What is Virtual Eucharistic Adoration?

As they continued their journey, [Jesus] entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.  She had a sister named Mary [who] sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.  Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.”  The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

In today’s busy world, we often find ourselves like Martha – running around and trying to take care of things and others, whether it be at home, at work, at school, or elsewhere.  We are also constantly bombarded by noise, whether we talk to people in person or on phone calls, listen to music or videos or podcasts, or constantly check our social media accounts.  In fact, most people are uncomfortable with silence and need to do or say something to fill that silence.  However, the prophet Elijah learned that sometimes, God is not heard in a strong, violent wind or an earthquake or a fire, but rather in a “light silent sound” (1 Kings 19:11-12).  Many saints throughout the centuries have confirmed that.  In her Diary of Divine Mercy, St. Faustina wrote: “[I]n order to hear the voice of God, one has to have silence in one’s soul and to keep silence; not a gloomy silence but an interior silence; that is to say, recollection in God” (Diary, 118).

So how do we quiet down our lives and find a way to sit in silence, listening to the Lord?  Even Christ, who was very busy during His public ministry, needed to often go somewhere quiet by Himself to spend the night praying to His Father.  Some people have a dedicated space or room in their house where they can sit and quietly pray, and others spend some time in a Catholic church outside of mass to quietly pray in front of the tabernacle.  Thankfully, there are a growing number of Catholic churches that have a separate chapel dedicated to Eucharistic Adoration, where people can spend quiet time with Our Lord in the Eucharist, often 24 hours a day/7 days a week.  For more information, Servant of God John Hardon, S.J. wrote an extensive article about the history of Eucharistic Adoration: (https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/history-of-eucharistic-adoration-development-of-doctrine-in-the-catholic-church-4086).

A common question that people often asked is: what do I do while sitting in front of the Eucharist?  If you are new to Adoration, it would be helpful to have a Bible or other spiritual book with you.  The Bible is the Word of God and whenever you read a passage from Scripture, you are listening to God speaking to you.  Other religious books – such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, lives of the saints, books on spiritual topics, etc – are also good places to find passages that speak to you and provide a foundation for meditation.

Many people also find it helpful to start their adoration by praying the Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, and other traditional prayers or devotions as a way to focus their mind and heart on Jesus while blocking out other distractions.  You might see other people writing in a notebook while sitting in Adoration.  Pope St. John Paul II, who spent a few hours every day in front of the Eucharist, would sometimes be seen writing his encyclicals and letters while sitting in front of Jesus.  Some priests write their homilies while at Adoration, and other people have a prayer or spiritual journal where they write down their thoughts and inspirations.  At some point, you will hopefully reach a point in your relationship with Jesus where all you have to do is sit quietly and listen to Him speak to your heart.

What about those who are homebound or in a hospital or otherwise not able to get to a church, but still want to have a connection with Jesus in the Eucharist?  This predicament became even more prevalent during the Covid-19 crisis in 2020 when most Catholic churches were temporarily closed to the public, and a number of people began to work from home.  This is when online Eucharistic Adoration becomes helpful, where various sites live-stream a video of a monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament.  Some videos are completely quiet, while others provide background music to help aid with meditation.

Although this is not exactly the same as having Jesus physically present in front of you, there is still great merit in using online Adoration.  God is outside of space and time, and is always spiritually with us.  However, by looking at Him through online Adoration sites, we can better remove the chaos and distractions around us, and focus our minds and hearts on prayer and communion towards Christ.  In fact, as more people work remotely from home, they might have one or more of these Adoration sites bookmarked so that at certain times throughout the day, they can take a break from their hectic day and spend a few minutes refocusing on the Lord.  Ultimately, the effectiveness of Eucharistic Adoration depends less on whether you are physically or virtually in front of the Eucharist, and more on the devotion and intention within your heart.  For those who cannot be there physically, especially the sick and elderly, your prayers are made even more powerful when you unite your suffering and loneliness/chaos with Christ through this online devotion.

“Know also that you will probably gain more by praying fifteen minutes before the Blessed Sacrament than by all the other spiritual exercises of the day. True, Our Lord hears our prayers anywhere, for He has made the promise, ‘Ask, and you shall receive,’ but He has revealed to His servants that those who visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament will obtain a more abundant measure of grace.” – St. Alphonsus Liguori