Advent - Love - wk4

Dear Jesus, may the light of your love always shine in our hearts.  As Christmas draws closer, we marvel at your great love for us.  Let your love transform every aspect of our lives and touch everyone we encounter.  Our hearts are open to you, Jesus.  Amen

Advent - Joy - wk3

Dear Jesus, help us focus on you during this busy season.  May we stay aware of the joy you bring into our lives.  We want to find you in the everyday moments and come with hearts of gratitude to your manger on Christmas.

Amen.

Eucharistic Adoration helps prepare our hearts for Christmas!

Also used 121921

Adoration - A Plenary Indulgence

A Plenary Indulgence is the remission before God of ‘all’ the temporal punishment due to be suffered for already-forgiven sins.

A Catholic, being in the state of grace, can gain a Plenary Indulgence by many different prayers and works of piety, including:

Making a visit to the Blessed Sacrament to adore Him for at lease one half hour.

In addition to the Visit, these three conditions are required:

1. Confession
2. Holy Communion
3. Prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions.
   (One Our Father and one Hail Mary suffice)

The three conditions may be fulfilled several days before or after the performance of the prescribed work; it is fitting, however, that Communion be received and the prayer for the intention of the Holy Father be recited on the same day the work is performed.

In addition, to gain a Plenary Indulgence, a person’s mind and heart must be free from all attachment to sin, even venial sin.

If one tries to gain a Plenary Indulgence, but fails to fulfill all the requirement, the indulgence will be only partial.

(From the leaflet “How to Gain a Plenary Indulgence,” TAN, Imprimature Most Rev. Thomas G. Doran, Bishop of Rockford, March 31, 1998)

Advent - Peace - Week 2

Dear Jesus, you entered our world on Christmas as the Prince of Peace.  This Advent, as we strive to become the-best-version-of-ourselves, fill us with a deep and abiding peace.  Help us share that peace with everyone we encounter, especially those who need it most.
Amen

Eucharistic Adoration helps prepare our hearts for Christmas!

Advent - Hope - wk1

Dear Jesus, you are the hope in our messy world.  This Advent, help us slow down, listen to your voice, and focus on what's really important.  We place our hope in you as we prepare our hearts to celebrate your birth on Christmas.
Amen

Eucharistic Adoration helps prepare our hearts for Christmas!

Used in bulletin 121023

I Don't Have Enough 'Time'

"You may think that there are not enough hours in the day to do all that needs to be done.  I promise you that every hour given exclusively to Me will be like the seed of an abundant harvest.  The fruit that you will reap will surpass beyond all imagining the little you will have given Me by abiding in My presence."
     In Sinu Jesu  p.264

Just like the parable of the loaves and fishes ... you have to put it into the hands of God first.

www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi

Mary's Voice in Today's World

Our Lady's Message at Medjugorje

 August 25, 2019

“Dear children!

Pray, work and witness with love for the Kingdom of Heaven that it may be good for you here on earth.

Little children, God will bless your effort a hundred fold; you will be witnesses among peoples, souls of unbelievers will feel the grace of conversion and Heaven will be grateful for your efforts and sacrifices.

Little children, witness with the Rosary in hand that you are mine and decide for holiness.

Thank you for having responded to my call. ”

Develop the habit of praying before the Blessed Sacrament.  Join the ranks of regular Adorers in the Adoration Chapel at IHM.

Check out the open hours to see where you can step-up and be helpful by committing to an hour a week in the presence of Our Lord.

www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi

Contact List of All IHM Adorers

List of all IHM Adorers.

The list of current Adorers has been updated as of August 06, 2019.  The list is broken down into six hour blocks and below are links to each block stored on the blog.  

List of Adorers Midnight to 6AM

List of Adorers 6AM to Noon

List of Adorers Noon to 6PM

List of Adorers 6PM to Midnight

Click on the link to check your information and see contact information of all adorers within that time frame.  Please treat this information on a ‘need to know basis’ and respect everyone’s privacy.

Updated sheets have also been put into the 3 ring binder on the counter in back of the chapel in case you need information while in the chapel.

If any changes need to be made please email those to me.

Thanks to everyone for your support of the Adoration Ministry.

