A pristine, bronze plaque hangs in a perfect square next to the Adoration Chapel door. In bold type, it says: Please observe silence at all times within the chapel.
We all know we're supposed to be quiet and pray, so I asked some friends for the flip side of this: What are we not supposed to do during Adoration?
1. Do
not whisper your prayers.
Technically you're whispering, not talking, but when everything else is silent, you are the loudest thing in the room.
You may think we can't hear you, but we can hear every syllable.
2. Don't do crosswords, thumb wars, and for heaven's sake, no Uno!
One of the nicest priests I know asks his parish to please not use adoration time for entertainment time. If you're going to read, read something that brings you closer to God.
Jesus doesn't mind us indulging in amusements now and then, but your time in the Adoration Chapel is meant to help you focus on Him.
3. Don't rattle those rosary beads.
Or scrounge around in your book bag ad nauseam. Or constantly click your prayer journal pen. Or drive people crazy in general.
A friend crochets prayer shawls during Adoration because she said the constant, repetitive clicking of knitting needles in the silence of Adoration is like a form of torture.
4. Don't make phone calls.
If you have to talk on the phone, even briefly, please step outside of the chapel. You have no idea why the other people in the chapel are there. Perhaps you don't feel the need to be reverent, but the person kneeling nearby could be trying to cope with a serious problem and needs the refuge of silence.
5. Do not forget to silence your phone.
Smart phones are fabulous tools for spiritual growth. I love my prayer apps! But alarms, keyboard sounds, and text dings can sound like nails on a chalkboard in the chapel.
6. Don't let the kids get rambunctious.
I have toddler art on many of my walls, Lego scars on the souls of my feet, and a cockeyed chandelier because who-knows-what-happened. In short, I'm not a stuffy mom. I also believe that children should be in the Adoration chapel regularly, even if for only five minutes at a time.
I have however literally walked in, knelt, and walked right back out because a little one decided to just howl for all she was worth.
Little squeals and whispers aren't a big deal, but keep in mind the Golden Rule: Don't let your kids get away with what you wish other people wouldn't let their kids get away with...
7. Don't prostrate for so long that people think you've passed out.
This happened to a friend of mine. She has survived a lot of suffering in life, and sometimes she feels so overwhelmed with love for Jesus that she feels the need to lie prostrate before Him. But then one night she lay there just a little too long...
Also, be aware of your limitations: If kneeling causes you so much pain that you can't get up, don't kneel! Do what you can to act out your reverence, but don't do something that would put yourself in jeopardy.
8. Don't fall asleep...and snore!
This really needs no explanation.
Bonus:
Je
sus loves you even if you forget to silence your phone, you're so into praying that you don't realize your six year old is crawling all over the floor looking for her lost tooth, and you're so tired you start snoring in the middle of your first decade.
Jesus loves the three year old who announces he has to go poop, right now! And he loves the ninety year old who won't stop clicking his pen.
He is the compassionate High Priest because He is God Incarnate, the Son of Man. He was fully human and walked around with humanity for three decades. He gets it; He gets us; He gets you. So go to Adoration, even if quietness takes to you like oil to water. Just pretty please don't forget that reverence is a form of love and the Friend of Sinners is also the King of Kings.
Share with me what helps you in Adoration! How do you stay prayerful?
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