I think one of the greatest gifts that God has given us is the ability to adore and spend time in the True Presence of His Son. Jesus Christ did not just come to earth, evangelise, teach, proclaim the Kingdom of God to the people, enter into His Passion, die on the Cross for our salvation, rise from the dead having conquered sin and death, and then ascend back into Heaven and leave us on our own. He is still present on this earth in the Most Blessed Sacrament, residing in Tabernacles in churches and chapels throughout the world.

We have all been provided with the opportunity to go and spend time with Him as often as we would like to.

Many Parishes have a Holy Hour each week, maybe even more than one. where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in the Monstrance and we all have the chance to spend time with Jesus. A communal Rosary or another set of prayers is often prayed by all in attendance, which is so beautiful and powerful. The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) is usually available during this time. If it has been a while since you have been to Confession, there is no more perfect a time to go than during a Holy Hour when Our Lord is exposed right there in front of you, His arms outstretched in love, waiting to embrace you with mercy and forgiveness. Often, Holy Hours end with a Benediction, a special blessing where the priest blesses those gathered with the Blessed Sacrament, the Divine Praises, and Reposition of the Blessed Sacrament.

It is an incredible experience that all Catholics should try to get to at least once a week. It is one of the best ways to enrich your faith and prayer lives and deepen your relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Some parishes even have 24-hour Adoration Chapels, which can be visited at any time of the day. If you want to visit one after hours, access is usually available by getting in touch with the Priest or the Parish Office, as a system is often set up to allow the faithful to visit our Lord when they would like to.

We are so lucky to have such Adoration Chapels, as they provide us with an opportunity to visit our Lord whenever we need it, even if it is every single day. If there is a time when we want to go see Jesus and talk to Him, or even just gaze at Him in Adoration, and there are no Holy Hours available, we can just find our nearest 24-hour Adoration Chapel and spend as much time as we want with Christ.

Adoration is something I really wish I had discovered and understood earlier in my life. I only really began to develop a devotion to Holy Hours and Eucharistic Adoration earlier this year. But I’m so glad that I did discover it that night at Mary, Queen of the Family Parish, Blacktown. I can still recall going to the church that Friday evening for Confession, and when I was sitting there in the queue next to the Confessional, I listened as the regular attendees prayed the Rosary together.

At the time, I only really knew the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be prayers for the Rosary. I was never one to really pray it that much, and I wouldn’t have been able to say the Apostle’s Creed, the Fatima Prayer, the Hail, Holy Queen, or the closing prayer of the Rosary without having the words written out in front of me. I couldn’t even remember what the Mysteries for each day were, or which Mysteries were prayed on each day of the week.

But after coming back again and again, and when I began praying the Rosary each day (using a guide on my phone at the time), I was able to memorise all the prayers, even extra ones like the Memorare and the Prayer to St Michael the Archangel, as well as all the Mysteries and which days each were said on.

A Holy Hour drew me towards the Rosary, and the Rosary kept me coming back to Holy Hour each week. Jesus led me to His Mother, and His Mother led me back to Him.

I am so happy to be attending Adoration at least once a week now. Most weeks I go two or three times. It is so important to give time to God and spend time with Jesus Christ. We spend so much time doing meaningless things like scrolling on our phones and watching mind-numbing television programs. There are far too many people who even put sport and other activities above going to church. And Jesus just waits there, in the Tabernacle, for us to come and visit Him.

If we find ourselves saying we ‘don’t have time,’ we should make time to go and see Our Lord. We should take every opportunity we can to spend time in His Presence.

When you go to Adoration, even if you don’t know what to say to Our Lord, even if you don’t have the energy to pray like you usually would, you can simply just kneel there before Him and look at Him. You’ll be looking at Him, and He will be looking at you. There can be an incredible sense of wonder that can wash over you just by gazing upon Him.

I recently visited an Adoration Chapel and just got lost in the moment when I was looking at Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. A lot of the time I’ve noticed that my prayers can become very ‘robotic’ of sorts. I just tend to repeat the same prayers that I say every day. But on this occasion at the Adoration Chapel, after praying my Rosary, I just knelt there, looked up at Jesus, fixed my eyes on Him, and poured my heart out to Him.

I think it was one of the greatest prayer experiences I have ever had. I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be. There have been occasions on which I have been praying various prayers, and have been distracted throughout them, or have taken a look at my watch to see what time it was. But in that moment nothing else mattered. All that mattered was Christ. I became so enamoured with Him in that moment that I didn’t want to look away from Him. It was like everything else around me went out of focus and my focus was solely on Him.

To be quite honest, I did not want to leave. I just wanted to stay there, in that moment, where everything was beautiful and everything was perfect.

God is so good.

On the night Jesus Christ was betrayed and entered into His Passion, He went out to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed. When He returned to where He had left His disciples, He found them asleep.

‘Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”’ (Matthew 26:40-41)

Jesus wants us to spend time in prayer with Him. Going to Adoration is one of the greatest ways to do this. He has given us this gift so that we can grow in our relationship with Him and deepen our love for Him. The least we can do is try to go to Adoration at least once a week, even if it is just for half an hour.

But if you want to really deepen your relationship with Jesus and nourish your own faith and prayer lives, try to get to a Holy Hour each week if you can. Or, if you can’t make a Holy Hour, visit an Adoration Chapel. You can go on your own and just spend time alone with Our Lord, or you could go with your family or even some friends and spend time with Jesus together, growing in faith and holiness together.

Jesus loves us all so much. He loves you so much. And He wants to spend time with you. He is waiting for you to come and visit Him. So go and spend some time with Him. You won’t regret it.