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Adoration at Ninety-Eight
by Carolyn Kenney The night was raw with rain slashing against my house. It would have been so easy to stay home instead of going out. However, knowing the next day would be extremely busy at work, I needed to spend at least one hour at Adoration. My local church has Eucharistic Adoration each Friday night for two hours. Although our parish is large, the same seven or eight people come each Friday night to spend time in prayer. This particular night, I also attended Adoration. It was cozy inside the church; the spring rain seemed far away. The warmth of Jesus' love enveloped those of us present. Where is everyone? I wondered. Although nights such as this are nasty, people are willing to go out to eat, see a movie and even go shopping. On the way to these "important" events, why not stop for five minutes and visit Jesus who is truly present in the Eucharist? As we sat in silent prayer, suddenly the outside door of the church opened slowly. Two people walked carefully up the stairs and into the chapel. One of them was a 98 year-old woman! Every week at a certain time, a friend will stop to pick her up and together they drive to Friday night adoration. I felt humbled this particular night as I remembered that I almost did not come. The woman carried a small plastic bag with two paperback books and her rosary. Carefully she removed the crystal beads, kissed the crucifix and blessed herself. She sat directly before the monstrance and prayed her rosary looking at Jesus who looked back at her with love. We can all take a lesson from this woman, who thinks not of herself but only of her Lord. For over four years, Ms. Kenney has writen weekly articles for her church bulletin. Some of these reflections developed into a short devotional book titled "Meditations of the Heart." Her interest is devotional and childrens writing. Her website is www.myspace.com/carolyn8390 Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |