OLPH Begins Perpetual Adoration

GLENDALE — For years, parishioners at Our Lady of Perpetual Help have been trying to establish perpetual adoration. Then, last December, on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, it all came together.

More than 2,000 parishioners turned out for the Dec. 12 celebration. Fr. Michael Reinhardt, the pastor, turned to Deacon Bob Meyer at one point during the event and asked if it might be time to reconsider perpetual adoration. Well, turns out it was.

“If it wasn’t for our Hispanic community, this wouldn’t be happening. There’s a lot of healing that’s taken place,” said Deacon Meyer, referring to divisions within the parish community.

“I don’t care what kind of mix you’ve got, you can do it,” he said. The deacon heads up perpetual adoration with his wife, Rose.

Some 840 parishioners signed up to worship the Lord in the Eucharist, two at a time, for 24 hours a day. The chapel is a storage room in the parish school building that parishioners pitched in to remodel. People donated carpet, paint and their time to create a suitable place for adoration.

Students at the school will offer an hour of adoration between classes. Staff members from the parish and school have also committed to pray for an hour of adoration each week.

“So many families want to be with our Lord in this intimate time of prayer. Many of our families are suffering and dealing with problems of uncertainty,” Fr. Reinhardt said.

“Their struggles are very real and a daily part of their lives,” he added. “Bringing such pains and suffering before the Lord gives promise of new birth and hope, in knowing that He is physically with us every step of the way.”

More than 800 people turned out March 17 for the official beginning of perpetual adoration at the parish. Fr. Reinhardt led a procession from the church to the chapel after concelebrating Mass with Benedictine Father Noel Mueller, visiting from St. Meinrad Seminary.

“In order to bring about perpetual adoration, there must be an understanding that the promise to adore is ongoing — perpetual until death,” Fr. Reinhardt said. “We must never leave Jesus alone, and must always have Him in our company.”

Each day is divided up into four six-hour slots. Four married couples serve as division leaders for each slot, overseeing hourly captains responsible for reminder calls.

Perpetual adoration relies heavily on the cooperation and communication of the volunteers, each sharing their gifts.

“I don’t know a computer from a bag of beans,” Deacon Meyer said. “I’m not worthy of [leading perpetual adoration], but if He’s going to use you, you let Him work.”

The parish also received help from Corpus Christi Societas, a national organization that promotes perpetual adoration in local parishes.

“The Holy Spirit really worked here,” said Chris Georges, who serves as a division leader with his wife, Teresa. “Fr. [Reinhardt] did a lot of catechizing and the community really responded.”

Adoration

Our Lady of Perpetual Help joins other parishes already adoring the Lord in the Eucharist every day, 24 hours a day. They also join the Poor Clare Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

“Spending time with Jesus renews our faith in God’s promises and our hope for Heaven. It helps us order our lives rightly and put things in perspective because it puts God and His will first in our lives. It gives us an ‘eternal perspective,’” said Poor Clare Sister Esther Marie.

The Poor Clares are raising money to build a monastery for perpetual adoration in Tonopah, 50 minutes west of Phoenix.

“By spending time with Him, our life with its ups and downs, inconsistencies and contradictions, joys and sorrows, takes on new and profound meaning when seen and lived through Jesus,” she said.

The Poor Clares came to the diocese four years ago at the behest of Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted.

“This initiative will bring many blessings to those who come to adore and to all for whom they pray,” the bishop said of perpetual adoration in Glendale. “Among the fruits we can expect will be more vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and stronger Christian marriages.”

Time spent in adoration deepens Catholics’ faith in Christ present in the Eucharist, he said. “When we take time to adore Christ outside of Mass, it intensifies and prolongs our bond of love and faith with Him,” the bishop said.

Fr. Reinhardt said the parish is building a “stronger eucharistic culture,” putting a desire to know Jesus first.

“We live in a world of uncertainty, and the one thing that is certain is the reality of the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament,” Fr. Reinhardt said. “How much awe we must have in knowing that the Lord is truly present before us, ready to take on our burdens, sufferings, and deepest fears.”

Article Link: http://www.catholicsun.org/2009/april2/local/olph-adoration.html