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Bulletin column from July 31, 2022
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Dear Friends at Saint Mary’s Immaculate Conception Parish and Saint Frances Cabrini Parish:
Praised be Jesus Christ! We continue to await the completion of all the interior work on the new Adoration Chapel. In process right now are permanent doors, storage closet work, shelves for books, candle holders, icons, and of course the permanent main altar. I continue to tell everyone (and myself) that it will all get done in the fullness of time. When it is finally finished we will have a formal prayer service to dedicate it, praising God for all that has gone in to making it possible.
In the meantime, even in its currently incomplete state, we are approaching the two-month mark on August 5th of its “soft opening” on the Saint Frances Cabrini campus. In the two months that is has been again running, I have often had the opportunity to quietly marvel at the remarkable reality of our adoration chapel, and of such chapels in general.
A Eucharistic adoration chapel is indeed a living and dynamic entity. Of course at the heart of it is the Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus. He is present there under the visible veil of the Sacraments, in the Host, for anyone to come and gaze upon. That fact all on its own is an amazing thing to contemplate, and it is a well-spring of love and devotion. Longstanding Catholic tradition dictates that when a Host is not in a tabernacle and is displayed for adoration, the Host cannot be left unattended. Which means that for adoration to go on at all for even a short length of time, a commitment to stay and pray is required on the part of believers. God appears unveiled on the condition that we, too, will appear in front of him without fail. One could think of this as something of a mutual agreement and commitment between God and us.
An adoration chapel therefore is built around the core reality of a mutual commitment. God will be there unveiled, and we must be there, too. For adoration to go on across hours and days, it requires a whole collection of personal commitments to be there on our end. One believer after another must make time to show up, stay for at least an hour, and wait until the next adorer comes. All through the day and night this sacred hand-off of personal presence before God takes place. It is akin to a holy baton or relay race where each adorer hands off the baton of presence to the next one in line. This is a commitment. This is an offering. It is a sacrifice. An adoration chapel is a place of offering that relies on the promises of believers. There is no other way to do it, there is no shortcut, there is no “adoration app” that can substitute for real human presence. All of this makes an adoration chapel a supremely precious thing that bears profound fruit. It is a relay race to heaven.
Lest anyone be frightened away by all this from making a commitment to a regular adoration hour, it should be noted that we have in our West Bend chapel a very long list of willing substitutes who jump in when someone cannot make it. Which is yet another layer of the beautiful commitments that surround the chapel. There are many people “on the bench,” so to speak, if one of the regular runners in the relay needs a break. And, many people go in together as a group to share an hour commitment which is also a lovely way to make the offering of time. Moreover, as has often been said, God is not outdone by our generosity. As we commit to him, he repays us back at far greater levels.
I do marvel at the chapel. The space, even if incomplete, is lovely. What and who fills it are far more lovely. I hope all of you will come to marvel at it and sacrifice your time for it, too.