Eucharistic adoration in the context of "Blessed Sacrament"

The Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane is an episode in the life of Jesus, which occurred after the Last Supper and before his betrayal and arrest, all part of the Passion of Jesus leading to his crucifixion and death. This episode is described in the three Synoptic Gospels in the New Testament. According to these accounts, Jesus, accompanied by Peter, John and James, enters the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives where he experiences great anguish and prays to be delivered from his impending suffering, while also accepting God's will.

This episode is a significant event in Christian tradition, especially in Catholic devotional practices. The agony of Jesus in the Garden is the first (or second) station of the Scriptural Way of the Cross (modern version of the Via Crucis) and the first "sorrowful mystery" of the Dominican Rosary, and it is the inspiration for the Holy Hour devotion in the Eucharistic adoration. It has been a frequent theme in Christian art depicting the life of Jesus.

Catholic devotions are particular customs, rituals, and practices of worship of God or honour of the saints which are in addition to the liturgy of the Catholic Church, described as "expressions of love and fidelity that arise from the intersection of one's own faith, culture and the Gospel of Jesus Christ". Devotions are not considered part of liturgical worship, even if they are performed in a church or led by a priest, but rather they are paraliturgical. The Congregation for Divine Worship at the Vatican publishes a Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy.

Catholic devotions have various forms, ranging from formalized, multi-day prayers such as novenas to activities, such as processions or the Eucharistic adoration, the wearing of scapulars, the veneration of the saints, the Canonical coronations of sacred Marian or Christological images and even horticultural practices such as maintaining a Mary garden.

Holy Hour (Latin: hora sancta) is the Catholic devotional tradition of spending an hour in prayer and meditation on the agony of Jesus Christ in the garden of Gethsemane, or in Eucharistic adoration in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. A plenary indulgence is granted for this practice. The practice is also observed in some Lutheran churches and some Anglican churches.

Eucharist (Koine Greek: εὐχαριστία, romanized: eucharistía, lit. 'thanksgiving') is the name that Catholic Christians give to the sacrament by which, according to their belief, the body and blood of Christ are present in the bread and wine consecrated during the Catholic eucharistic liturgy, generally known as the Mass. The definition of the Eucharist in the 1983 Code of Canon Law as the sacrament where Christ himself “is contained, offered, and received” points to the three aspects of the Eucharist according to Catholic theology: the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Holy Communion, and the holy sacrifice of the Mass.

The name Eucharist comes from the Greek word eucharistia which means 'thanksgiving" and which refers to the accounts of the last supper in Matthew 26:26–28, Mark 14:22–24, Luke 22:19–20 and 1 Corinthians 11:23–29, all of which narrate that Jesus "gave thanks" as he took the bread and the wine.

A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for ostension, e.g., the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic Sacramental bread (host) during Eucharistic adoration or during the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. A monstrance may also serve as a reliquary for the public display of relics of some saints. The word monstrance comes from the Latin word monstrare, while the word ostensorium comes from the Latin word ostendere. Either term, each expressing the concept of "showing", can refer to a vessel intended for the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, but ostensorium has only this meaning.

During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the second part of the Mass, the elements of bread and wine are considered to have been changed into the veritable Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The manner in which this occurs is referred to by the term transubstantiation, a theory of St. Thomas Aquinas, in the Roman Catholic Church. Members of the Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran communions also believe that Jesus Christ is really and truly present in the bread and wine, but they believe that the way in which this occurs must forever remain a sacred mystery. In many Christian churches, some portion of the consecrated elements is set aside and reserved after the reception of Communion and referred to as the reserved sacrament. The reserved sacrament is usually stored in a tabernacle, a locked cabinet made of precious materials and usually located on, above, or near the high altar. In Western Christianity usually only the Host, from Latin: hostia, meaning "victim" (the consecrated bread), is reserved, except where wine might be kept for the sick who cannot consume a host.

The reasons for the reservation of the sacrament vary by tradition, but until around 1000 AD the only reason for reserving the sacrament was to be taken to the ill, homebound, or dying (viaticum). After that devotional practices arose, as for Eucharistic adoration and for Communion services when a priest is unavailable to celebrate the Eucharist. During the Paschal Triduum, the sacrament is taken in procession from the tabernacle, if on the high altar or otherwise in the sanctuary, to the Altar of Repose, and reserved from the end of the Mass of the Lord's Supper until the Communion Rite on Good Friday (called the Mass of the Presanctified, since the Eucharistic Prayer and consecration are omitted in the Good Friday celebration); this period is seen by some as symbolic of the time between the Last Supper and the Crucifixion of Jesus. The Blessed Sacrament is then absent from the tabernacle until the end of the Easter Vigil.

In the Catholic Church, a Eucharistic congress is a gathering of clergy, religious, and laity to bear witness to the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, which is an important Catholic doctrine. Congresses bring together people from a wide area, and typically involve large open-air Masses, Eucharistic adoration (Blessed Sacrament), and other devotional ceremonies held over several days. Congresses may both refer to National (varies by country) and International Eucharistic Congresses.

On 28 November 1897, Pope Leo XIII proclaimed Saint Paschal Baylón patron of Eucharistic Congresses and Associations.