What is Adore?

We remember the words of the recently beatified, Blessed Pope John Paul II, in his last Apostolic Letter Mane Nobiscum Domine: "I would like the young people to gather around the Eucharist as the vital source which nourishes their faith and enthusiasm."

Introduction

“God is love”….a most profound and pure perception of God. Pope Benedict XVI stresses to us that this is the most important and most central truth about God. He also testifies that adoration of the love of God is vital if we are to have a living and intimate relationship with Him. “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”…. in the Most Blessed Sacrament, He is to be adored and glorified, to the end of time.


Rationale

Since 2003, youth around the world have been inflamed with the ardent desire to adore the “Love of God” truly present in all the tabernacles throughout the world. They have been encouraged and empowered through their personal experiences of the ADORE Eucharistic Youth Congress held annually in the USA, Australia, the Philippines, and most recently in Hong Kong. As a result, their hearts have become united and inflamed with this hunger for the ‘crucified love’ of Christ, made present daily on our Altars.

 

The Alliance of the Holy Family International (AHFI) through its youth sector, the Mary Help of Christians Crusade (MHCC) reclaims for the youth, the confidence and trust founded on the firm rock upon which has been built, on Christ and in Christ, the Catholic Church. The MHCC continues to respond to the young people’s search for the sacred through the ADORE Eucharistic Youth Congress, held for the youth and by the youth. ADORE provides unique opportunities where youth are drawn to the sacred, to be spiritually renewed, and to receive guidance in the morals and teachings of the Catholic Church. Rediscovering an intimate relationship with God, their hearts are opened to the nurturing Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and their lives are enriched daily through prayer and meditation.

Be Fearless Apostles of the Eucharist!

The aim of the ADORE Eucharistic Youth Congress is to proclaim the Eucharistic Reign of Jesus and the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary by drawing the hearts of the young people closer to the Heart of the Church - its source and its summit.


This event is to further strengthen the conviction of young people to embrace every human being with the love of Christ by preserving His presence inside their hearts and minds, especially through Eucharistic Communion and Adoration, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the meditation on His life through the Holy Rosary.


Being strengthened in such a way, the youth will become living examples for other youth, thereby drawing all youth to desire such an intimate union with Jesus in the Eucharist, truly present, Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity!

A miracle that gave hope to all

- An Adore Youth Testimony -

January 25th, 2009 was a day that will be marked by numerous young people as the day their lives were changed forever. It was on this day that their hearts were opened to the possibility of something miraculous.
Adore began at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Mill Park, on a quiet day when even the blistering heat of the Melbourne weather could not repel God’s faithful from making the trip from all parts of Australia. Being a follow up for World Youth Day 2008, and the second Adore to be held in Melbourne, Adore 2009 welcomed both the return of many familiar faces, and the arrival of many new ones. Thus proceeded three days of glorifying God through song and dance, quiet and reverent adoration, and most importantly, through participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

In our increasingly secular society, it is always an act of great risk, to demonstrate devotion to God or show any kind of religious faith. So often, our young people are compelled to follow the conventions of life as expressed by the world’s media, which has the sole aim of numbing the deep desire of a soul to seek its Maker and learn the truths of the Catholic faith; a faith which we have the privilege of being a part of, and which is available to all. It is the fear of being set apart from our peers, fear of being singled out that often thwarts our attempts to know, love and serve God as we know we rightly should, but if any of the 300+ participants of Adore were afraid, then their love for God undoubtedly outweighed that fear.

This was evident in the reverence they showed Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament as they walked together on the Eucharistic Procession – following Christ and accompanied by Mary Help of Christians – the patroness and namesake of the youth group that helped to facilitate the event. As is so often the case, a demonstration of faith will be met with opposition, and for some, facing this opposition in such a direct and literal manner was both a new and unnerving experience. Nevertheless, this group of Young Davids walked amongst the impatient beeping or horns and endured the shouting of drivers from their cars, all the while praying the Rosary with fervour, their eyes fixed on Our Lord. If such courage was not enough to set hearts afire with the Holy Spirit, January 25th, the final day of Adore would see that courage manifest as never before.

After a beautiful and reverent Holy Mass, the participants spent time in silent adoration, no doubt, each was reflecting on their experience of the weekend and considering all that they had seen and heard. Having experienced Adore a few times already, I recognised this as a moment of preparation; the moment when the soul prepares the heart for the question that God asks all of His beloved sons and daughters, ‘Will you follow Me?’

In retrospect, this Adore was significantly different in many ways, the least of which was the involvement of the youth in its preparation and facilitation. However, so much more than that, and a far greater indication of the fruitfulness of the entire endeavour, was the outpouring of spiritual generosity among the youth who, when asked if they were willing to leave the world and pursue the religious life dedicated to God, responded en masse, in an awe-inspiring display of love. One by one, they stood, and humbly approached the Lord in declaration of their intention to deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow Him.

More than one month on, the fruitfulness of Adore can still be seen manifest in the dozen or so new vocations that have arisen from that weekend, as well as in the lives of those who afterwards resolved to amend their lives forever. One would think that perhaps those thoughts of religious life were already playing in the minds of those young people, or that the simple experience of spending time with God opened the eyes of many who were previously blind to His love and mercy. Regardless of where each soul began their journey, it is clear that those present were able to see the miracle of God’s grace in one way or another. Whether it was in the peaceful stillness of adoration, in the unburdening of the soul in the sacrament of confession, or in the encounter with Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, God allowed, in this world ravaged by the evils of power and greed, of war and famine, of loneliness and heartbreak – a miracle that gave hope to all.

Adore 2009 Melbourne, Australia, January 23-25