Serra Club Vocations Essay

Teenager draws friends to share in life-changing effects of adoration

(Editor’s note: The Indianapolis Serra Club’s annual John D. Kelley Vocations Essay Contest ordinarily awards prizes each spring to winning essayists in grades 7-12 in the archdiocese. This week, we continue with the winning entry in the 12th grade. Please note this year there were no entries from the 11th grade.)
 

By Celia Boring (Special to The Criterion)

The chapel doors are propped open. Upon entering, feelings of reverence come over me.

I genuflect, kneel and begin to pray. The Blessed Sacrament is beautifully displayed amid pews full of students. The words “one with God the Lord most high” are sung. At this moment, I feel closer to Christ than ever. This is an illustration of the incredible experience I am blessed to be a part of as a Roncalli student—the opportunity to be in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament through adoration.

Adoration has been life-changing for me and has helped me grow in my faith in more ways than I could have ever imagined.

Time spent in Christ’s presence in adoration allows us to respond to God’s call and to live out our faith as we are able to exalt his divinity and offer gratitude for his unconditional love.

At the beginning of my senior year, I challenged myself to deepen my relationship with Christ by beginning each Wednesday in adoration. The time I spent in Christ’s presence was life-altering, as I have seen firsthand how even a few minutes spent in adoration can bring peace amidst the chaos of our everyday lives. Whatever anxieties, concerns or hardships I have instantly disappear as I am able to fully place my focus on God through the consecrated Eucharist.

It is easy to ignore the ways Christ reveals himself to us through the little things in life, but given the chance to thank him for everything he has given me has led me to be more receptive to his presence in my life.

I felt called by the Holy Spirit to extend an invitation to attend weekly adoration to my friends and peers because I wanted them to experience the same life-changing power of prayer in Christ’s presence.

I began to reach out to my peers, inviting them to attend adoration in hopes that they, too, would be as impacted as I was. Attendance in the chapel quickly grew from only three students to more than 60.

The overwhelming feeling of joy that comes from adoration is only amplified when the experience is shared, and it is more impactful to know you are surrounded by others who share in the same unbreakable and unwavering faith that is strengthened through the Eucharist.

As I prepare to leave for college in the fall, I am confident that my strengthened faith as a result of adoration will continue to grow as my experience with the Eucharist has built a strong foundation for what it means to live out your faith.

By making the conscious decision to spend time before Christ, I have taken ownership of my faith and have grown to deepen my relationship with God.

Adoration has directed me to live the life God has planned for me rather than the life I have planned for myself. I am beyond thankful for the impact time spent before the Blessed Sacrament has had in my life.
 

(Celia and her parents, Jay and Denise Boring, are members of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Franklin. She recently graduated from Roncalli High School in Indianapolis and is the 12th-grade division winner in the Indianapolis Serra Club’s 2022 John D. Kelley Vocations Essay Contest.) †