Tom Kartes

t.kartes@comcast.net

Just A Verbal Thank You Doesn't Seem To Be Enough

"God is bread when you’re hungry, water when you’re thirsty, a harbor from the storm. God’s father to the fatherless, a mother to the motherless. God’s my sister, my brother, my leader, my guide, my teacher, my comforter, my friend. God’s the way-maker and burden-bearer, a heart-fixer and a mind-regulator. God’s my doctor who never lost a patient, my lawyer who never lost a case, my captain who never lost a battle. God’s my all in all, my everything.

God’s my rock, my sword, my shield, my lily of the valley, my pearl of great price. God’s a god of peace and a god of war. Counselor, Emmanuel, Redeemer, Savior, Prince of Peace, Son of God, Mary’s little baby, wonderful Word of God."

   Sr. Thea Bowman (1937-1990)  Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration

Don't you just feel you need to give a little more back to the God of Love?

Why not join the ranks of regular Adorers at the IHM Adoration Chapel?

www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi

The Unique Power of Eucharistic Adoration

As told by Our Lord Himself to a Benedictine Monk:

"More good can be done in a single hour of adoration than in a hundred days of uninterrupted preaching and apostolic labors, for when you are with Me, I am working for you.  Time spent in My presence is not time lost.  It is the multiplication of time and the magnification of your limited strength into an energy that comes from Me, an energy by which I will do great things through you."
  In Sinu Jesu  p.223

If you're not already scheduled for an hour each week in the presence of God, now may be the time to consider it and start reaping the benefits.  It's easier to do than most people think ... and you won't know unless you try.

www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi

(reused June 4, 2023)

Setting Your Sub Hours

If you are signed up as a substitute for Adoration you have been receiving eMail requests generated by the software AdorationPro.  eMails are sent based on the hours you specified you were available to take the place of someone in the chapel.

If you did not specify what days and what hours during those days you were available the system defaulted you to 24 hours every day.  That could be the reason you're getting so many eMails; and maybe you're seeing requests for times that your schedule simply does not allow you to spend an hour in the chapel.

The good news is ... you can fix that.

The link below takes you to an instruction page showing you how to reset your available sub hours.  It's very easy - only takes a couple minutes.  We encourage all subs to rethink your availability and the next time you get a sub request to adjust times in your profile if needed.  A more accurate listing will make for a stronger system.

Change Your Sub Hours

Change Through The Living Presence

"When we participate in the practice of perpetual adoration, we put ourselves in direct contact with the God of presence and mission.  Our action as adorers pales in the face of God's action to infusing us with the spirit of the Divine Being.  We are changed dramatically just by being in this living presence and being open to the action of our gracious God.

We become instruments of God's peace, mercy, joy, consolation, or courage.  The more we celebrate the small miracles of daily life, the more we realize the very personal action of God in our daily living."
   Reflections in the Franciscan Tradition

"Eternal Father, I surrender to your presence and action within."

www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi

Practice Silence To Hear God

There are few things that help us converse with God more than 'silence'!

What we mean is 'interior silence', or what some call the inner silence of the heart.  If you don't have this inner silence of the heart you're not going to be able hear the voice of God.  Anyone can develop this inner silence; to do so you begin by practicing exterior silence.

When Jesus' followers asked Him to teach them to pray He advised them: “when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” (Matt 6:6)  As you practice exterior silence, God is gifting you with the 'silence of the heart' that you need to hear Him talking to you.

The effects of 'silence' are cumulative.  The more you practice it - the better you get at it - the better you get at it - the better your relationship with God.

The next time you are in the Adoration Chapel try to sit for a few minutes quietly in Gods' presence.
Try not to use your mind in any way to pray.  Try not to think about dinner, or what shopping needs to be done, or tomorrows doctors appointment.  Just consciously be with God - sitting in the same room with His Being.  As you sit quietly in His presence you begin to grasp in your heart the great love He has for you.  The beautiful thing is you don't have to say a word because He knows what is in your heart, and you perceive that knowledge.

As you practice this exterior silence you will notice the change in your ability to use the interior silence to improve your relationship with God.  As your relationship gets better you will find more peace and joy.

