Queen of Angels Chapel
On May 3, 1992, Fr. Jeremiah Duggan, pastor of St. Bede the Venerable Church in Chicago, dedicated the Queen of Angels Adoration Chapel, a site set aside for adoration of our Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. The chapel was a response to a petition made by several parishioners and Sr. Charla Gannon who began planning for the spiritual well-being of our community. Upon the dedication of the chapel over 323 adorers committed themselves to an hour or more of worship and intercession for the families of St. Bede the Venerable Church and of the whole world.
Only on rare occasions has the chapel been closed. Each year during the Triduum, the Blessed Sacrament would be reposed from the monstrance and placed in a luna and taken to the Church for its consumption. On Easter Sunday a new host would be consecrated and the Blessed Sacrament would be once again made available for adoration.
The Challenge of a Daily Holy Hour
When a person spends an hour before the Blessed Sacrament, that hour of precious time is absorbed into eternity. Time given to the Lord becomes eternity. For the person who habitually makes a holy hour before the tabernacle, is no longer absorbed with the things of this world. His heart is filled with fire for eternal truth. In fact, the heart is taken out of this world and transformed into an eternal flame for Christ.
When we give the Lord, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, one hour of adoration, our hearts and souls are remade by him. Our minds and wills, weakened by Temporal absorption, are strengthened by the Sacred Heart of Jesus who gives us the wisdom of eternity.
Christ Beckons
In all the tabernacles of the world, Christ beckons each one of us to spend but one hour with him. In return, love of the Eucharist, love for souls will be given to us. Our nets will be full, our hearts caught up with the Lord. A daily holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament is a most effective means for preparing our minds and hearts for eternity. The door of the tabernacle is really the threshold of eternity. What hour wasted away shopping, watching television could ever be compared to an hour spent with Jesus?
What better way is there to consecrate all our activities, our entire day, our whole life? Spend sixty minutes each day before the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity! To know and love God we must spend time with him.
Let each of us spend one hour each day with him, fixing our eyes on Jesus who hides his glory, humbles himself so that we can approach him without fear. Focus your eyes on him but one hour each day and your eyes will see everything through his eyes. We will become more and more like him and people we meet, even though far from him, will know we have been with him. For his love will be radiating through us as we seek to bring others to him, as we desire with all our hearts to see Jesus loved, adored and obeyed.