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Bishop calls for daily Year of Faith Eucharistic adoration
archived from: 2013-01-25
by: Robert P. Lockwood

In a letter to parishes throughout the diocese at the beginning of Advent, Bishop David Zubik asked for a day of Eucharistic adoration to be set aside from Feb. 1 to Nov. 24 to mark the Year of Faith.

“Once again, your response has been nothing short of phenomenal,” Bishop Zubik wrote in a follow-up letter this month to pastors and deacons.

From June 2008 through June 2009, the Diocese of Pittsburgh had celebrated the Year of St. Paul by holding Eucharistic adoration in at least one parish every day.

Stating that the “blessings from that wonderful year have been bountiful,” he sees Eucharistic adoration as a “source of grace for the Church of Pittsburgh.”

The special intention in Eucharistic adoration for this year is for “the Year of Faith and the Church of Pittsburgh, that we may always grow to be ‘The Church Alive!’”

Bishop Zubik has asked pastors to encourage parishioners “to take part in this rich devotion to Jesus Christ truly present in our midst” by encouraging parishioners to take part in Eucharistic adoration not only in their home parishes “but also in neighboring parishes when scheduled.”

Calling the Year of Faith a time “to rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith,” Pope Benedict XVI noted that the year coincides with the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the publication of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church.”

In his homily at a special Mass celebrating the opening of the Year of Faith on Oct. 20 at St. Paul Cathedral, Bishop Zubik called the Year of Faith a time “to take notice of Jesus in our lives.”

“We aren’t going to be saved unless we embrace Jesus,” he said. “And we aren’t going to embrace him unless we are people of faith.”

According to the diocesan pamphlet “What is Eucharistic Adoration” (see Page 4), the purpose of adoration is to acknowledge the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, lead to greater participation in the celebration of the Eucharist and worthy reception of holy Communion, and “to foster the worship which is due Christ in spirit and truth.” “What is Eucharistic Adoration” and suggested “Prayers Before the Blessed Sacrament” are available on the diocesan website (www.diopitt.org) under

the “Eucharistic Adoration” carousel box on the front page. A full listing of the sites in the diocese for Eucharistic adoration from Feb. 1 through Nov. 24 is also included on the diocesan website.

Bishop Zubik also noted that on the feast of Corpus Christi, June 2, Pope Benedict XVI has asked the church throughout the world to join him “in adoring our Lord Jesus Christ, present in the Eucharist.” Bishop Zubik has asked “each parish to plan for this significant day in the life of the church by offering Eucharistic adoration that day.”

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