"Lord, teach us to pray"

If you are not already a regular Adorer, you may want to consider becoming one.  Check out our openings on the website:

www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi

IHM Adoration Chapel Openings - July 15, 2019

"Nothing in your life is more important than the time you spend in adoration before My Eucharistic Face.  Your energy and your capacity to do other things efficiently and in due order will grow in proportion to the time you consecrate to Me alone."
    In Sinu Jesu  p.178

IHM's Adoration Chapel has the following openings for permanent Adorers.

Tuesday 10-11AM - Open Hour effective August 6

Tuesday 3-4 PM - Open Hour

Wednesday 1-2 AM - Open Hour

Wednesday 8-9 AM  - Open Hour

Wednesday 12-1 PM - Open Hour effective August 7

Friday 6-7 PM - Need partner

If you are able to fill any of these openings you can either register online at: www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi  or by calling Tom Kartes at 616-325-9305.  Call or eMail if you have questions - t.kartes@comcast.net

Current Adoration Needs

The Adoration Ministry at IHM is in need of Adorers to cover on a regular basis the following time slots.

Open Hour 11AM/12Noon Monday
Open Hour 1AM/2AM Wednesday
Open Hour 8AM/9AM Wednesday

Partners Needed:
11AM/12Noon Friday
6PM/7PM Friday

Our goal is to have two people assigned to every hour of Adoration.  We are a long way from reaching that goal.
If one of these “special needs” hours listed above doesn’t fit your schedule, and you would still like to become a
regular Adorer, please go to the website and sign up for any hour showing a ’Sign Up’ box next to it.  We currently
have 52 hours every week with only one adorer assigned.

Our website can be found at:  www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi

Additional information and 'help' sheets are available on our Adoration blog.
Visit:  https://ihmadoration.blogspot.com

If you are able to cover one of the special needs hours please give Tom Kartes a call at 616-325-9305

Christ's Presence Outside of Mass

Christ’s Presence Outside of Mass

There has been a deeper grasp by the Church of every aspect of the mystery of the Eucharist. But one that merits special attention is the growing realization, not only of Christ’s sacrificial oblation in the Mass, but of His grace-filled presence outside of Mass.

“It is on this doctrinal basis that the worship of adoring the Eucharist was founded and gradually developed as something distinct from the Sacrifice of the Mass.  The reservation of the Sacred Species for the sick and those in danger introduced the praiseworthy custom of adoring the Blessed Sacrament which is reserved in our churches.  This practice of adoration, in fact, is based on strong and solid reasons.  For the Eucharist is at once  Sacrifice and a Sacrament: but it differs from the other Sacraments in this that it not only produces grace, but contains, in a permanent manner, the Author of grace Himself.  When, therefore, the Church bids us adore Christ hidden behind the Eucharistic veils and pray to Him for the spiritual and temporal favors of which we ever stand in need, she manifests living faith in her divine Spouse who is present beneath these veils, she professes her gratitude to Him and she enjoys the intimacy of His friendship.”

(Encyclical Mediator Dei - 1947 Pius XII - paragraph 131)

The key to seeing why there should be a Eucharistic worship distinct from the Mass is that the Eucharist is Jesus Christ.  No less than His contemporaries in Palestine adored and implored Him for the favors they needed, so we should praise and thank Him, and implore Him for what we need.

www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi

www.ihmadoration.blogspot.com

A Lenten Invitation
 

                         To honor this season of Lent we are inviting you to slow down and go deeper.

                               Deeper into the questions being asked and the answers given.
                               Deeper into the images and words being shared.
                               Deeper into prayer periods and books being read.
 

                              May this Lent bring you closer to the One who dwells deep within you.

Adoration of the Eucharist

Adoration of the Eucharist

The basis for all Eucharistic devotion is the fact that Christ in the Blessed Sacrament is the Son of God in human form.

The Eucharistic Food contains, as all are aware, “truly, really and substantially the Body and Blood together with the Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”  It is no wonder, then that the Church, even from the beginning, adored the Body of Christ under the appearance of bread; this is evident from the very rites of the august Sacrifice, which prescribed that the sacred ministers should adore the Most Holy Sacrament by genuflecting or by profoundly bowing their heads.

