There is something special about how we experience things: the joy of opening a beautifully wrapped gift, listening to a moving piece of music on the radio when we truly have the time to enjoy it, or simply sitting in the sunshine watching the world go by. What we receive from these moments is deeply shaped by how we experience them.

The gift is still the same regardless of the wrapping. The song still played even if we missed it while distracted by a phone or another task. Those birds so many of us noticed during lockdown had always been there; we simply slowed down enough to hear them. It is not only what we experience that matters, but also how we experience it.

For us as a community, this is true of next week’s 40 Hours of Adoration. We have an opportunity to journey together and rediscover the joy of Eucharistic Adoration. If we truly want to encounter something deep and powerful, we are invited to reflect not only on what Eucharistic Adoration is, but also on how we approach and experience it.

A period of silent Adoration, a Holy Hour, or Benediction are all ways we can encounter the joy and power of adoring the Lord. It is an intimate time before Jesus Christ, truly present in the Eucharist — Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity — and we are invited simply to sit with Him.

As a mathematics teacher as well as a deacon, with a wife and three children, I have often been asked whether I really believe “all that stuff” about Adoration. Yes, I do, and I believe it matters greatly. Yet people still challenge this belief: “Isn’t it too far-fetched to believe in the Real Presence?”

In Luke’s Gospel (Luke 16:31), Jesus reminds us that some will refuse to believe even in the face of miracles: “They will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.” We should not be discouraged by those who struggle to believe, nor should we close ourselves to the wonders of God’s power.

Much of life depends on our rational minds — balancing finances, making decisions at work, driving safely. Rational thinking is essential. But Adoration invites us to go deeper still, beyond reason alone, into contemplation. It is there that I personally find the peace and joy of Adoration: in quietly sitting before the Lord amid the busyness of life.

“Deep calls unto deep” (Psalm 42:7).

As we prepare for the 40 Hours of Adoration from Sunday 10 May until Tuesday 12 May, please try to leave some space to join us. Could you offer an hour before the Lord? Join a Holy Hour? Perhaps pray the Rosary for the first time in years?

It would be wonderful if we could all think not only about what Adoration is, but how we engage with it — and through that, deepen our relationship with God. It is not a small challenge, but it is a worthy one.