In top photo, is the new Adoration chapel located on the campus of Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Long Branch. Mike Ehrmann photos
By Mary Stadnyk | Associate Editor
The new Eucharistic Adoration chapel that’s in Christ the King Parish, Long Branch, reflects the unwavering love and devotion that the parishioners have for Christ in the Eucharist.
PHOTO GALLERY: Bishop consecrates Long Branch Eucharistic Adoration chapel.
That’s how Father Javier Diaz, pastor, views the new Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary that’s located on the campus of Our Lady Star of the Sea Church and was consecrated by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., on April 16.
“It is truly the fruit of a loving, faithful and generous community, a people with a hunger and thirst for God,” said Father Diaz. “It stands as a testimony to what the Lord can do when hearts are united in faith, devotion and sacrifice.”
Top Priority
Father Diaz explained the new chapel was created after parishioners learned that the building that housed the parish offices and a small adoration chapel was going to close and be put up for sale. Though it was known that the offices would relocate to another building on the campus, the bigger question parishioners had was if there would be a new Eucharistic Adoration chapel too.
A new chapel was indeed part of the relocation plan, Father Diaz said, and the parishioners really stepped up to make it happen.
“Moved by that love for Jesus truly present in the Eucharist, the parish came together with remarkable generosity and zeal,” Father Diaz said. “Through fundraising efforts, sacrifice and much hard work, the community helped make this project possible.”
Father Diaz said that the new chapel is 40’x16’, seats 28 people, is open 24 hours a day and seven days a week, and is accessible to parishioners through a security code.
He is pleased to see that each morning at 6 a.m., there is a faithful group that gathers to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. It is rare for the chapel to be empty, Father Diaz said, adding that he trusts that, with time, “the Lord will bless us with enough adorers to ensure a full and constant presence before him, 24 hours a day.”
“Many members of the community have taken it upon themselves to invite others, guide them and help form new custodians of the Blessed Sacrament,” Father Diaz said.
“Our hope is that it will always remain a place where hearts can come to rest in the presence of the Lord day and night.”
‘Labor of Love’
Much care went into selecting the appropriate furnishings and statuary, Father Diaz said. He purchased the very ornate tabernacle, which is made of copper and aluminum and bears the image of the Sacred Heart from his native Colombia. The front door opens when adorers are present, inviting the faithful into a more intimate gaze upon the mystery of the Lord’s Eucharistic presence.
The image of the Last Supper at the base of the altar was purchased from the gift shop in St. Leo the Great Parish, Lincroft. It was in poor condition but the parish custodian, Javier Ramirez Jr. “recognized its potential and obtained it for me,” Father Diaz said, noting that he was happy to use his artistic skills to refurbish it.
“When I saw it, I was reminded of certain altars I had admired in Rome and I felt inspired to restore it and incorporate it into the chapel in a worthy and beautiful way,” Father Diaz said. The restoration required him to remove damaged portions, rebuild missing details such as fingers and noses, repaint sections and embellish parts with gold foil and wood ornaments.
“It became a labor of love, an effort to restore beauty in service of the Lord’s house and to reflect, in some small way, the sacred dignity of the Eucharistic mystery,” he said.
The pastor pointed to the Crucifix that’s suspended from the ceiling to the side of the altar, for which he purchased the Body of the crucified Jesus in Italy. A parishioner, Tulio Silva, crafted the cross, on which Father Diaz added the inscription identifying Jesus as King of the Jews in Hebrew, Latin and Greek.
“That detail was important to me because it connects our chapel not only to the Mystery of Christ’s Passion, but also to the rich tradition of the universal Church, which contemplates the crucified Lord as the Savior and King who reigns from the Cross,” he said.
Hope and Prayer
Father Diaz shared his deepest hope that every person who visits the chapel may have a profound encounter with Jesus Christ truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.”
“I pray that they may feel the closeness of God, the tenderness of his love and the peace that comes only from being in his presence,” he said.
“I hope they come to place before him their thanksgiving, their wounds, their fears, their hopes and their prayers for those they love,” he added. “Above all, I hope they leave renewed in faith, strengthened in hope and inflamed with love, able to say with confidence and surrender: ‘Most Sacred Heart, I trust in you.’”