My Time in Adoration
“I have had many beautiful times and personal moments with Jesus in Adoration, but there was one time that Jesus spoke to me to help another that was in need.
One day I went to see Jesus in the Adoration Chapel at Christ the King Church in Laredo, Texas. I was reading God’s Word and saying my prayers in front of Jesus when all of a sudden a man walks in who was weeping and knelt in front of Jesus. To this day I don’t know what it was that made him weep, but he seemed to be in desperate need of Jesus at that moment. It made me recall the moment that I was in when I went to cry to Jesus the morning that my father passed away. As I watched him crying, I closed my eyes and prayed for him, that he may be consoled and blessed at that moment. After many minutes of prayer, I heard a voice whisper in my ear that said “Console him and tell him that I Love Him”. When I heard those words, I opened my eyes and saw that the man had finished his prayers and stood up with tears in his eyes. I stood up and walked up to him and grabbed his hand and said “Jesus told me to tell you that he Loves You’, after I said this, I gave him a long tight hug and looked at him with a loving smile and he looked at me in confusion and went to sit down. As I sat down, I felt confused and didn’t really understand what had just happened, but I also knew that that man needed to be consoled and I knew that God put me there at that moment to pass his word along to him. After several minutes, I felt a tap on my shoulder and saw the man standing behind me, I stood up and he embraced me hard and gave me a kiss and said “thank you for your message, you are his angel’, and he kept hugging me. After we hugged, he left with a big smile on his face. When I sat back down, I opened scripture and read, “I am Your God, and I will send you to console others’. When I read this, I began to weep and realized How Wonderful and Beautiful God is.
Adoration is the best thing that has happened to me.”
Love your Brother in Christ,
Jaime D. Martinez
My Call Home
“There is an old saying — ‘Once a Catholic always a Catholic’; I was away from the church for a little while, but I felt a tug at my heart calling me back to the Catholic Church. It was Our Heavenly Father reaching His arms out to me and the Holy Spirit whispering in my ear, hoping to draw me back home. I began visiting Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and found myself coming home. My life got better, and I felt the Holy Spirit. I thirst and hunger for more of God’s Presence and give thanks for a future that Our Heavenly Father holds in my life— and the same can happen to you, if only you open your heart and your mind.”
Dan Rangel
The Voice of Coming Home
“I have shared this very personal experience only with a few close friends but have come to realize this gift I was given was not mine to keep, but to share with you all. The calling of coming home and spending just a few minutes an hour, or as much time as you are moved to spend, in Adoration.
My journey started in 2001 at an ACTS retreat. That personal relationship everyone talks about but is so hard to piece together, not just in words but in feeling God’s love and knowing I am loved. While on formation at an ACTS team gathering, over 25 men proceeded to enter the Adoration room at 6:30 PM. I’m towards the back of the room, as all the pews were filled I knelt quietly on the carpet facing Our Lord. My day had been long and the transition from work and worries of the day are heavy. I’m not one who can leave work behind as soon as I get in my car. It takes me awhile. So my time in Adoration is filled with much noise. This is common for me as the first few minutes are spent on a multitude of thoughts and feelings given the One who knows me more than I know myself is within the same room.
As I slowly raise my eyes toward our Lord I can’t help but feel that I’m a sinner and far from perfect, and yet in the presence of our Lord. This is a time of truth with life staring me straight on. I ask for mercy and commit towards improving my life and ask for strength to carry on as our Lord did. Love all and not judge.
The laundry list of things I could have done better or missed opportunities for being more Christ-like are reviewed. I give thanks for my family, loved ones, friends, health. Ask for guidance on being a better husband, father, friend, coworker. This time could have been 10 to 20 minutes in length.
After that I start to breathe and kneel in silence and I am no longer rambling on. The peace and quiet now starts to fill my mind. Breathe and Quiet. Breathe and Quiet. Eyes are closed, noise is gone and now home.
At this time many have left the room, with just a few left in the room and still in the back kneeling on the carpet not sure how much time has gone by but feeling at peace.
I hear a Voice “Luis come closer”
“Luis come closer to me”
I open my eyes and see only a couple of brothers are still in Adoration and all pews are clear. At this time I did not want to analyze, talk to anyone or try and understand just what happened. My directions were to move closer to the front and center pew as requested or so as I thought.
As I’m front and center wondering why I was asked to move I started to realize the true message was not the physical distance but the desire to be closer to our Lord and Savior. To realize we are all very much loved and before I walked in to the Adoration room God already knew the worries of my heart and while I am a sinner with concerns on the future to the Adoration room God already knew the worries of my heart and while I am a sinner with concerns on the future I will always have a place to come home to and have a one-on-one with my Lord and Savior via the Most Holy Eucharist.
I have been blessed and continue going to Adoration when possible and will walk in with the noise of this world but after a few minutes I take a deep breath and the quiet begins. I give thanks for all my blessings, say a few prayers and let go and let God for I am home.”
Luis Hernandez