While I was on my retreat last month, the retreat master reflected on the three functions of a priest in fulfilling his call as a servant of Christ and the Church. These three functions are priest, prophet and king. As the retreat master spoke about the priestly function of a priest, he quoted St. John Vianney who said, “Grace makes us young.” The retreat master went on to say that, since all of the sacraments confer grace upon us, each of the sacraments makes us young again.

Through the sacrament of Reconciliation, the Holy Eucharist, prayer, contrition and repentance, the mercy and forgiveness of God is communicated to us, His people, in unconditional love and complete generosity. Almighty God, wanting to save us and free us from sin, shares with us his loving mercy as a direct result of the suffering, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. By God’s grace and healing power we are able to put aside disobedience and selfishness in order to begin anew.

These are the words that most of us heard on Ash Wednesday as we were being marked by the sign of the cross with ashes. The first message we receive from these words is to turn away from sin. For some of us it may be easy to know how to do this. For others it may be more difficult because sin can be an embarrassing, enslaving reality in our lives. Some of us may ask, “What is sin?” or “What is it I have to turn away from?”

Today we conclude our consideration of Eucharistic Adoration and its great blessing and potential for our lives as disciples of Christ. In this final reflection, we look what adoration is exactly. Here we address the wonderings, puzzlement and thoughts that some may have about what are the benefits or what to do while in the presence of the Eucharistic Christ.

Continuing our reflection on Eucharistic Adoration, we look more closely at the beautiful blessings and graced fruits of this quiet, simple act of prayer. Approaching the Lord with faith and love, we first realize the invitation to quiet ourselves in His presence. Having come from a busy, noisy and even hectic place, we come before Christ ready to encounter a person, heart to heart, who loves us with a love that is beyond words. The only proper response to this love is a silent gift of self from the heart.

Continuing our reflection on Eucharistic Adoration, we consider more aspects about the link between adoration and the fruitful reception of Holy Communion. There are many ways that God and the Church try to help us see and understand the close connection between adoring Christ in the Eucharist and receiving him in Holy Communion. Adoring Christ from the heart should lead to the desire for and reception of Holy Communion and receiving Holy Communion in love should lead to wanting to and spending more time with Jesus in prayer and adoration.

We look more closely today at the link between adoration and the fruitful reception of Holy Communion. This link is strong and true due to the fact that Celebration of the Mass and adoration of the Eucharist are bonded together and mutually compliment each other. We can say that adoration develops in us a longing and hunger to be in union with Christ through Holy Communion. We can also say that, after worthily receiving Holy Communion, a desire is born in us to remain with Christ and to have His presence to continue to shine in our hearts.

I begin today a series of reflections on adoration of the Eucharist. I do this for a few reasons: first, it is true that Jesus Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist and he it is who is the center and very reason for our being. Thus, it is proper and, may I even say, crucial that each of us who believe in him, receive him and love him spend time with him in adoration. As Pope Benedict spoke back in 2007, “An intrinsic connection exists between celebration and adoration.

We reach the last of the Spiritual Works of Mercy with this article by looking at the work of “praying for the living and the dead.” This spiritual work of mercy has obvious history in our traditions. Prayers of petition have been a common form of Christian and pre-Christian devotion for centuries. This is not only due to the fact that one of the central types of prayer in our tradition is petition but also that prayers of remembrance are very important to Jewish and Christian prayer practices.

Continuing our reflection on the Spiritual Works of Mercy, we look at the sixth work, which is to instruct the ignorant. Immediately this brings to mind the mission of teaching in the Church. Teaching was at the heart of Christ's work and it should be at the heart of every parish and every family. Every parish is called to live the prophetic mission of Christ by preaching and teaching the Gospel in all its beauty and richness, including to those who have never properly or fully learned the full Gospel message.