Adoremus the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage & Congress in Liverpool in September created an opportunity to reflect on the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of the Church and explore the place of Eucharistic Adoration.  As Catholics the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith.  The Symposium talks the day before the main conference included Christian Unity, teaching the Eucharist and how our adoration and understanding of the Eucharist must begin with the Scriptures.

Thousands of people attended from parishes across England and Wales.  The Conference in the Liverpool Arena on Saturday was attended by approximately up to 10,000 people and the Pilgrimage on Sunday with a Eucharistic procession through the streets of Liverpool, starting and finishing at the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, was attended by approximately up to 8,000 people.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion enable sick parishoners who are unable to attend Mass to receive the Eucharist.  A talk at the Friday Symposium reflected on this ministry which brings Christ to others and how Christ is present in all aspects of the ministry.  The talk also suggested taking a copy of the parish newsletter with news of what’s happening in the parish, this also helps to create and build a sense of community.

The key note conference speaker was an American bishop from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Bishop Robert Barron.  He is a very gifted speaker and popular on social media with over 162,000 subscribers on You Tube (the videos are extremely well produced) and his Facebook page has over 1,500,000 on likes.  Bishop Barron spoke about the Mass saying it is where heaven meets earth and said a lot of people don’t understand what the Mass is.  He spoke about the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Testimonies were shared as part of the Saturday conference.  Magnus MacFarlane Barrow who  founded Mary’s Meals spoke about this being the fruit of prayer.  He said that people find their strength through the Eucharist and that things change and people change when they spend time with the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.  Aid to the Church in Need launched its #Go2Adoration campaign at the Eucharistic Congress which encourages devotion to the Eucharist as an act of solidarity with persecuted Christians around the world – ACN has long been aware of the Eucharist’s power to change the lives of the people they seek to help.  Young people from Youth 2000 gave powerful testimonies of how their lives had been changed through prayer and Eucharistic Adoration.  

Bishop Barron’s Missionary Journey to England is a short video (about 5 minutes) which also gives an insight into what it was like at the Conference in Liverpool https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Tglyak23wc

Symposium Talks http://catholicnews.org.uk/Home/Special-Events/Adoremus-National-Eucharistic-Pilgrimage/Symposium-Day

Conference Talks http://www.catholicnews.org.uk/Home/Special-Events/Adoremus-National-Eucharistic-Pilgrimage/Watch-Again

Christ on the Streets of Liverpool – Pilgrimage Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pDbB0N7ZVE#action=share

Conference resources for all including those unable to attend – includes resources for participating in Adoration. http://catholicnews.org.uk/Home/Special-Events/Adoremus-National-Eucharistic-Pilgrimage/Adoremus-Resources  

Aid to the Church in Need – #Go2Adoration https://acnuk.org/resource/go-to-adoration-for-someone-who-cant/

Youth 2000 https://www.youth2000.org/

Mary’s Meals https://www.marysmeals.org.uk/

Ss Albans & St Stephens has a prayer room where there is 24 hour Eucharistic Adoration on the first Friday of the month (there is a rota at the back of the church the weekend before.)  The prayer room is available for Adoration at other times.  

‘Restoration’ Holy Hour at Our Lady’s Church in Welwyn Garden City 7.35pm (after 7pm Mass) every second Friday at Our Lady’s Church Welwyn Garden City.  Eucharistic Adoration, worship music, reflections and silence.  All welcome.

Tyburn Covent where life is centred around Eucharistic Adoration – there is also a live link to Eucharistic Adoration https://www.tyburnconvent.org.uk/ 

Volunteers answer telephone requests for prayer and petitions and pray before the Blessed Sacrament http://stpatricksoho.org/outreach/sos-prayerline/  

 

Liverpool Eucharistic Conference 2018– notes from Pat Woodhead

The venue was huge. The conference was held in the Echo Arena in the dock area of Liverpool. People came from England and Wales to the conference titled Adoremus. Concurrently there was a youth event in another hall. Cardinal Vincent Nichols was there with what looked liked every Bishop in England and Wales, together with many priests who had managed to get time away from their parishes. We filled the arena but it was noticeable how middle aged and elderly we were. The youth were next door. The liturgies, Masses and talks were of high calibre. We were treated to keynote speeches by the gifted American Bishop Robert Barron. We had a large Eucharistic procession through the streets near the Cathedral in a deluge of rain.

I attended seminars on the Eucharist in the life of the church, teaching the Eucharist, liturgical rites outside the mass and the Eucharist and social justice.

So, what were the lasting impressions for me?

It reinforced what we already know that the Eucharist is central to us as Catholics.

What I will remember is talking to an elderly lady who had been visiting the housebound for years. Her account of a visit to a blind, deaf woman made a big impression on me. She brought love to that woman. It reminded me that Jesus has no other hands than us now.

I remember the three young people who each were interviewed live on stage about their faith. One recounted how it was at Eucharistic Adoration at university that she found meaning to her life while she was in a period of depression and despair. She then went on to invite unchurched housemates to come to a youth event which included Adoration. Two of which had positive experiences at the gathering.

It reminded me of when we had Adoration in our church and invited people in from the streets to experience quiet prayer. Also how Adoration in our cities is proving a draw to young people.

It seems to me that we need a time of silence in our church in the form of Adoration to hear what God is saying to us personally today.