The Power of Holy Hour

“Contemplation is nothing else but a secret, peaceful, and loving infusion of God, which if admitted, will set the soul on fire with the spirit of love.” -John of the Cross.

There is nothing more intimate than eye contact. There is something sacred about a beckoning gaze that warrants no words, where all is understood and nothing has to be said. You have nothing to prove or protect as He calls you into something deeper, something greater. You lovingly gaze into the silence, without competing, comparing, labeling, or analyzing anything - to be in complete wholeness and intimacy with the presence of Christ. Or that’s where you eventually get, so I’m told.

In all reality, adoration is hard. We beat ourselves up about it because we get distracted and start thinking about the things we forgot to do or the things we still have to get at the grocery store. But it’s the journey of falling deeper and deeper into love and intimacy with His Holy presence that you start to find it easier to quiet your mind and sink into His grace. Flannery O’Connor once said, “All human nature vigorously resists grace because grace changes us and the change is painful.” Being in silence can be painful. But it’s the kind of pain that leaves you with the satisfaction of sore muscles and a sense of contentment. But it’s “in the inner stillness where meditation leads, the spirit secretly anoints the soul and heals our deepest wounds.” (John of the Cross).

It’s kind of like training for a 5k. If you’ve never run before, you’re probably dragging the whole way, thinking “Why did I even do this?” as your legs turn to jelly and your chest burns in anger. But with each following run, you build endurance, learning to release the mental blocks that say “I can’t do this!” and you finally become okay with the burning in your lungs and pounding of your heart. You fall into the flow of being comfortable with being uncomfortable.

We build endurance in adoration, just like running. Usually the first half of the hour is pretty restless, at least for me. I have to read or journal in order to quiet my mind and ground myself. Even Teresa of Avila wouldn’t be caught without a book. “...when I was without a book, my soul would at once become disturbed, and my thoughts wandered,” she said. By the time you’ve made it to the forty minute mark, you’ve caught a second wind, and you lose your sense of time, not wanting to leave.

As you grow closer to God, you meet a lover, not a dictator, which makes the time in adoration feel more like a love affair than an obligation. You begin to look forward to the hour, which sometimes turns to two, and maybe three if you’re really crazy about it. When you sit in the silence of Christ’s presence, you start to listen to all the uncomfortable thoughts floating around in your head - which is why silence is hard. It exposes the dark, dirty parts of yourself you’re usually able to drown out in daily life. It fleshes out this convicting conversation with both yourself and God, which is a grace, but also a challenge.

This lent, I encourage you to try a Holy Hour. I can’t say it’s easy, but I can say it will change your life.