For 15 years we have invited Jesus to our Connecticut Catholic Men’s Conference. I can almost hear him saying: “You have invited many fine Catholic speakers over the years. They have brought my gospel to the men and made it come alive. Your speakers have helped change lives, however your most special guest each year is Me. I am pleased to see the men come yearly and I am here for them. Encourage them to meet me in three different ways: in the adoration tent, in communion, and during confession.”
This year (September 24th), at NorthWest Catholic HS in West Hartford, Connecticut we will have a separate adoration area. Our men typically kneel in adoration after confession however this year we encourage our men to meet with Jesus prior to confession. Our adoration area will be beautifully adorned with flowers and each man entering will be given a votive candle to light to place at the foot of Jesus where it will burn all day. Like the Ark of the Covenant tent and The Holy of Holies at the Temple of Jerusalem we have the Creator of the world, our Creator, our Redeemer, our Savior, only a few feet in front of us during Adoration.
We come to Jesus with our joys, with our sorrows, with our thanksgiving. We come with our concerns, with our anxieties, with our wishes for our family, and our priests. We come with concerns for our country and the world. We bring the souls of our departed relatives and close friends to Jesus merciful heart. We also bring names of people close to us who are far from Jesus. We tell Jesus how it grieves us to watch them abandon the faith of their childhood. This year especially we ask Jesus to protect our country and heal the hatred between people. We also come to thank Him for the love of our children and grandchildren. We thanked Him for creating them and we pray by name for them and their souls. Finally we ask Jesus what He wants us to do to become a better version of ourselves. We ask Him to show us what needs to change and the grace to fulfill the change. We tell him of our desire to bring Him back to our families and community. We thank Him for being in every tabernacle in every church and for being here today on this holy high place. True happiness can only be found in Him. That’s why we adore!