The noticeable increase in devotion to Our Lady of late has also brought about an increase in devotion to the Eucharist, especially Eucharistic Adoration apart from the Mass. This time for quiet, reflective prayer in which one can communicate person-to-person with our Divine Lord in the Eucharist is needed now more than ever before. Yet, how little time the average American has to think about the most important issue of his life, his personal relationship with Him, to Whom he owes his very existence and by Whom he will be judged. It is not that men today do not have the time for quiet, reflective prayer. It is a matter of what should take first priority in our lives.

    It is estimated that the average American watches TV over 26 hours a week. Slowly and unconsciously we are being conditioned into an anti-prayer mentality. It is true that it takes much less effort to be entertained than to keep a Holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament. Yet, if the TV screen occupies so much of our time, or "making a living" prevents us from making at least one holy hour in a week's time, what excuse will we have when our Divine Lord doesn't recognize us because we have hardly made any effort to know Him in this life. Msgr. Ronald Knox put it nicely: "Prayer is our first duty in this life and to plead lack of time for it is an insult to God."

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