. Behold him in his glory, humility, and
burning fire of love. Then be held. Put your head on his chest and listen to his heart beat. Allow
the Lord to hold you in his arms, to gaze upon you, and take the burdens of your heart. Just be.
Then I hear the footsteps of the next Sister coming to pray. “O Sacrament most holy, O
Sacrament divine”. I respond “all praise and all thanksgiving, be EVERY moment thine”. I pray
that I may learn to live a life of adoration, to pray as I work and work as I pray. Please pray for
me, and know that I’ll hold you to my heart as I entrust you and the whole world to our Lord in
adoration, the sacrament of love.