Why we need to turn to Eucharistic Adoration to find hope

Archbishop John Wilson• January 21, 2025

When Pope Francis announced the Jubilee for 2025, he said “we must fan the flame of hope that has been given us.” He explained that the Jubilee can restore a “climate of hope and trust as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire”.

Looking at the state of our troubled world, we can see just how desperate and in urgent need we are for a restoration of hope and trust. 

War continues to destroy lives and trample hope, from the Holy Land to Ukraine and in other countries where conflict reigns. 

Even at home, respect for the dignity and sanctity of human life is being eroded with proposals to introduce assisted suicide. 

When confronted with our divided world, which no longer seems to value human life or dignity, and rides roughshod over justice and peace, it can be easy to lose hope.

But whenever I am faced with despair or feel my hope is being shaken, I turn to Christ present in the Eucharist. I sit in silence before the real presence of the Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and I open my heart in prayer.

The Eucharist, as Pope St John Paul II said, is a “glimpse of heaven appearing on earth”. This is an unchanging source of hope. 

At the Last Supper, the night before he died for us, the Lord Jesus took bread and wine and spoke the words we know so well “this is my body; this is my blood”. 

In these words, He was telling the disciples – he was telling us – that here, present in the Eucharist, he is with us. That we are not alone, that we are not lost, that we have hope. 

We cannot take this fundamental part of our faith for granted. The Eucharist is the heart of our faith, it is what builds the Catholic Church. It is the heartbeat of the Church and it should be the very heartbeat of our own lives of faith.

We are blessed more than we realise to have the Lord Jesus really and truly present with us in the Mass and in Holy Communion, in the tabernacle and in the monstrance. That is why, in our troubled world, we need to come before him and worship in adoration – as pilgrims of hope, as pilgrims journeying into hope. 

In each moment I spend in Eucharistic adoration, I am set ablaze with Eucharistic amazement as the beautiful truth that the Lord Jesus is here with me, in his glory, lifts my heart and fills me with hope. 

That is why, for the year of Jubilee, at a time when the world is so divided, I am calling on people – calling on myself – to turn to Eucharistic adoration to fan the flame of hope that has been given to us by the Lord Jesus. 

What makes Eucharistic adoration so precious is that it’s not just our hearts which yearn for Him. But the Lord Jesus yearns for us, he wants you to be with him too. He desires and is calling you to spend time in Eucharistic devotion. 

Scripture is the light that guides our path and once again reveals this truth. In the Gospel of Luke, we hear the story of Martha and Mary. The Lord Jesus visited Martha who welcomed him and busied herself with preparations and serving Our Lord. After all, who wouldn’t want to make sure the Son of God was properly cared for?

While Martha worked away, her sister Mary sat at the Lord’s feet. Silently, patiently listening to his teaching. Martha was taken aback, and turned to the Lord imploring Him to tell Mary to help her.

As ever, the reply Martha received from the Lord was not the one she expected. The Lord Jesus answered her personally, saying “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her”.

Our Lord wasn’t being ungrateful here. He was making a point to Martha – to all of us – about the importance of spending time in His presence and just being with Him. From this precious encounter, we can become contemplatives in action. 

Eucharistic adoration offers little old you and me the astonishing chance to enter the presence of our Lord and God in the Blessed Sacrament. He is hope for our world and mine and your life. 

So, in 2025, my challenge to you – my challenge to myself – is to turn to the Lord Jesus in Eucharistic adoration. He is calling you. 

As your heart desires the Lord, let it be set ablaze with his love and hope, as you meet him sacramentally in monstrance and in the tabernacle. 

As St Peter said, the Lord Jesus is the reason for the hope within us. So, this year, come to the Lord and find hope in Adoration. Then go out to share his love freely and widely. 

The Most Rev John Wilson is the Archbishop of Southwark

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