Could You Not Watch with Me One Hour?: How to Cultivate a Deeper Relationship with the Lord through Eucharistic Adoration

by Florian Racine, Fr. Florian Racine

Fr. Florian Racine offers us a beautiful formation guide on Eucharistic adoration that will help us to practice it in all its depth, and with a missionary perspective.

God has made himself particularly close to mankind in Jesus his Son. The redemptive Incarnation of his Son is how God reconciles mankind with himself. The memorial of the Passover of Christ is therefore at the heart of our relationship with God. In the Blessed Sacrament, the resurrected Jesus is really present and acting; he draws all mankind into his filial relationship with the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Thus, following the plan of God, Catholics put the Eucharist at the heart of their lives, and take time to adore Jesus in the Holy Sacrament. The adorer wants to abide within the dynamic life of the Eucharist, just as he desires that the Eucharist transform his whole life. Adoration and Eucharistic life transform believers into the image of Christ.

The author invites us on an itinerary, a journey of faith, in fifty-two stages—as many as the weeks in a year. He starts by showing how the Word of God is made present in the Eucharist, and then he invites us to mature in faith and to be transformed by a greater communion with Christ.

Genres: Catholic

267 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 7, 2014

Reviews

[booklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

2023: Finished for the second time. It had been six years since I read this, but I remembered how much I liked it as an aide during Eucharistic Adoration. When my parish began EA, I decided to reread this, again, one chapter, or as the author calls it, 'stage' at a time.


2017 Review: My goal with this book was to limit myself to one meditation per visit to Adoration. I did not make that goal. As with all such good books, I found myself unable to stop reading once I started, although many times I did set it aside as passages prompted me to speak, listen or rest in Him.

There is so much in this book to commend it.

First there is its Trinitarian structure. Eucharistic Adoration makes me think of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, Jesus Christ who gave us His Body which we Catholics (and other Christians) reserve as sacred species for the sick and private worship. Of course, the Father and Holy Spirit can never be separated from the Son, yet most literature on this subject do not address—much less at length—these other two Persons.

Racine’s book has 52 meditations—one for each week of the year if you can so discipline yourself. The first twenty-eight are devoted to the Son, the next ten to the Father and the last fourteen to the Spirit. Each meditation draws extensively from Sacred Scripture—another thing I really liked about this book. They also include writings of the saints, popes and other prominent theologians and Eucharistic scholars. The first seven meditations are the seven stages of how God meets me. This sets the tone/theme of the book which is that the predominant action in Adoration is God’s not ours.

Again, and again Fr. Racine shows how adoration, indeed all prayer, is about letting God have His way with us—which is why so little is required of one who comes before the Blessed Sacrament. ‘Not what I will but Your will be done O LORD…’ It’s more about letting go than doing. Often we get in God’s way while we are off being Martha’s and we keep ignoring the ‘One thing necessary which will not be taken from us’. Some of my favorite quotes are below this review, but here are two more:

“We make our Lord work for the conversion of souls by exposing him and uniting ourselves through our adoration to his prayer and his apostolate . . . In fact, it is only because we are at his feet that he is upon his throne.” -St. Peter Julian Eymard, the great apostle of the Eucharist.

‘It is in our churches, in this tabernacle, that the living body of the Savior rests. He was but nine months in the womb of Mary, three hours on the Cross, and three days in the tomb. Yet he is always in our churches. This is why they do not empty of angels, archangels, and seraphim unceasingly adoring him. They adore him with signs of respect, with prostrations that if we could but perceive them, would strangely confound us. Our churches, if we might speak in such a way, are like an annex of paradise; there the Creator is adored, there the resurrected Savior finds a body and a soul, thereto the heavenly spirits journey, and there they delight in the same happiness savored beyond the firmament.’ -St. Claude de la Colombière

I had my eyes opened over and over and over again. The book is so full of ‘good news’ I had trouble limiting myself to one or two meditations. The book concludes with testimony from pastors and bishops where Perpetual Adoration has been implemented and how it has changed the lives of everyone involved.

This is a book I will use over and over again. I have not begun to exhaust it. Now I can go back and flip through the meditations and see which one strikes me, speaks my name.

Would that I could get a copy of this in the hand of everyone going in to adore Him. Would that more just go to adore Him…



<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>


Trying to limit myself to just one ‘stage’* – there are 52, one for each week of the year grouped into three phases for each of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity beginning with the Son.

