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| Fr. Richard Dellos |
But celebrating 25 years of 24/7 adoration "is very awesome," Fr. Richard Dellos declared.
The pastor of St. Joseph and St. Patrick Parish in Utica was addressing over 200 people on March 4 who gathered to celebrate the silver anniversary with Mass and brunch. They came from a host of parishes in the Eastern Region of the Syracuse Diocese, and they all spend an hour or more each week in the Adoration Chapel at St. Joseph & St. Patrick.
Father Dellos pointed to the impact of Eucharistic adoration.
For Pope John Paul II, he said, "the Eucharist gave strength and meaning to all his activities."
Pope Francis, he noted, sees Eucharistic Adoration as restoring a "sense of the supernatural."
"Wherever there is 24/7 Eucharistic adoration," Father Dellos said, "there will be a stronger robust parish with lots of confessions." That's because "people of such a parish are aware of the majesty of God and want to be close to Him." It also helps people to better appreciate the sacredness of the Mass, he said, or as John Paul would put it: "to rekindle Eucharistic amazement."
He said St. Teresa of Calcutta regarded time spent with the Blessed Sacrament as the "best time you'll spend on earth."
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, he added, put it another way: "The greatest love story of all time is continued in a tiny white host."
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| Rose Marie Roberts and Betty Frank |
"We're celebrating 25 years and we're honoring you, Betty," she announced to Elizabeth “Betty” Frank, OFS.
Betty, a Secular Franciscan, co-founded the Adoration Chapel with then-pastor Fr. Antone Kandrac, OFM Conv., after they both received a powerful "call" while attending a conference in Syracuse.
Never one to miss a moment to promote praying before the Eucharist, Betty gave marching orders to the crowd:
"What you can do is to go out and spread the word. Invite people to come. The younger, the better."
