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Pocket Guide to Adoration
The Pocket Guide to Adoration equips Catholics with the tools they need to improve the way they pray and cultivate a deeper relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist. Drawing from the wisdom of the Church and the writings from spiritual masters like St. Teresa of Avila and Fulton Sheen, Fr. Josh Johnson has produced an evergreen resource that Catholics will want to take with them every time they go to Adoration. This pocket guide
Its small size makes it easy to carry, fit into a purse or handbag, or hand out at your parish. It has a beautiful Alpha Cowhide cover that will last for years. Catholics who struggle to stay focused in prayer, who struggle to be consistent in their relationship with Jesus, who don t know what to do in Adoration, or who simply need encouragement and inspiration to get there , will deeply appreciate this tiny but mighty book. This essential pocket guide by Fr. Josh Johnson teaches
Its small size makes it easy to carry, fit into a purse or handbag, or hand out at your parish. It has a beautiful Alpha Cowhide cover that will last for years. Catholics who struggle to stay focused in prayer, who struggle to be consistent in their relationship with Jesus, who don t know what to do in Adoration, or who simply need encouragement and inspiration to get there , will deeply appreciate this tiny but mighty book. This essential pocket guide by Fr. Josh Johnson teaches
144 pages, Leather Bound
Published February 18, 2020
15 people are currently reading
142 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 2, 2020
Have you ever been to a perpetual adoration chapel motivated to adore our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament but in the end, you did not know what to do? That is totally okay – being in the presence of our Lord in total silence is very fruitful. However, have you ever been in Adoration but distracted? I remember taking part in a High School Men’s Retreat at St. Augustine Seminary in Toronto. It was my first time ever stepping foot into the seminary and I fell in love with its spaces, especially its main chapel. However, when we had Eucharistic Adoration in the form of a silent Holy Hour, and honestly, I founded it a little difficult. I had my Handbook of Prayers, Student Edition which I tucked inside there a copy of a reflection leaflet for use in Adoration. I didn’t even reach the end of the leaflet until I fell asleep… “shame on me” you would say – but yeah, Eucharistic Adoration in total silence is sometimes difficult.
Now a university student, I take frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament whenever I pass by St. Thomas Aquinas Church at the Newman Centre, sometimes while moving in between classes. Those visits aren’t long – just 2-3 minutes of kneeling or sitting in the pews just to be in the presence of Our Lord. I wish I could spend more time in the peace and quiet, just being in front of the tabernacle, and it is honestly not as easy as said.
At the beginning of the Covid-19 “shutdown” in the province, I was blessed to receive a copy of Fr. Josh Groban’s Pocket Guide to Adoration, published by Ascension. Upon opening it, I just fell in love with it and upon sharing it on our Instagram page, it became one of the most liked posts and I have been asked countless times when the review for it was going to released.
Physical Qualities
I want to speak first about the physical qualities of the book. Now, I know the content of the book is the main thing, but I also care about the physical beauty of books because the beauty elevates the contents of the book. This Pocket Guide to Adoration does that. Holding the book, you are greeted with a dark brown Alpha Cowhide (synthetic leather material), that looks very handsome and has a nice texture. The design on the front is gold stamped… simple but beautiful. The book is complete with a gold satin ribbon bookmark.
With dimensions of approximately 4.5″ x 6.75″ x 0.5″, it is what I would classify as fair size for a prayer book. It will not fit inside most pants pockets, but certainly be very convenient to slip in a purse or pilgrim backpack. So is it really a “pocket” sized book? I would not say so, but slim size to fit inside a school backpack. A truly pocket sized prayer book, I would say, is Fulton Sheen’s Wartime Prayer Book which measures at 3″ x 4.5″ x 0.5″. However, I am quite content with the size of the Pocket Guide to Adoration.
The pages themselves are of a readable font, with black and gold fonts and images – very elegant and easy on the eyes to read.
Contents
The second part of the review will be about the content. What is inside this Pocket Guide? In only 144 pages, Fr. Johnson gives a wide variety of resources for prayerful and active Adoration. The book is divided into five chapters:
An invitation to Adoration
Adoration with the Sacred Scriptures
Adoration with the Rosary
Adoration with the Catechism
Adoration with the Lives of the Saints
An Appendix is included at the end with Litanies and Devotionals. I will go through the sections giving my thoughts on each.
