The Hour I Gave to Jesus
by Marcy Tyree
On Monday, September 15, 2025, I had signed up for Eucharistic Adoration from 8–9 PM I had invited my sister, Ann, to join me in praying the Our Lady of Sorrows Chaplet. The bell choir was practicing while we were praying near the Pieta statue, and it was a beautiful night of solemn prayer. At the time, however, I could never see myself committing to doing it every week.
The next week, Monday, September 22, I got off after a long, hard day at work and was so looking forward to just going home and heading straight to bed early. I was absolutely exhausted and couldn’t wait to relax. When I got in my car at 5:00, I was sitting at a light when a notification went off on my phone reminding me that I had Eucharistic Adoration that night from 8–9 PM. Immediately, I became upset. I did not want to go, and I didn’t remember ever signing up for it!
I pulled up the Adoration site on my phone, thinking it was definitely a mistake. I thought, “When I get home, I will immediately contact someone on the Adoration Team and tell them I just can’t do it because I never signed up for that”. I just wanted to go home and get to bed! When I got to another light, I hurried to look at the site again, thinking, “This can’t be right”. As I looked more closely, it said that I had committed to every Monday night from 8–9 PM. I was really upset now. I knew that I didn’t commit to every week! I was always just a fill-in here or there, when I wanted to come and when I thought my schedule was “best.”
I looked at the site again, saying to myself, “I am definitely giving one of the team members a call. They must have signed me up for this.” In the top right-hand corner of the site, where it showed my commitment, it said a commitment can’t be undone. I thought that was very strange, and now I was getting a little mad.
When I got home, I thought, “Well, now it’s too late to get a sub for Adoration, so I’ll just do it tonight. I’ll go pray the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, read a little out of my Bible, and I’ll be done in one hour. Then I can come home and go to bed.”
When I looked at the site one more time before I left, I tried to find the statement about the commitment so I could take a picture to show the Adoration Team and tell them something wasn’t right, but now the commitment statement was gone.
So, with all of that still on my mind, I headed to Adoration that night. I love to pray in the church instead of the chapel because I am a visual prayer person, and I love the crucifix above the Tabernacle. When I went into the church, the choir was practicing the bells again, so I decided to go into the chapel instead. I went over to the stand and prayed for the families on the list, which I don’t normally do.
Then I looked down and saw a little brown book, Pocket Guide to Adoration, and I thought I could read a little bit of it to “take up some time.” As I started reading, it began with this: “Archbishop Fulton Sheen was once asked which saint motivated him to commit so much of his time to Jesus Christ in Eucharistic Adoration.” He responded that his inspiration was an unnamed Chinese martyr, a little girl who sacrificed her life every day to consume the Hosts that had been desecrated by soldiers.
It continued: “Fulton Sheen reflected that if this young Chinese martyr could dedicate consistent time with Jesus Christ in Eucharistic Adoration under those dangerous circumstances, then how could he not spend intentional time with Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament as well?”
The book then shared a man’s experience attending a conference with a group of teenagers at Steubenville. It said, “Eucharistic Adoration should draw those who adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament outside of themselves and toward the face of Christ.” He went on to describe how he later went to Adoration at his chapel in his diocese and how it was definitely not the same experience as the conference with teenagers. He mentioned that spending time with Jesus is less about methods and techniques, how and what we pray and do in Adoration, and more about simply spending time with the Lord.
When I got to page 23, it asked: “When will I spend time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament next? I will COMMIT to daily, weekly, or monthly visits with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or an hour.”
When I got to the word COMMIT, tears began rolling down my face, and in that moment I knew that the Holy Spirit had spoken to me. I realized then that with everything God has done for me, I can COMMIT to one hour a week with Him in Adoration.
There are times when I still pray the Rosary, the Chaplet, and read my Bible, and other times when I just sit with Our Lord. Now, I truly look forward to that time and actually find myself staying longer than that hour.