Padre’s Points to Ponder – by Deacon Chrystian Bis
I have only just unpacked my boxes here in Dunwoody and started my first week on assignment as a deacon at All Saints, yet I already find myself deeply immersed in the spiritual life of this parish. I’m very thankful that my first weekend here included celebrating the Solemnity of Corpus Christi with all of you.
For those who were able to stay for the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at the end of Mass this past Sunday, I hope you felt the same incredible shift in the atmosphere that I did when we knelt in front of the monstrance.
Adoration is a delight for our senses. We triumphantly display the Blessed Sacrament in a massive, heavy golden monstrance. We surrounded it with the flicker of candles and thick clouds of incense from the thurible. We sang ancient Latin hymns that connect our voices to centuries of believers doing the exact same thing. All of these aspects help to pull our eyes, ears, and sense of smell upward, driving our full attention to the Sacrament in the center of the altar.
But during that, for just a few minutes, we knelt in silence. Our time of adoration provides us with a deeply unique kind of silence. It’s not the empty, distracted, uncomfortable quiet of waiting for something to start, or the exhausted silence at the end of a day. It is an active, heavy silence. In this silence we are invited into an intimate, personal encounter with Christ.
Seeing the blessed sacrament in front of us, we had the chance to offer up all of our deepest anxieties and fears to the Lord. It also leaves us more open to hear from Christ. One of my favorite theologians, in one of his expansive works, he took a pause in his usual writing to remind his readers that what he was writing was not just the product of intellectual reading, but also from the powerful impact he had received from kneeling in adoration and gazing upon Christ. All the theology and philosophy in the world can only take us so far before we simply have to stop talking and look at God. In that quiet time, stripped of our own noise and defenses, we allow ourselves to be seen by Him.
If you felt inspired by what you experienced this weekend, or perhaps you missed the chance but are still interested, I would gently invite you to join us for adoration in the chapel. We have exposition of the blessed sacrament available on Wednesdays from 7:30 am – 6:00 pm, and on Fridays from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have, just stop me after Mass, or send me an email at deaconchrystian@allsaintsdunwoody.org.
As I begin my time here at All Saints, I am grateful to participate in the incredible liturgies and the silent times of prayer and adoration. I look forward to continuing to grow and learn with all of you.
In Christ,
Dcn. Chrystian Bis