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Eucharistic Adoration is available at the Cathedral of the Madeleine every weekday from 4 to 5 p.m.

UTAH — “The importance of Eucharistic Adoration is shown in the fact that the Church has a ritual that regulates it: the Rite of Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction. This is an extension of the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament which occurs in every Mass.” – United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Bishop Oscar A. Solis has asked parishes around the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City to offer Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction at least monthly.

“For those parishes with deacons, the plan is to have deacons lead these liturgical celebrations,” the bishop wrote in a July 2 memorandum to all clergy, religious and diocesan directors. “Towards the end of the hour, prior to Benediction and reposition, the deacon can give a short 3–5-minute reflection on an aspect of the Holy Eucharist. The Diaconate Office has conducted training for deacons to update them on presiding at these liturgies.”

Many parishes offer more than one hour of Adoration each month. For example, Sacred Heart Parish in Salt Lake City hosts it from 8 p.m. to midnight every first Friday of the month.

“This is an opportunity to have a real encounter with Jesus, alive, present in the Eucharist, that humbly waits for us with his infinite love to be all together,” said Father Roberto Montoro, Sacred Heart’s administrator.

“On occasions such as Pentecost, we have a nightlong Adoration,” he added. “Every time there is Eucharistic Adoration, there is peace and many blessings are poured out.”

Fr. Jorge Roldan, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Salt Lake City, agrees. “The Eucharist is the source of the Christian life that we celebrate in the Mass, and that is an extension of the Christian community that must be permanent and recognized by all,” he pointed out, but Eucharistic Adoration is important “because it is an extension of the Real Presence [of Christ in the Eucharist].”

Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish has Eucharistic Adoration every Thursday afternoon; Mass is celebrated afterward.

“People of God always have difficulties, problems, anxieties and other situations, but they can always rely on the fact that the presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ never abandons us, is always there for us,” Fr. Roldan said, adding that each human being “needs to know and feel that when we dedicate a moment in our lives to the Holy Eucharist everything heals, everything gets better.”

The Our Lady of Guadalupe community is always invited to “participate in these special moments when they have an encounter with the pastor who guides them, who heals them, who teaches them,” Fr. Roldan said.

Catholics must set the Eucharist as the center of their faith, Fr. Montoro said. “As Christians it’s important because [Christ] is present and alive. We need to open our spiritual eyes, and we can start with habitual Adoration so we can have an encounter with all the love that lives in the Eucharist.”

Sacred Heart parishioners have decided to make Eucharistic Adoration the center of their pastoral life, Fr. Montoro said.

“As time has passed, since the first time that we decided to celebrate the Eucharistic Adoration, more and more people have come to have a personal time with our Lord,” he said.

Almost all diocesan parishes offer Eucharistic Adoration; contact your parish for information about times.