At Notre Dame, students are told that spirituality is the center of the school, but how does the school provide opportunities to do so?

Adoration is one way many Catholics grow deeper in faith by praising God through the Blessed Sacrament which is exposed on the altar during the time of adoration.  At Notre Dame, the school offers adoration for students and faculty on the first Friday of every month.  

Students are able to sign up for a 15-20 minute slot in adoration.  This time allows for students to grow in faith and deepen their prayer life, but signing up does mean that students will miss a part of a class.  

“What’s really cool about adoration is that the teachers are like ‘yeah absolutely go to adoration,’” junior Theology teacher Mr. Keusenkothen said. “You can miss a little bit of my class, it’s good that you spend time with our Lord.”

About twenty students go to adoration each month, but their reasons for going may differ. 

“Adoration is a time that I can leave class and have my own time during the middle of the day to spend time with God,” senior Brock Hulshof said.

Not only does adoration allow students to take time for God, but it also benefits their faith and helps deepen their relationship with God. 

“I’m able to pray to God and kind of let all of my worries go away,” Hulshof said. “After I leave adoration I’m always in a great mood, so it definitely just relaxes me and helps me throughout my day.”

Adoration has been beneficial to staff members and students, so much so, many would like more opportunities to have that time with the Lord. 

“I wish that there was an opportunity maybe every two weeks in the morning before school to go to adoration,” Hulshof said. 

Although formal adoration in the monstrance is good for spiritual growth, it is important to remember the true presence of God in the tabernacle. 

“Christ is always present in the tabernacle, whether or not He is exposed in the monstrance,” Keusenkothen said. “Christ is present every hour of the day.” 

At Notre Dame, athletics, academics, and extracurriculars are shadowed by spirituality.  It sheds a light on the school and truly is the center of the school. From adoration to simply saying a prayer before a class, prayer is the most important part of the day for every Notre Dame student and faculty member. 

“We can underestimate the power of prayer and often times things like prayer go unnoticed, but the grace of the miraculous power of God absolutely helps us all,” Keusenkothen said. 

By Rachel Engelen ‘23