Chicago Eucharistic Adoration Testimonials
I began hearing a call to discern priesthood while in adoration. We
prayed before the Blessed Sacrament every night on this retreat I was on, and
as i sat and knelt there I kept having the thought of priesthood come through
my mind. I found myself asking if God was calling me to this life in those
days. Later, after following the Lord's call and entering seminary, I
found the Eucharist to be a source of steadiness. His presence in the Eucharist
is a place of rest for me and a source of life and energy to live a life for
God to the best of my ability.
John Horan
2nd Theology
,
Diocese of Joliet, IL
After living a very materialistic life away from the Church
for over 10 years, and having my religious view on Facebook listed as “The US
Dollar,” I finally found my way home by the grace of the confessional and the
Eucharist. On Saturday, January 17, 2015, during Eucharistic Adoration in
Mundelein Seminary’s Chapel of St. John Paul II, I finally asked the Lord to
help me figure out what to do with my life. Then, like a firm brick to the
head, I knew in my heart he was calling me to the priesthood. After wrestling
with the idea for a few minutes, I said, “Yes, Lord,” and I was filled with an
indescribable peace. A few weeks later, I began the application process to
Mundelein Seminary, where I am currently in formation for the priesthood of
Jesus Christ.
Robert Ryan
Pre-Theology
1 Seminarian at Mundelein, St. Mary of the Lake
University
The language of God is silence, and in order to really hear him speak one must go through a kind of “language immersion” during which the mind is settled, the heart is soothed, and the person learns what it is to be truly at peace. To be at peace in the presence of the King is one of the greatest gifts Jesus gives to his Church. What a joy to meet him, as the woman at the well did, and to say with her, “Come and see a man who told me all I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” What an even greater joy to hear him say, “I who speak to you am he.” (John 4:26, 29) I do not know a seminarian who is not madly in love with the Eucharistic Jesus and who does not draw his strength from him.
Ryan Adorjan
Seminarian at Mundelein, St. Mary of the Lake
University
Eucharistic Adoration for me used to be a project. I
would go in and try and get as many things done as I could: rosary, divine
mercy chaplet, reading, etc. None of these things are bad, in fact they’re
really good. But I eventually came to realize that I was hiding my
imperfections and trying to keep the Lord from meeting me. I would just speak
and pray the entire time, and wouldn’t listen.
Over the course of my seminary formation, as I grew to
know myself more, God also grew in me as more of a Person and less of an idea.
Now, a large part of my Adoration is done in silence; for the most part the
Lord looks at me and I look at Him, and I do my best to listen. The Lord tells
me: I am His; I don’t need to become perfect to approach Him, but He wants me
where I am; it is not what I do, but who I am that makes me worthy of His love;
that I can be His child and that is the deepest identity of who I am. Now the
hope is that I can learn to love myself as Jesus does to repeat the Psalm
139:14 “I am wonderfully made.”
Eucharistic Adoration for me is an encounter with a
Person. It is not a Transfiguration experience every time. It is a
relationship.
Michael Bremer
Seminarian at Mundelein, St. Mary of the Lake
University
The grace that I would like to speak about is not very
spectacular. My grace came as a realization of a simple yet profound truth that
St. Paul encapsulates when he writes in his letter to the Colossians: "...
you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col 3:3).
In other words, St. Paul says that that in and through me Christ continues His
mission and ministry in the world. By being in the presence of Christ exposed in
the Blessed Sacrament I am learning the implication of that mission in whatever
happens in my life. This learning happens because Christ's love enters more
deeply into my heart and transforms it from within.
Fr. Marek J. Duran
Professor of Moral Theology at St. Mary of the
Lake Seminary
"I am a deacon in the Archdiocese of Chicago. I was ordained in
1983. About 16 years ago I began to look for ways to enrich my ministry. I
wanted to enrich my spiritual life. I worked for Port Ministries, a Franciscan
ministry which serves the poor on the south side of Chicago. Part of our
working routine was to spend one hour in silent adoration once a week. I began
to see a change in my prayer life.
Right after 911 I asked my pastor to allow me to expose the
Blessed Sacrament every Wednesday which he agreed to. Since then, I have started
Holy Hour in two additional parishes. The first was in Spanish only. The second
in Spanish and English. In my present parish of St. Turibius we now pray in
Spanish, English and Polish.
But the most amazing thing is how much my prayer life has
improved. My wife and I love spending time in Eucharistic Adoration. Even when
we travel we always find a place to visit Jesus and express our joy and
thanksgiving for his abundant love and everlasting presence."
Deacon Javier Pineda
St. Turibius Parish, Chicago
"Daily Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel of the
Nativity at the Relevant Radio Headquarters in Green Bay, Wisconsin is what has
kept us on the air and growing for the past fifteen years.The Eucharist is truly the source and summit
of all we do.Everything depends on our
care for the Most Blessed Sacrament."
Rev. Francis J. Hoffman
JCD, Executive Director of Relevant Radio
" As Assistant Pastor of Santa Maria Reina parish in
Ponce, Puerto Rico, I can assure you that the parish 'came to life' when we
started Eucharistic Adoration. For over 30 years of consecrated life, coming to
Jesus in adoration has given me the divine intimacy and inspiration I needed in
easy and tough times. Whatever the challenge we face, our Eucharistic Lord is
the answer, and time with Him gives the victory. "
Fr.Robert Nicoletti M.J.
General Director, Miles Jesu
"We have Perpetual Adoration 24/7 in our parish since Jan
9, 2005. Immense blessings began and have continued. Increased mass attendance,
confessions, personal testimonies of deepened faith, and a great peace emanates
from our simple chapel. We pray the Divine Mercy chaplet every hour for the
sick and dying and for the intentions of the Holy Father. I urge all pastors to
inaugurate Perpetual Adoration in their parishes."
Fr. Michael Sullivan OFM Cap., Pastor
St. Clare of Montefalco Church, Chicago, Illinois
“I go to the chapel daily to be
inspired. The faith of the adorers, their joy to be in His Presence, their peace
that He is with them all touch me deeply. Strengthened by the grace of God
sharing the air of the chapel, I, too, succumb to peace and joy.”
Father Lawrence J. Malcolm, Pastor
St. Daniel the Prophet Church, Chicago, Illinois
“The Eucharistic chapel provides a rich and hallowed place where visitors and believers
can get a taste and feel of God’s tender unconditional love for them. For until we discover
that we are loved and cherished just as we are, we will not be able to reach out in genuine
love to others.”
Father Bernard J. Pietrzak, Pastor
St. Raymond De Penafort Church, Mt. Prospect, Illinois