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Canon Marcus Holden, Father David Howell, and Sisters of the Handmaid of Mary share why Eucharistic adoration is essential to faith

“Eucharistic adoration is the physical presence of Christ with us”, explains Canon Marcus Holden, stressing that this physical presence is crucial for us.

He highlights that we are physical creatures who “need more than just the intellectual realm, the spiritual realm. We need physicality.” That is why, he says, “Jesus comes to us in this very physical way, which is in the Mass and in Eucharistic adoration.”

Father David Howell adds that this presence is borne out of immense love: “Jesus loves us so much he wants to keep close to us adoration is a way he finds to do that, to keep us close in his love”.

In an interview with the Archdiocese of Southwark, Canon Marcus shared how the Blessed Virgin Mary is a powerful guide to drawing closer to Jesus in adoration. “Mary is a guide in adoration,” he said, “because she, more than any other human person, adored the Lord and that’s what adoration is: to adore the Lord”.

This focus is affirmed by Sister Carmen, a Handmaid of Mary, who states, “Jesus is the centre of my life. All my life is around Jesus and Jesus is the Son of Mary and all is united”.

The Rosary plays a crucial role in building that relationship and making Christ the centre of our lives. Canon Marcus said the Rosary is “a way of keeping that spiritual relationship with Our Lady. It’s a mighty and powerful prayer because it brings us always back to Christ”.

Fr David noted how adoration and the Rosary complement each other: “In Eucharistic adoration, we look at Jesus. In the Rosary, we look at different moments of his life and so the two go together very well”.

For the Handmaids of Mary, the Rosary is a daily part of community life. Sister Pilar explains her personal devotion:

“We have the rosary in community every day and usually if I go out on my own, I say another rosary. I offer every mystery for a different intention. So many people need help because there are so many wars, so many problems. So I usually try and offer every mystery for different intentions and that keeps me alert”.

You can watch the full video on our YouTube channel.

Canon Marcus Holden is the former parish priest at St Bede’s Clapham Park and is the current Rector and Spiritual Director at the Pontifical Beda College in Rome.

Father David Howell is the assistant priest St Bede’s Clapham Park.

St Bede’s have Mass at 7am (Latin) and 9am (English) Monday to Thursday, on Fridays it is 9am (English) and 6.45pm (Latin). Saturday morning Mass is 9.30am (Latin) and on Sundays Mass is at 8am, 9.30am, 11am (Latin) and 6pm.

Eucharistic adoration is Monday to Friday 8am to 8.55am. Fridays it is also available 7.30pm to 8pm and Saturdays 10.30am to 11.30am.

Find out more about the parish: https://stbedesclaphampark.org.uk/