Adoration at the heart of the city

My home city, Dublin, has been blessed with the presence of the Congregation of the BlessedSacrament since 1970. A modest chapel opened that year on D'Olier Street before moving, in 1995, to Bachelor's Walk, where it remains today.

Many hundreds of people pass through its doors each day - some to pause for a prayer before the exposed Blessed Sacrament, others to attend one of the daily Masses or celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation or, perhaps, seek spiritual help as I did from 1981 for a time. People come from every walk of life, representing a wide range of ages, backgrounds and circumstances. The visible signs of homelessness, addiction and mental health struggles that mark the streets of the city are not absent from this oasis of peace. Equally noticeable is the growing number of visitors from other continents, many of whom appear younger than those typically found in many parish congregations.

It is telling that the community which is now composed of five priests – two from Asia, one from Africa, one from South America and one from Spain – continue the ministry of serving the people of this city.  I recall a much larger congregation at the Dublin community back in the 1980s mostly composed of priests and brothers from the US, the UK and Ireland.

Inspired by its founder, St Peter Julian Eymard, the ministry of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament is to make Christ present in the Eucharist more widely known and loved, meeting people where they are - near their work, their homes, their travels, their shopping, or simply in their searching. The congregation's chapels are found throughout the world, often located on busy city-centre thoroughfares where people can easily step aside for a short while from the demands of daily life and encounter the Lord.

There is something deeply accessible, reassuring and healing about such a presence in the heart of a city. Too often, urban churches are locked during the afternoon or early evening. Here, however, there is always the possibility of seeking an impromptu audience with the King and Lord of the world—the humble and gentle servant who became the Bread of Life, broken for us and for the life of the world. 

May the Lord of the harvest continue to send priests to his church in Dublin.

Our Lady of Dublin and Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, pray for Dublin!