The Catholic Sun :: Phoenix Diocesan Newspaper

Longo is one of nearly 300 committed parishioners dedicated to perpetual adoration. Through their devotion over the last two decades the parish has logged more than 300,000 hours before the Eucharist.

“God always answers us, one way or another,” said Ed Curtis, the adoration coordinator for more than 15 years. “We don’t always understand it, but He answers.”

The parish community recognized the diligent adorers at a Feb. 18 Mass with Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted. Organizers set up a prayer intention book, an hourglass and a list of adorers to symbolize the 20-year devotion.

“We are called not to look like Christ, but to be like Christ,” the bishop said in his homily. He added that even when Catholics come with heavy hearts, they don’t leave the same.

“Adoration fills us with awe and wonder in the presence of a love that words cannot capture,” said the bishop, who spends an hour before the Blessed Sacrament each day.

In his first three years as a priest in Nebraska, Bishop Olmsted was scheduled to be in adoration between 2-3 a.m. His shift came after the state’s governor and before a student, he said at the reception following the Mass.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the “Church and the world have a great need for eucharistic worship.” Adoration is an expression of love for Christ, it reads. “Let our adoration never cease.”

Humble beginnings

More than 20 years ago, a group of Our Lady of Perpetual Help parishioners started a faith-sharing group that met every Monday night. But they wanted to do something more for the parish and the Church, said Ron Caroselli, a committed adorer.

The group approached the pastor at the time, Msgr. Eugene Maguire, who immediately suggested perpetual eucharistic adoration, Caroselli said.

Some 400 parishioners signed up right away.

“We know all through this that the Holy Spirit was with us,” Caroselli said. “With prayers we hope this will continue for years and years after our time.”

Fr. Thomas Hever, pastor of the parish, explained that adoration is just one way to participate in the mission of the Church.

“The power of prayer is behind us in everything we do here,” he said.

While more people spend time in adoration during Lent, Fr. Hever noted that it’s a year-round devotion for the parish.

“You have to have a good-size parish,” he said, adding that some adorers come from nearby churches. “It’s a big commitment to have it 24 hours a day.”

Howard Prentzel made that commitment 20 years ago. He said spending time before the Blessed Sacrament helped him through his sister’s death.

“I say three rosaries every day, but it’s better to say it before the Lord,” he said, noting that other adorers sit quietly before the Eucharist.

Prentzel said adoration helps him become a better Christian.

“I’m more patient, more aware of other people,” he said. “Christ moves in odd ways. You don’t realize He’s working day by day.”

As the coordinator, Curtis noted a cancer patient’s healing, a stroke victim’s recovery and the leadership of Msgr. Maguire as fruits of perpetual adoration.

“I feel that one of the holy moments of my life is when I receive the consecrated Host. Jesus is with me,” Curtis said.

“In eucharistic adoration, I’m there for an hour. I feel like I’m in paradise,” he added. “It’s just Him and me. I talk to Him and He talks to me.”

When Longo finishes her one-hour shift before the Blessed Sacrament at 4 a.m., she goes home with an abundance of joy.

“It’s a taste of heaven we get to experience in this chapel,” she said. “He waits for us, so lovingly, so humbly. He waits to pour out His treasury.”

J.D. Long-García/CATHOLIC SUN

Parishioners at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Scottsdale kneel before the Eucharist. The parish recently marked the 20th anniversary of perpetual adoration, amounting to some 300,000 hours of time in prayer before the Eucharist.