A guide to the holy hour

What to do with sixty minutes in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

People stay away from adoration because they do not know what to do there. The honest answer is that you do not have to do anything — but an hour is long, and a shape helps. What follows is a simple structure that many find carries them through, with room to abandon it whenever prayer takes over.

A Shape for the Hour

1. Arrive and settle (5 minutes). Genuflect on both knees before the exposed Blessed Sacrament. Sit. Let your breathing slow. Say nothing.
2. Adore (10 minutes). Begin with the Divine Praises or the Anima Christi. You are not informing God of anything; you are looking at Him.
3. Thank Him (10 minutes). Name specific things from this week. Specific matters — vague gratitude evaporates.
4. Read (15 minutes). Bring the Gospel of the day, or a psalm. Read slowly. When a line stops you, stop with it.
5. Ask (10 minutes). Bring the people who asked for your prayers, and the ones who did not.
6. Rest (10 minutes). Say nothing at all. This is usually the part that changes people.

Prayers for Adoration

The Anima Christi, the Divine Praises, Adoro Te Devote and the Act of Spiritual Communion all belong here. So does the Rosary, though some prefer to leave the beads in a pocket and simply look.

On Distraction and Dryness

You will be bored. You will remember errands. Nothing will happen, for weeks or years. St. Teresa of Calcutta’s sisters keep a daily holy hour anyway, and she was explicit that the hour was not for feeling anything. The Curé of Ars once asked an old farmer what he did during the long hours he spent before the tabernacle. The man said: I look at Him, and He looks at me.

Practical Notes

• Genuflect on both knees when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in a monstrance; one knee when it is reserved in the tabernacle.
• Dress as you would to visit someone you love and respect.
• If your parish has perpetual adoration, sign up for a fixed hour — the commitment is what makes it happen.
• Never leave the Blessed Sacrament unattended when exposed; that is why parishes ask for scheduled adorers.