ST. JOHN – What do you do when you are a teenager who loves God and wants to grow in relationship with Jesus? You grab your passport, go to Eucharistic adoration and invite your friends.
That’s what more than 30 seventh through 12th graders in the Diocese of Gary have been doing since early September. They have been joining other faithful people on pilgrimage at specific Eucharistic adoration chapels within Northwest Indiana. Each teen has their own Eucharistic Adoration Passport 2024 from the Office of Missionary Discipleship and Evangelization.
The teens went to adoration at St. John the Evangelist in St. John and Our Lady of Czestochowa at the Salvatorian Mission in Merrillville, and are scheduled to go to St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Student Center in Valparaiso as part of a Connected Youth program at St John the Evangelist.
Through the program, the teens have learned more details about the importance of the Eucharist and saints with a deep love of the Eucharist, in addition to visiting area adoration chapels and filling out their passports. Each passport booklet has spaces to mark off, via a stamp, the locations where they have prayed. It also includes sections to jot down prayer intentions.
Mia Legaspi, a sophomore in high school, enjoys the silent connection with the Lord. “I appreciate the opportunity to have vulnerability and personal time with Christ during Eucharistic adoration. So often in life I get lost in mounds of responsibility, so going to adoration is such a gift when I am able to go. The quietness and peace I feel is unmatched to any other life experience.”
Legaspi especially loves the community that has developed. “I was so blessed to be able to get comfortable and form friendships with the people in the group so quickly and share that same yearning for growing closer with Jesus.”
“It’s so important for our youth to have a relationship with Jesus...especially in today's world,” said Nicole Bojda, whose son Joe participates in Connected Youth. “Kids are constantly being fed cultural and world views on everything and from everywhere...social media, friends, TV and even from adults. Having a good solid relationship with Jesus will help them weed through what is good and true and what is not.”
In addition to SJE, Our Lady of Czestochowa and St. Teresa of Avila, parishes involved with the initiative include: St. Patrick in Chesterton, Our Lady of Guadalupe in East Chicago, St. Mary in East Chicago, Holy Family Parish – St. Joseph in LaPorte and Queen of All Saints in Michigan City.
Legaspi encourages other teens to consider going on the Eucharistic pilgrimage. “Visiting different adoration chapels is a great way to become comfortable praying in different places. It is important to not only practice adoration in your own parish but other parishes as well,” she said. “I know that the Eucharist is truly Jesus's body, blood, soul, and divinity through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The more I get to know Him and His love for me, the more faith I have that He is with me all the time and present at Mass.”
Bojda said her son loves participating in Connected Youth, hanging with like-minded teens and visiting the adoration chapels. “Being a very busy junior in high school, Joe is sure to schedule Connected meetings into his calendar and really enjoys being there. It is so important for teens to continue to connect with people who share in their faith and beliefs and find time to pray every day.”
She noted the importance of Catholic teens understanding the importance of the Eucharist. “It is the foundation of our faith – Jesus truly present, body, soul and divinity.”
Jake Sherman, SJE’s new middle school religion teacher, said it is important for teens to spend time with Jesus in adoration. “There is nothing better for them than that time to grow in relationship with God,” he said. “Middle school and high school are tough times for kids. Knowing they have the savior of the world in their corner to turn to at any moment offers a ton of reassurance in times of great anxiety. The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. Even if kids do not fully understand it now, they hear and learn for the future.”
A junior in high school, Faustina Kim appreciates the foundation she is receiving. “I really like Eucharistic adoration because I feel like I have a hard time setting aside time to spend talking to God and I think that adoration is good for that because you are very immersed in a space that is meant to revere Jesus's body. I think it is nice to visit different chapels because they are decorated differently and they display the Eucharist differently, so it helps me pray to God with a different perspective.”
The passport includes a map and list of participating parish adoration sites complete with addresses and phone numbers. It also provides information on adoration etiquette, gives details on gaining plenary indulgences, lists the Litany of the Most Blessed Sacrament and contains a prayer for recitation offered by Bishop Robert J. McClory.
Editor’s Note: Although adoration will continue to be offered and encouraged, the diocesan adoration chapel initiative utilizing the passport booklets will conclude with a Holy Hour at 7 p.m. on Oct. 11 at the Carmelite Monastery in Munster, where a final stamp will be given to all who participated.
For more information, visit dcgary.org/adoration.
Caption: Charlotte Rensch, Jean Goggin, Allison Brinas and Mia Legaspi enjoy ice cream after visiting Jesus at Our Lady of Czestochowa at the Salvatorian Mission in Merrillville on Sept. 24. The teens appreciate the opportunity to build friendships and have personal time with Christ during Eucharistic Adoration. (Lynda J. Hemmerling photo)