Chapter 1: An Invitation to Adoration – Want to do Eucharistic Adoration but don’t know where to start? Fr. Johnson’s first section provides inspiration and maybe a nudge for you to want to go and adore the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Throughout the first chapter, the user is given a brief overview of what resources are included throughout the guide.
Chapter 2: Adoration with the Sacred Scriptures – Now I have seen Scripture used many times in communal Eucharistic Adoration, but Fr. Johnson guides one to pray the Sacred Scriptures using lectio divina or divine reading, with the steps: read, meditate, pray, contemplate, and resolve. Fr. Johnson gives four Gospel passages of The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, Martha and Mary, and the Feeding of the Five Thousand in which he goes through all five lectio divina steps he laid out at the beginning of the chapter. However, one should not stop there – one can repeat these steps with a small copy of the Gospels or the Bible accompanying this guide.
Chapter 3: Adoration of the Rosary – Now, this is somewhat new to me. I have heard the Rosary recited in the context of Adoration before, but not with the beautiful reflections provided by Fr. Johnson. What I find fascinating is that Fr. Johnson uses lectio divina to guide one in meditating on certain mysteries of the rosary – something new I learned in this guide but Fr. says that, “practicing lectio divina with the Rosary will help deepen your experience in Adoration.” The guide does not go through every mystery of the Rosary with lectio divina, but again, once you get a hang of the format, you can of course apply it to the mysteries not listed in the guide.
Chapter 4: Adoration with the Catechism – This is something I am not familiar with and a good learning curve. For a long time, I thought the Catechism was more of a “textbook” of the Catholic faith but never thought of it as a tool for prayer before. Again, using lectio divina steps, Fr. Johnson guides one through reading a sample of Catechism passages. The reflections for each step of the passages are very beautiful and certainly a format I will use with other Catechism passages during prayer time.
Chapter 5: Adoration with the Lives of the Saints – I know that you can use the Lives of the Saints for prayer, and it is an encouraged practice (check out Lives of the Saints Two-Volume Boxed Set if you would like to start incorporating the Lives of the Saints in daily life). However, I have never thought about using them in the context of Eucharistic Adoration. Once again, Fr. Johnson leads one through this act in the Lectio Divina format and providing some beautiful examples.
Appendix – the appendix contains everything you need for what I usually call the “commons” of Adoration and Benediction… the basic prayers and hymns used, including O Saving Victim, Down in Adoration Falling, The Divine Praises, Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and even the popular “I Thirst” Reflection by Fr. Joseph Langford and one of my favourite litanies, the Litany of Trust by Sr. Faustina Maria Pia of the Sisters of Life. Also included is a page of quotes from the saints about the Eucharist. I wish though, this appendix contained the common hymns not only in their English translation but their original Latin, such as the O Salutaris Hostia, and Tantum Ergo. Another hymn that I think should have been added is Holy God, We Praise Thy Name which is commonly sung at the end of Benediction.
A feature that I like is that in between each chapter, there is a recount of a Eucharistic Miracle. I like reading about Eucharistic Miracles, and having some in here serves as a reminder of the ever constant presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.
Last Remarks
Once churches are open again in the Archdiocese of Toronto for private prayer and devotion in its first re-opening stage after Covid-19, I will be making a visit to a church with this guide in hand.
This guide I believe, is a must-have for any Catholic who wants to deepen their relationship with Jesus through Eucharistic Adoration.
Now a university student, I take frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament whenever I pass by St. Thomas Aquinas Church at the Newman Centre, sometimes while moving in between classes. Those visits aren’t long – just 2-3 minutes of kneeling or sitting in the pews just to be in the presence of Our Lord. I wish I could spend more time in the peace and quiet, just being in front of the tabernacle, and it is honestly not as easy as said.
At the beginning of the Covid-19 “shutdown” in the province, I was blessed to receive a copy of Fr. Josh Groban’s Pocket Guide to Adoration, published by Ascension. Upon opening it, I just fell in love with it and upon sharing it on our Instagram page, it became one of the most liked posts and I have been asked countless times when the review for it was going to released.