In Stage 1 we are introduced to the Itinerary, a self-taught course, a school of adoration offered for every believer, to be done in conjunction with Eucharistic Adoration using Holy Scripture. The meditation ‘stage’ offers thoughts to help deepen our understanding and appreciation of what God is saying to us in a particular section in the Bible, especially as it relates to our intimate time before Him.

After taking this book to Adoration twice-it is PROFOUND!

Hopefully I can make it last the rest of 2017...

*I did ‘cheat’ sort of… as I read two each time instead of just one. I’m going to try to do be better next time and not be so greedy.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent companion during adoration hour. I have a 2 hour slot so I read a chapter each hour. Each chapter takes about 6-8 minutes to read, leaving time to reflect in the divine presence. I liked the reflections, although sometimes they seemed repetitive.

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 4 out of 5]

FRANÇAIS: 52 étapes pour accompagner l'adoration eucharistique hebdomadaire du Saint-Sacrement pendant un an. Je l'ai lu en traduction anglaise.

J'ai trouvé très utiles les longues citations de saint Antonio María Claret à la fin des étapes 10 et 11. Les dernières étapes sont également très bonnes. Il est évident que Racine est amoureux du Saint-Sacrement et aimerait que tous les catholiques consacrent du temps à l'adoration perpétuelle, mais il le veut tellement qu'il en va parfois un peu trop loin. Je suis surpris par certaines choses qu'il dit, comme au stade 36, où il affirme (sans données) que dans les zones où l'adoration perpétuelle est établie, les crimes de rue diminuent. Cela ressemble un peu à une manipulation des sentiments du lecteur.

ENGLISH: 52 stages to accompany the weekly Eucharistic Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for a year. I read it in an English translation.

I have found very useful the long quotes of St. Antonio María Claret at the end of stages 10 and 11. The last stages are also very good. It is clear that Racine is in love with the Blessed Sacrament and would like all Catholics to devote time to perpetual adoration, but he wants it so much that sometimes he goes a bit too far. I am surprised by some of the things he says, as in stage 36, where he claims (without data) that in areas where perpetual adoration is established, street crime decreases. This sounds a bit like manipulation of the reader's feelings.

ESPAÑOL: 52 etapas para acompañar durante un año la adoración eucarística semanal del Santísimo Sacramento. La he leído en traducción inglesa.

Me han resultado muy útiles las largas citas de San Antonio María Claret al final de las etapas 10 y 11. Las últimas etapas también son muy buenas. Se nota que Racine está enamorado del Santísimo Sacramento y desearía que todos los católicos dedicaran tiempo a la adoración perpetua, pero lo desea tanto, que a veces se pasa un poco. Me sorprenden algunas cosas que dice, como en la etapa 36, donde asegura (sin datos) que en las zonas en las que se establece la adoración perpetua disminuyen los delitos callejeros. Esto suena un poco a manipulación de los sentimientos del lector.

[Stef · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though reading this book did convince me to sign up again and renew my commitment to a fixed weekly hour of Eucharistic Adoration at our parish, I feel that as an aid to Adoration itself it's somewhat lacking and redundant. It does give a thorough explanation of why Perpetual Adoration is so important in the life of a parish and community and of course in individuals' relationship with Christ. But for praying in Adoration my favorites are Divine Intimacy, one of the volumes of In Conversation with God by Father Francis Carvajal, The Fulfillment of All Desire, or simply sitting/kneeling and soaking in Christ's Presence, and letting Him look at me.

[Sora Tamagawa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fr. Florian Racine's Could You Not Watch with Me One Hour? is a spiritual companion designed to cultivate a profound relationship with Christ through the practice of Eucharistic adoration. The book invites readers on a year-long journey, offering weekly reflections and meditations to enrich their adoration experience.

At its core, the book emphasizes the transformative power of encountering Jesus truly present in the Eucharist. Racine skillfully weaves together theological depth and practical guidance, encouraging readers to see adoration as a dynamic encounter that leads to personal transformation and a renewed missionary spirit.

The author's writing style is both profound and accessible, making complex theological concepts understandable for a wide audience. Through Scripture and Church tradition, Racine provides a solid foundation for understanding the Eucharist while offering contemporary applications for modern life. The book's structure, with its weekly chapters, encourages consistent engagement, fostering a habit of regular adoration.

Could You Not Watch with Me One Hour? is more than just a book; it's an invitation to a deeper spiritual life. By offering practical steps, thought-provoking reflections, and a strong emphasis on the real presence of Christ, Racine provides readers with the tools to cultivate a truly transformative relationship with the Lord through Eucharistic adoration.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fifty-two wonderful meditations, perfect for a year of weekly Holy Hours.

[Kevin W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good resource for anyone just starting to pray in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.