The Sacred Councils teach that it is the Church’s tradition right from the beginning, to worship “with the same adoration the Word Incarnate as well as His own flesh,” and St. Augustine asserts that:

“No one eats that flesh without first adoring it,”
         while he adds that “not only do we not commit

         a sin by adoring it, but we do sin by not adoring it”

(Encyclical Mediator Dei - 1947 Pius XII - paragraph 129-130)

Everything else depends on this primary article of faith: that the Eucharist contains the living Christ, in the fullness of His human nature, and therefore really present under the sacred species; and in the fullness of His divine nature, and therefore to be adored as God.

www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi

www.ihmadoration.blogspot.com

Pray for Numbers

"I Am With You Always" (Mt 28:20).  With these words Jesus assures the disciples, and all of us, that He will walk with us throughout our life's journey.  Whether in triumph or tragedy, He is there.  Not only are we bathed in God's loving presence; as baptized we join the rest of the faithful to become the Body of Christ.  Together we pool our special gifts and unique talents to be present to one another and to fulfill the great commission.

Please pray during the month of March for an increase in the number of permanent Adorers to our chapel.  If you know of anyone interested please show them the scheduling page within www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi where they can see the hours where if they sign up can be of most help.

Pray Through Adoration

without ceasing

God is with us in many different ways but none more intimate than experiencing Him face-to-face in adoration.  Spending time with Jesus in His sacrament of Love will fill your heart with abiding joy and bless your days, your job, your families, your life with His protection and grace.  Each hour given to Our Lord bears fruit a hundredfold in this life and in the next.

St. Augustine is quoted as saying "He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent."  In other words - nothing happens until YOU do something.  Don't wait.  This is YOUR TIME to step up and PRAY.

Join your many fellow parishioners who have stepped up by spending an hour every week in the Adoration Chapel 'doing something'.  Commit to an hour each week and let God know you are seriously in-love with Him.

www.ihmadorationpro.org/ihmmi

Pray Always

In early church history the act of praying always was done in collaboration.  In a celebratal monastery in Constantinople (Akoimetai circa 350) the monks performed the office on a shift system:  as soon as one group finished, the worship was taken up by the next group so that unceasingly throughout the twenty-four hours prayer was offered by at least part of the community.

Much like our Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration of today.

Be part of tradition ... join the ranks of permanent Adorers by committing to an hour of Adoration at:

www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi

How Old Is The Catholic Church

The ONLY Christian church in existence for the first 1000 years of Christian history was the Roman Catholic Church.  All other Christian churches which exist today can trace their linage back to the Roman Catholic Church.  Most non-Catholic churches which exist today are less than a century or two old by comparison.

Roman Catholicism is by far the largest Christian group.  With more than one billion people, Catholics constitute about half of the world's Christians.

Be Thankful ... Be Catholic

www.ihmadoration.blogspot.com

Our Guardian Angel

Padre Pio, during his lifetime, had a beautiful relationship with his guardian angel; often he would send his angel on errands as described in his biography - we could learn a lot from this relationship.

“Have great devotion … to this good angel.  How consoling it is to know that near us is a spirit who, from cradle to the tomb, does not leave us even for an instant, not even when we dare to sin.  And this heavenly spirit guides us and protects us as a friend, a brother/sister.  But it is extremely consoling to know that this angel prays without ceasing for us; offers to God all our good actions, our thoughts, our desires, if they are pure.  Do not forget this invisible companion, always present, always ready to listen to us and even more, ready to console us … Always keep your angel present to your mind’s eye.  Often remember the presence of this angel.  Thank your angel, pray to your angle, keep your angel good company.  Open yourself up to your angel and confide your suffering to your angel.  Have a constant fear of offending the purity of your angel's gaze … Turn to your angel in times of supreme anxiety and you will experience beneficial help.  Never say that you are alone in sustaining the battle against our enemies.  Never say you have nobody to whom you can open up and confide.  You would do this heavenly messenger a grave wrong.”

A good way to thank your angel for the support received is to take your angel to the Adoration Chapel.  Your Guardian Angel is always with you, so it stands that if you visit the Chapel, your angel too is in the presence of God in a very special way.  I have to believe that that favor received by your angel is returned to you a hundred fold.  

www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi

https://ihmadoration.blogspot.com