At the Adoration Chapel my wife and I go to there is a sign on the door that basically states that if you leave and are the last one there that you place a veil over the monstrance first before leaving.
This rather disturbs me on a couple of levels. For one it reminds me of putting a cloth over a parakeet cage to put the bird to sleep.
Plus “Redemptionis Sacramentum” is clear, in No. 138:
“Still, the Most Holy Sacrament, when exposed, must never be left unattended even for the briefest space of time. It should therefore be arranged that at least some of the faithful always be present at fixed times, even if they take alternating turns.”
Now I have never seen this chapel unattended and they do make an effort to ensure that someone is signed up 24 hours a day. But really there needs to be another procedure other than placing a veil over the monstrance and leaving. What would actually need to happen is either that somebody is present or that the host must be returned to the tabernacle.
Now this post is not just a rant on this subject, but a look a the silliness of my own interior life. Knowing that the veil procedure is problematic it is often in the back of my mind during adoration. What if everybody leaves leaving me an my wife alone? I would not put the veil on an leave and would be forced to stay until somebody showed up. Thinking these thoughts I realized just how ridiculous they are. Jesus complained that the Apostles would not stay awake one hour with him. Here I was complaining that sure I want to make a Holy Hour, but not a Holy Hour and some unspecified length of time until somebody showed up. As if adoring Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament would become an infringement on my time.
Today at adoration that situation did come about where we were the only ones left and I was towards the end of the third of the four mysteries of the Rosary. I was aware of every sound in the building straining to hear if somebody else would come into the adoration chapel. Finally a young woman came in and I was tempted to say “Tag you’re it” and exit the chapel. I managed to restrain myself and continue on in distracted prayer. Then she left and I was back to the same panic that we were the only ones in the chapel. Though two men later came in as we were finishing up our prayers. I’m just glad I can laugh at myself, though less glad I give myself so many opportunities to do so.
11 comments
Once when I was the only one there and nature was calling I had to use the veil…I consider that His fault.
It is hard though, you feel like you are abandoning Him, but sometimes people do have to leave (barely could make an hour – late night hour and the next person doesn’t show, etc). I trust it into God’s hands – if he allows this then this is what we work with.
They help avoid this problem at our parish by scheduling people for one hour time slots, but a new one starts every half hour. For example, my husband goes from 5-6 AM and someone else is scheduled at 5:30-6:30 (and so on). If someone can’t make it, you’re only there for an extra half hour. We also have a short list of people who live very close by and are willing to come in for just such an emergency.
Jimmy Akin suggested, in a podcast, to have the monstrance permanently in a tabernacle, opening and closing the doors as needed. (I think it was Jimmy Akin. Not sure.)
I agree with Benjamin. I have seen tabernacles with such little window and it is definitely helpful, but in my parish is not like that. Although my husband and I have been in the situation where we had to stayed a whole extra hour because the next person didn’t show up. It happen to us during the 40 Hours devotion in preparation for the Corpus Christi feast. My husband and I signed for the 3-4AM time slot to pray the Office of Readings, 4AM came and nobody showed up. We then pray the Rosary and did some reading until the team that signed for 5AM came. Next day the person that missed the hour showed up at 4PM. He thought he had signed for the hour in the afternoon and he was utterly embarrassed. It was a honest mistake and it didn’t bother us. We just chuckled at God’s way to do things. We thought that maybe Jesus wanted our company a bit longer, but I’m convinced that our spirit needed the benefit of that extra-hour. I can’t deny how beautiful those two hours were. The Lord was kind enough to heal my soul of a painful memory I was carrying with me. Even today I’m able to revive the memory without feeling the searing pain ripping through my chest, and He just left peace and a supernatural understanding of His will that I can’t express in words.
I don’t think of the hour as a time I arrive and a time I leave. Instead, I think of it as being contained within the time I will be there. I go early and leave when I am ready (and of course, the next guardian has arrived).
There is a parish in Maryland I visit sometimes that has a side chapel with the Blessed Sacrament exposed in a monstrance. There are iron bars between the kneelers and the altar. When the church closes at night, the Blessed Sacrament is reposed back in the tabernacle by one of the priests.
Can’t explain exactly why, but something strikes me wrong about anyone going up to the altar and placing a veil on the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament. An image of Moses keeping his sandals and walking on Holy Ground to cover the Burning Bush comes to mind….
Placing the veil over the monstrance is a sign of respect. Don’t forget, the Bl. Sacrament is exposed for OUR benefit, to help our faith. You don’t get “more” Jesus when the Bl. Sacrament is exposed in the monstrance.
In monasteries where there is perpetual adoration the nuns do this (or they close doors over the throne area) or something similar when they have to have choir practice, clean, have the handyman fix a kneeler, etc. etc.
The issue raised here goes to the heart of our humanity – our niggardly response toward an all-Good God who holds nothing back. Yes, this was the struggle for the apostles in the Garden but it is our struggle too.
Where am I continuing to hold back in reserve when I am called to give all of myself to God? This dilemma in adoration is a perfect metaphor for our lifelong struggle to give a total response of ourselves to God. Thanks for this Advent meditation!
Great post. I can totally relate to your sentiment in the post. My wife and I also have an assigned Eucharistic Holy Hour which is at 2 in the morning. Often times we are so tired and angry when no one shows up to relieve us that we spend the next hour complaining to God about his insensitivity. “How could he do this to us, his faithful children?” as if spending more time with us would not be an indication of his love for us. At these times I am reminded to often that I am still very flawed no matter how great a Christian I claim to be.
One time I took the kids with me to my usual hour, which is Sunday at 9pm. It was late, but my husband was out of town. 10pm, no one shows. 11pm no one. I couldn’t just leave, but I couldn’t stay any longer with the kids. They were young grade school. We have no veil. I used my cell phone and called the emergency number for the rectory. I woke up Fr. Tom, but he came right over. I turns out that adoration should have been cancelled that night. The kids thought it was quite the little adventure.
Just read this post on my google reader today…I’m a little behind.
I do not have a regular schedule so it is difficult for me to committ to a regular time, so I often show up at random times during the week. I have had the unfortunate experience to walk into an unoccupied perpetual Adoration chappel multiple times (yes the same one). I have also similarly stayed alone in the chappel waiting for someone to “tag” so I can leave. What is the appropriate response to addressing a situation like this in a parish?