BY PAULA DAY

An estimated 850 people have signed up to spend an hour a week in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at the Cathedral of Christ the King.

Archbishop John F. Donoghue will initiate perpetual adoration with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament followed by a procession and enthronement in an adjacent chapel June 5, the feast of Corpus Christi. The 3 p.m. service will inaugurate a devotion close to the heart of the archbishop.

In December the archbishop issued “Rejoice in the Lord, Always,” his first pastoral letter to Catholics in the Atlanta archdiocese. In it he said the presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is a “singular miracle:” Catholics should embrace and defend. At the same time he announced that the Cathedral would prepare an appropriate chapel for perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Keri Allen, Cathedral parishioner and director of the project, said recruitment of volunteers and modification in the Cathedral baptistry which will serve as the Blessed Sacrament chapel, is now in the final stages.

Volunteers from parishes in the archdiocese will fill the one-hour time slots, Mrs. Allen said. A variety of people have signed up, including retired persons, married couples, professionals and prayer groups. A minimum of three volunteers fill each of the adoration times in a 24-hour period. A list of substitutes will be available in case one is not able to keep an appointed time, and every volunteer will have a coordinator who can help locate a substitute if necessary. “There will be plenty of help,” Mrs. Allen said. Organizers hope 70 or more people will still come forward, particularly to cover weekends.

Opening directly onto the well-lighted Cathedral plaza, the chapel also has access to a telephone and restroom. It will be furnished with two kneelers and three chairs and be large enough for seven people. Low voltage lighting and a heating and cooling system have been installed.

It will be “a pleasant place to spend time in prayer,” Mrs. Allen said, adding that copies of Scripture will be available. Those coming to pray are requested not to leave other material in the chapel.

“I hope perpetual adoration will bring an increased level of prayer which will open the door to renewal in the archdiocese,” commented Father Tim Hepburn. The parochial vicar, who before his temporary assignment to St. Joseph’s Church in Athens, supported the effort at the Cathedral to initiate perpetual adoration, will return to Christ the King June 16. He is expected to preside at monthly Benediction as part of the devotion.

“When I’m celebrating the liturgy of the Eucharist,” Father Hepburn explained, “I’m thinking about Christ becoming present” on the altar under the form of bread and wine and in his Church.

“When I adore the Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament I’m thinking about the finished work of Christ, catching a glimpse of eternity.”

He cited St. Paul’s words to the Ephesians: “For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” Praying before the Blessed Sacrament, Father Hepburn said, he becomes aware of the “complete unity of all things in Christ, even if things seem to be in disarray.”

Mrs. Allen believes the time of prayer will provide “a wonderful opportunity for people to listen.”

“We seem to have lost our ability to listen,” she said. “It’s difficult to discern without listening. Even though it’s a personal devotion,” she added, “it’s not a private devotion. The relationship between me and Christ is personal, but it is meant to be spread.”

Those still wishing to volunteer for a period of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament may send in the adjacent form.