Physical Qualities
I want to speak first about the physical qualities of the book. Now, I know the content of the book is the main thing, but I also care about the physical beauty of books because the beauty elevates the contents of the book. This Pocket Guide to Adoration does that. Holding the book, you are greeted with a dark brown Alpha Cowhide (synthetic leather material), that looks very handsome and has a nice texture. The design on the front is gold stamped… simple but beautiful. The book is complete with a gold satin ribbon bookmark.
With dimensions of approximately 4.5″ x 6.75″ x 0.5″, it is what I would classify as fair size for a prayer book. It will not fit inside most pants pockets, but certainly be very convenient to slip in a purse or pilgrim backpack. So is it really a “pocket” sized book? I would not say so, but slim size to fit inside a school backpack. A truly pocket sized prayer book, I would say, is Fulton Sheen’s Wartime Prayer Book which measures at 3″ x 4.5″ x 0.5″. However, I am quite content with the size of the Pocket Guide to Adoration.
The pages themselves are of a readable font, with black and gold fonts and images – very elegant and easy on the eyes to read.
Contents
The second part of the review will be about the content. What is inside this Pocket Guide? In only 144 pages, Fr. Johnson gives a wide variety of resources for prayerful and active Adoration. The book is divided into five chapters:
An invitation to Adoration
Adoration with the Sacred Scriptures
Adoration with the Rosary
Adoration with the Catechism
Adoration with the Lives of the Saints
An Appendix is included at the end with Litanies and Devotionals. I will go through the sections giving my thoughts on each.
Chapter 1: An Invitation to Adoration – Want to do Eucharistic Adoration but don’t know where to start? Fr. Johnson’s first section provides inspiration and maybe a nudge for you to want to go and adore the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Throughout the first chapter, the user is given a brief overview of what resources are included throughout the guide.
Chapter 2: Adoration with the Sacred Scriptures – Now I have seen Scripture used many times in communal Eucharistic Adoration, but Fr. Johnson guides one to pray the Sacred Scriptures using lectio divina or divine reading, with the steps: read, meditate, pray, contemplate, and resolve. Fr. Johnson gives four Gospel passages of The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, Martha and Mary, and the Feeding of the Five Thousand in which he goes through all five lectio divina steps he laid out at the beginning of the chapter. However, one should not stop there – one can repeat these steps with a small copy of the Gospels or the Bible accompanying this guide.
Chapter 3: Adoration of the Rosary – Now, this is somewhat new to me. I have heard the Rosary recited in the context of Adoration before, but not with the beautiful reflections provided by Fr. Johnson. What I find fascinating is that Fr. Johnson uses lectio divina to guide one in meditating on certain mysteries of the rosary – something new I learned in this guide but Fr. says that, “practicing lectio divina with the Rosary will help deepen your experience in Adoration.” The guide does not go through every mystery of the Rosary with lectio divina, but again, once you get a hang of the format, you can of course apply it to the mysteries not listed in the guide.
Chapter 4: Adoration with the Catechism – This is something I am not familiar with and a good learning curve. For a long time, I thought the Catechism was more of a “textbook” of the Catholic faith but never thought of it as a tool for prayer before. Again, using lectio divina steps, Fr. Johnson guides one through reading a sample of Catechism passages. The reflections for each step of the passages are very beautiful and certainly a format I will use with other Catechism passages during prayer time.
Chapter 5: Adoration with the Lives of the Saints – I know that you can use the Lives of the Saints for prayer, and it is an encouraged practice (check out Lives of the Saints Two-Volume Boxed Set if you would like to start incorporating the Lives of the Saints in daily life). However, I have never thought about using them in the context of Eucharistic Adoration. Once again, Fr. Johnson leads one through this act in the Lectio Divina format and providing some beautiful examples.
Appendix – the appendix contains everything you need for what I usually call the “commons” of Adoration and Benediction… the basic prayers and hymns used, including O Saving Victim, Down in Adoration Falling, The Divine Praises, Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and even the popular “I Thirst” Reflection by Fr. Joseph Langford and one of my favourite litanies, the Litany of Trust by Sr. Faustina Maria Pia of the Sisters of Life. Also included is a page of quotes from the saints about the Eucharist. I wish though, this appendix contained the common hymns not only in their English translation but their original Latin, such as the O Salutaris Hostia, and Tantum Ergo. Another hymn that I think should have been added is Holy God, We Praise Thy Name which is commonly sung at the end of Benediction.
