St. Ann Parish Community

   Thursday Adoration
Adoration is held every Thursday from 9:30–10:30 a.m., following the 9:00 a.m. Mass.

• Second & Fourth Thursdays: Adoration with Benediction
• First & Third Thursdays: Adoration with simple repose

Reconciliation
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available during Adoration.

In the Catholic Church, both practices involve reverence for the Eucharist, the consecrated host; the Body of Christ, but they differ in structure and what happens during the service.
     Adoration is when the consecrated host is displayed in a special vessel called a monstrance for people to pray before. It’s essentially quiet prayer time in the presence of the Eucharist. People can come and go, sit or kneel in silence, and pray individually. There’s no set format—it’s contemplative and personal. Adoration can last for an hour, several hours, or even continuously (called “perpetual adoration”).
     Adoration with Benediction includes everything above, but it concludes with a specific ceremony called Benediction (which means “blessing”). After a period of adoration, the priest puts on vestments, offers incense, leads prayers and hymns (often including the “Tantum Ergo”), and then uses the monstrance to make the sign of the cross over the congregation, blessing them with the Eucharist. After the blessing, the host is returned to the tabernacle. This ceremony provides a more formal, communal conclusion to the adoration period.
     Think of it this way: adoration is like visiting someone and sitting quietly with them, while adoration with benediction is like that same visit but ending with a formal farewell and blessing before you leave.