As interest in Eucharistic adoration surges across the country in the build-up to the National Eucharistic Congress, greater attention has been brought towards providing more opportunities to adore Our Lord exposed in the monstrance.
This has led some parishes to build chapels specifically dedicated to perpetual adoration, which can aid in the worship of the faithful through their design.
One such chapel was opened just last year in New York City by the Dominican Friars of the Church of St. Joseph’s in Greenwich Village.
The Divine Mercy Adoration Chapel, the first of its kind in Manhattan, was deliberately constructed to teach the truths of the Catholic faith and to convey the reality of the mystery of the Eucharist.
1) Rood Screen
The most striking aspect of the chapel is the rood screen, named after the cross, or “rood”, that stands atop it. The rood screen and similar partitions were traditionally used in churches to separate the nave from the area where the choir and the altar were situated, providing security for the Eucharistic hosts and the clergy.
By partially obscuring what is behind it, the rood screen emphasizes the sacred mystery of what is contained in the tabernacle, symbolically separating it from the temporal world. Its windows serve as an opening into the heavenly reality of the Eucharist and the liturgy.
This is aided by the decoration of the screen, which is simple at the bottom until becoming more elaborate at the top, representing the movement to contemplating higher things, including ornate Corinthian pillars, grape vines, and gilded images of the Cherubim, angels tasked with adoring God and protecting His covenant.
2) Divine Mercy Mosaic
The tabernacle is decorated with a mosaic depicting the Divine Mercy image that the chapel takes its name from. This depiction of Jesus Christ is based on a vision Saint Maria Faustina experienced in 1931.
The two beams of red and blue light radiating from Christ’s heart represent the blood and water that flowed from his side during His Passion. The Divine Mercy devotion’s explicit link to Our Lord’s blood makes it a fitting image to adorn a chapel dedicated to adoring the Eucharist.
3) Statue of Saint Catherine of Siena
On the right-hand side of the room stands a wooden statue of Saint Catherine of Siena, a Third Order Dominican, Doctor of the Church, and mystic known for her love of the poor, defense of the papacy, and visions of Christ and the saints.
The source of Saint Catherine’s love and charity was the Eucharist.
Pope Gregory XI allowed Saint Catherine to receive frequent communion at a time when it was not a common practice, and her confessor recorded that for the last seven years of her life, Saint Catherine consumed no other food but the Eucharist.
The statue itself dates from the 16th century, connecting the old with the new in one continuous tradition. Saint Catherine has her right arm outstretched, pointing longingly towards the monstrance and enjoining us to follow suit in surrendering ourselves to the love of Christ.
4) Choir Stalls
Another unusual feature of the chapel is the choir stalls located behind the rood screen. The Dominican Friars that built the chapel practice communal prayer through the Divine Office, the official prayer of the Catholic Church that involves praying various Offices throughout the day.
In imitation of the Cherubim depicted on the rood screen, the Dominicans praise God continually through the Divine Office, and through the chapel invite the laity to join them in perpetually sanctifying daily life.
The Church has traditionally used the beauty found in architecture and the arts to provide symbols that make the reality of our faith more tangible and to aid the faithful in their devotion.
The Divine Mercy Adoration Chapel follows this tradition to serve as a fitting home for the Our Lord Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist to be reserved and publicly adored by the faithful.