A feature that I like is that in between each chapter, there is a recount of a Eucharistic Miracle. I like reading about Eucharistic Miracles, and having some in here serves as a reminder of the ever constant presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.
Last Remarks
Once churches are open again in the Archdiocese of Toronto for private prayer and devotion in its first re-opening stage after Covid-19, I will be making a visit to a church with this guide in hand.
This guide I believe, is a must-have for any Catholic who wants to deepen their relationship with Jesus through Eucharistic Adoration.
October 4, 2023
A wonderful compact resource for adoration. Very thankful for Josh Johnson!
July 21, 2021
I'm enjoying the way Fr Johnson has laid out this age old ritual but one that has been passed over in the modern catechism (eg. it's no longer taught as part of religious instruction). I'm revisiting something I grew up with but never really understood and am getting a lot out of the lessons.
It's an expensive little book but beautifully set with artwork that beautifies the experience.
An investment rather than a flippant purchase.
It's an expensive little book but beautifully set with artwork that beautifies the experience.
An investment rather than a flippant purchase.
May 25, 2025
I brought this with me into Adoration a few times and didn’t expect it to hit as hard as it did. The “I Thirst” reflection stopped me cold, I just sat there with it. It felt uncomfortably direct, in a good way.
It’s beautiful, profound, and deeply useful. Not in a flashy way, but in the way something becomes essential without trying to be. A few pages in and I knew I’d never go into Adoration again without it. It holds space for silence, but also nudges you toward deeper reflection when your mind starts to drift. Thought-provoking without being wordy.
A must-have.
It’s beautiful, profound, and deeply useful. Not in a flashy way, but in the way something becomes essential without trying to be. A few pages in and I knew I’d never go into Adoration again without it. It holds space for silence, but also nudges you toward deeper reflection when your mind starts to drift. Thought-provoking without being wordy.
A must-have.
January 28, 2021
For anyone looking to dive deeper into the spiritual practice of adoration this book would be a great place to start! The best part is that Fr. Josh tells you examples of ways to pray and then shows you examples of how to apply these ways from his own prayer life, which always helps me when I learn new spiritual practices. Highly highly recommend! And it is literally a "pocket guide" and easily fits into purses, bags, or probably men's pants pockets.
January 23, 2025
I read this book, received as a requested Christmas gift, in an effort to develop a better understanding of how to get the most benefit out of Eucharistic Adoration. Written honestly and conversationally, Father Josh Johnson gives examples of how to use the Bible, the Rosary, and the lives of the Saints to meditate and pray before the Blessed Sacrament. Prayers are included in the appendix and the book easily fits in a purse!
March 30, 2025
It was a swift read and more so a helper while you are in adoration. A companion rather than an extensive guide. A quarter of the book is an adoration prepper while the rest is filled with examples of meditations which are numerous but often times repetitive.
The book is too big to be pocket sized and has so many copy and pasted passages that it could have been trimmed down by cutting the fat and made more pocket sized to be better portable or fit more comprehensive mediations to add variety.
The book is too big to be pocket sized and has so many copy and pasted passages that it could have been trimmed down by cutting the fat and made more pocket sized to be better portable or fit more comprehensive mediations to add variety.
August 20, 2020
A wonderfully written guide to Adoration. Instead of a step by step checklist, Fr Johnson provides a basic outline and practical examples of what has worked for him. Honest, straight forward, and easy to use.
January 10, 2024
I enjoyed this small little pocket guide. I wish it was more in depth. I appreciate what Father Johnson shares in here. It is a wonderful guide. Breaking down the steps you should consider taking when you are reading different scriptures and prayers.
July 31, 2024
I love the Eucharist so this was a fantastic read.
Along with tips and ideas on how to spend time in Adoration, it has a Eucharistic miracle in every chapter, which I love, and prayers you can do in the back as well.
Not much else to say. It was 👌🏻
Along with tips and ideas on how to spend time in Adoration, it has a Eucharistic miracle in every chapter, which I love, and prayers you can do in the back as well.
Not much else to say. It was 👌🏻
November 17, 2023
I will definitely be using these methods the next time I go to adoration. Thank you, Fr. Josh!
August 8, 2024
"Pocket Guide to Adoration" is a pretty good adoration companion. At times a bit repetitive. A good companion for those unsure about adoration or just starting out.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews