An Appetite for Adoration leads St. Ann to Perpetual Adoration

The journey started when parishioner Anne Jakubowski took a pilgrimage to Medjugorje in 1995.

“Before my return, the Lord placed the desire to help initiate Eucharistic Adoration at our parish,” Jakubowski said. “I had spent time in Adoration while in Medjugorje and on my return to committed to a holy hour at St. Philip Parish.”

With the blessing and support of Msgr. Michael Osborn, many parishioners committed to a holy hour. Eucharistic Adoration began at St. Ann in 1999, starting Fridays at 9 am and ending Saturdays at 5 p.m.

“The work was all a labor of love for me,” Jakubowski said. “My family and prayer partners supported me and those special people of St. Ann’s who said yes to a holy hour.”

The work, however, wasn’t done. “I knew Blessed Virgin Mary wanted Perpetual Adoration, but I had no clue how it would ever happen in a small parish such as ours,” Jakubowski said. But God did.

In 2015, St. Ann’s pastor Rev. James Adams challenged every confirmed parishioner to commit to an Adoration time, even if it was only once. Adoration team member Brenda Sinkovitz recalls hundreds of commitment cards being returned, enough to expand Adoration to a Wednesday through Saturday practice.

“It was the most beautiful thing ever,” Sinkovitz said.

Instead of one adorer an hour, they now had 2-3 adorers an hour, but the parish wasn’t done yet.

“People had such an appetite for Adoration, they wanted it to grow,” Sinkovitz said.

In 2017, the Adoration team approached their new pastor Rev. Francis Marotti with the idea of having Perpetual Adoration during Advent. Fr. Marotti agreed, and the team secured enough adorers to make it work. In fact, it worked so well, Fr. Marotti agreed to have Perpetual Adoration during Lent, this time with an eye to making it permanent.

“If [people] fall in love with it at the end of Lent, we would ask them if they are ready to go perpetual,” Sinkovitz said.

One of those parishioners who fell in love was Tara McLinden, who adores with her husband Tim Wood.

“There’s a blessing that words cannot quite convey and a peacefulness that comes over us when we enter the Adoration chapel,” McLinden said. “We always leave the chapel yearning to stay longer, to learn more, and just be closer to Jesus Christ our Lord.”

When Pentecost came, Perpetual Adoration at St. Ann’s began.

“[Perpetual Adoration] is important for a parish because the more a parish is centered around the Eucharist, the more fruitful that community becomes,” Fr. Marotti said. Sinkovitz can attest to that sense of community.

“[Perpetual Adoration] creates a beautiful web of connectedness in our parish that we know God will do tremendous things with,” Sinkovitz said.

“Adorers humbly pray, ‘Lord I believe, help my unbelief’ because Adoration is a mystic experience,” Jakubowski said. “We come just as we are to the One who is Pure Love.”

Adoring is not limited to St. Ann parishioners. Currently, people from five other parishes are taking a weekly holy hour.

“We always had people (outside the parish) come all the years we have done Adoration, but since we went perpetual, it’s extended,” Sinkovitz said. “We want people from anywhere to feel free to adore in our chapel.”

Those interested can contact Brenda Sinkovitz at adoration@stannaugusta.org or 269-491-0377.