Since Catholics believe Jesus is truly, sacramentally present in the Eucharist, adoration is simply a time of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, either in the tabernacle or in a monstrance during exposition. While Christ is present in both, the monstrance more clearly reveals the mystery of the Eucharist, with Christ at the center and any ornamentation radiating outward.

I didn’t fully understand adoration yet. I knew it involved praying before Jesus in the Eucharist, but I wasn’t prepared for how He would move within my own heart and soul.

As adoration began, the conference host, Paul George, spoke to us all.

“Tonight, as you kneel here before Him, ask God not just for what you want, but for what you really need.”

The previous three years of middle school had been difficult and painful for me. I faced relentless bullying daily and heard nearly every insult imaginable. I was broken, my self-worth was shattered, and I felt as if no one — not even God — loved me. I ultimately longed for and needed to know and feel God — a need I didn’t know how to satisfy on my own.

After Paul gave us encouragement, I turned to prayer.

“God, I need to feel your love for me because I really don’t believe you do,” I prayed. Hesitancy and doubt filled my mind. I not only didn’t believe He loved me; I didn’t believe He wanted to.

“Tonight, open your heart to what God wants to give you,” Paul continued.

“What does that even mean?” I remember thinking.

“If you don’t know what that means or how to do that, ask God to open your heart for you,” he added, as if he read my mind.

I didn’t trust God at all — assuming He really existed — and had no idea what asking would do. However, I had a shred of hope that if He wasn’t listening, so many people wouldn’t be kneeling and praying in front of Him. Following Paul’s encouragement, I asked God to open my heart and let me feel His love.

Instantly, my body went numb. I felt hot and had a buzzing sensation, like butterflies in my stomach were spread through my entire body. I hadn’t felt God before, but something deep within me knew this was the Holy Spirit. Tears fell rapidly down my face. God chose to give me Himself and His love.

Paul continued speaking, but his words didn’t register. For that hour, I cried and poured my heart out to God. I hoped I’d always remember this feeling. For the first time, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God was real and that I was His daughter.

This experience radically transformed my faith, and I fell in love with adoration. Even now, as an adult, I attend adoration as often as I can every week — whether for an hour or a short period. Spending time with the Lord face-to-face is vital to my faith life, and local events like The Source or Summit — monthly events for young adults featuring confession, exposition, and Mass — or our recent Eucharistic Encounter allow me to experience adoration with others.

For some, going and sitting in adoration of our Lord may seem complicated. However, it is simpler than it seems. This time of prayer isn’t about doing; it’s about being in Christ’s presence and allowing Him to transform, heal, and speak to us. St. John Vianney once gave a powerful but simple answer to someone asking what he did in adoration: 

“Nothing. I just look at Him and He looks at me.”

In our busy, stimulus-filled world, adoration offers an opportunity for much-needed silence, allowing us to hear God. Even when I bring my thoughts, worries, and petitions to adoration, I find He is willing to give Himself through His presence and speak to me.

This Advent and Christmas season, consider giving Christ the chance to offer you the gift of Himself in adoration. Spend time with Him face-to-face. It’s as simple as showing up.