As I made my way to the adoration chapel to take my first official hour, different things crossed my mind. Besides wondering if I would be able to stay awake the entire hour (which I think my excitement was greater than my tiredness at this point!), I began to think of the history of our community and the multitude of Sisters who have made the same walk down the hallways. I thought of the faithfulness of these Sisters and the faithfulness of Jesus to His brides to be present to them at every hour of every day. I thought about the fact that Jesus knew someday I would be the one covering the 2:30 am hour, that I would be the next Sister come to adore Him.
For over 150 years, my Sisters have been spending time adoring Jesus, day by day, hour by hour, switching with a simple, “O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine….All praise and all thanksgiving, be every moment thine.” How many times has this phrase been uttered in this little chapel in Mishawaka while the rest of the world sleeps peacefully? How exciting it was to be the next one to utter the phrase and begin the next hour! When I knelt down and said the words for the first time, there was this overwhelming sense of joy and gratitude for the next sixty minutes of prayer. After the hour was over, I walked back thinking about the next hour I’d take, and the next and the next, hoping that I would be able to utter this phrase countless times for the rest of my life, hoping that I would be able to spend many more hours with Jesus in this chapel and thanking Jesus for the gift of perpetual adoration.
-Written by Miss Eileen