CBB Review – 21 Ways to Worship: A Guide to Eucharistic Adoration

CBB Review – 21 Ways to Worship: A Guide to Eucharistic Adoration January 22, 2014

Have you often thought about attending Eucharistic Adoration but never have because you didn’t know what you would do for that whole hour? Do you regularly attend but feel it’s become routine and you are in a rut? Vinny Flynn has the answers and guidance you need in his one of his latest books 21 Ways to Worship: A Guide to Eucharistic Adoration
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Vinny states in the introduction that the book’s purpose is to provide “enough to encourage you to give it a try if you’ve never done it, or to offer some additional suggestions if you’ve already spent some time in Adoration”. The book is divided into 21 chapters, one each for the 21 ways mentioned in the title. He also promises an easy read, a “personal sharing of some of the things that have been fruitful for me and that have helped me develop a more meaningful relationship with God”. Upon reading this book you will discover that both promises were kept quite well.

The 21 ways Vinny suggests are all very good but a few jumped out to me personally. The chapter Keep It Personal discusses how to make your adoration a one on one time with your Father. Regimented prayers are nice, but Vinny stresses that in any relationship communication is what matters and personal conversations with your Creator are key to a healthy spiritual life. In Do It Write! the suggestion is made to write in a journal during Adoration. The point is stressed that this is not a “Dear Diary” exercise but another tool for fostering conversation with God.

Some of the chapters go outside of the Adoration Chapel into everyday life. In Use the Three R’s control of the tongue is discussed. Repent of the misuse of words that in effect were used to curse, Revoke the the words that were used and Replace them with a blessing. Stop trying to do it all yourself is the theme of the chapter Give It Up! Vinny shares a great little prayer from his main confessor. This prayer can be used to hand any situation over to God and is as follows: I can’t. You can. I think I’ll let you. Next, in the chapter Take a Shower! the imagery of the blood and water coming from our crucified Lord’s side is used. This imagery of this “fountain of love” as Vinny calls it is one that is “cleansing, purifying, forgiving, healing and restoring.”

Another feature I found useful were the prayers included throughout the book. These were prayers written by Vinny himself. It was obvious he has a knack for writing them as they were all very good. Included in the back of the book were additional prayers composed by both Vinny and his daughter Erin. Lastly the book concludes with a “Recommended Books and Resources” section that lists enough material to keep a person busy for quite some time.

I really enjoyed this book and found it full of great ideas and wonderful advice. The suggestions given were all solid and multiple sources were referenced. Popes Francis, Benedict XVI and John Paul II were frequently quoted as well as the diary of Sr. Faustina and plenty of Scripture references. The title leads you to believe this book only applies to Eucharistic Adoration but the ideas throughout the book can be applied to all aspects of spiritual life making it even more valuable.

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I received a copy of the book for this review from the publisher MercySong. You can read more about this book and other’s Vinny has written at his website here.




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