Pope John Paul II gave clear counsel to all in 2004 in Mane Nobiscum Domine, his apostolic letter for the Year of the Eucharist.

“During this year,” he wrote, “Eucharistic adoration outside Mass should become a particular commitment for individual parish and religious communities.” He directed us to “deepen through adoration our personal and communal contemplation” of Jesus really present in the Blessed Sacrament.

Many parishes took his word to heart. From one end of the country to the other, they started or expanded Eucharistic adoration. Because it produced many wonderful fruits and blessings for individuals and parishes, many have decided to keep adoration going even after the Year of the Eucharist officially closed last week.

In Anchorage, Alaska, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church began Eucharistic adoration in May on the feast of Corpus Christi. From no adoration at all, the parish dove right into the perpetual variety — keeping vigil around the clock every day of the year. Nearly 450 parishioners out of 1,300 signed up to fill the hours under the leadership of Father Craig Loeker, their pastor at the time.

When their new pastor, Father Tom Lilly, arrived in June, he was astounded at their response and what he discovered.

“In hundreds of different ways, God is reaching out, strengthening our people, our families,” he says. “How profoundly God is working in their lives.”

The priest says he's edified to see families praying together. When he talks to adorers day or night, they tell him of the impact this has made in their home life and the great graces they're receiving. He also finds a sense of community and an increased reverence for the liturgy and the Mass.

“The beautiful thing is that God is drawing all these people to his Son,” remarks parishioner Katie Reed. “Collectively, Jesus is bringing us together into his family, and that's really the biggest miracle.”

“Daily Mass has tripled in attendance since Eucharistic adoration started,” she adds. People say their families have become closer and communication is flowing much better.

“And this parish is becoming more of a family,” she says. “Jesus is drawing us together as a parish family. This is another grace I believe came from adoration.”

In Concordia, Kan., Father Barry Brinkman, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, explains how, six years ago, the parish started adoration one day a week from morning Mass to evening, but few people came.

During the Year of the Eucharist, the parish invited a priest from the Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament to preach on adoration. The idea was to push for more hours, get more people coming and praying. Father Brinkman also preached. Letters and phone calls followed.

Everything came together perfectly in what Father Brinkman describes as a “perfect storm of grace.”

Parishioners responded generously, allowing the parish to launch adoration one 24-hour day every week, from the end of Monday's 7 a.m. Mass to the beginning of Tuesday's Mass.

The pastor notices many positive effects. For one, parishioners aren't strangers to each other anymore. They've gotten to know others from signing in. And families bond in different ways. Some fathers come with their sons during one time, and some mothers with daughters another time during the day.

“We're trying to add little things as we go along,” Father Brinkman says. “The next step now is to post petitions so they're praying for the broader needs of the diocese and broader needs of the world.”

What's happening as the year officially closes? “The Year of the Eucharist,” says a happy Father Brinkman, “was a springboard for continuation of adoration in the parish.”

In Trumbull, Conn., the same holds for St. Theresa Church. In response to the Year of the Eucharist, the parish began adoration five days a week, from after 8 a.m. morning Mass to just before 5:30 p.m. evening Mass, on the feast St. Nicholas.

“It was the specific response to the Holy Father's call and the call of the people,” says Msgr. Peter Dora, the pastor. “They came and they initiated it. That was the beauty; it didn't come from me, it came from them.”

He points out many changes he's seen since adoration began. For one, he's seen people become “calmer.”

“People who have been struggling have now found themselves,” he explains. “They come to a sense of serenity in adoration.”

Rosemarie Martin, one of the organizers, is moved to see the comfort some seriously ill people receive from their daily visits to the adoration chapel.

“I find that, when sitting with the Lord quietly, he gives you answers and makes you feel right about them,” she says about personal questions she has. “There's just such a peace when you go in there.”

Agnes Clarizio, who spearheaded the efforts to start adoration, is uplifted to see home schoolers bringing their children — and the surprising reverence of all children who come to the chapel.

One day she remembers joining a woman and three children in the adoration chapel. The children were sitting very quietly, reading books and praying.

“Then the woman got up and left,” Clarizio recalls. “I had assumed she was their mother. After a while a young woman with a baby came in. She was their mother and just went to change the baby. All the time they didn't make sound. That amazed me.”

What she calls another “side effect” of adoration is its spurring people to pray for one another's needs.

“They tell me [who needs what], and I tell Msgr. Dora,” she says. “This brings the parish down to more of a community level.”

At the same time, parishes are reaching out through adoration.

As Father Lilly puts it, “I'm going to give the adorers some homework. I'm encouraging people to use part of that time to pray for vocations to the religious life.”

He already has an answer he wants others to find through adoration.

“I think it's the most exciting apostolate that's ongoing in our parish,” he says. “If I could wish and pray for one thing in a parish, it's for people on their knees before the Lord.”

Joseph Pronechen writes from Trumbull, Connecticut.