Each year, parishes around the world celebrate the devotion of Forty Hours. This is a graced time for our parish family and an opportunity for us to gather together before the Blessed Sacrament to thank God for His graces and to make reparation to Him for our past sins. It also allows us time to deepen our appreciation of the importance of the mystery of the eucharist in our lives.

Forty Hours Devotion is continuous prayer during which the Eucharist is exposed for adoration. The devotion begins with Mass, followed by continuous adoration over a period of 40-hours, and ends with Vespers and Benediction.

In the Bible the number 40 is associated with a sacred period of time: the rain at the time of the flood of Noah lasted 40 days and nights. The Hebrews wandered in the desert for 40 years on the way to the Promised Land. And most significantly, Jesus fasted for 40 days before beginning His public ministry.

In the celebration of the Forty Hours Devotion, we are able to witness a fuller expression of our Catholic faith in the Eucharist. It is first and foremost about our participation in the Paschal Mystery through the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In the Mass, we participate directly in the saving acts of Christ, and by the grace of the Holy Spirit we unite the sacrifices of our lives with the one sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. It is in this way that we give praise and thanksgiving to God the Father for His Son Jesus and participate in the true worship of our God by which we are sanctified as His holy people.

Theological Points (taken from Order for the Solemn Exposition of the Holy Eucharist)

• Solemn Exposition offers an occasion for the faithful
  • To develop a deeper devotion to the Eucharist
  • To reflect on how well their lives mirror Christ’s
  • To become more aware of Christ’s presence in their lives
  • To deepen their spiritual communion with Christ
• Structuring the devotional exercises should
  • Make clear their connection to the liturgy
  • Make clear that the celebration of the eucharistic sacrifice in the Mass is the source and culmination of the whole Christian life
  • Take into out account the liturgical seasons
  • Lead people back to the liturgical celebration
  • Remain in accord with the liturgy
• Through solemn exposition the faithful should
  • Remember that His presence
    • derives from the sacrifice of the Mass
    • has as its purpose both sacramental and spiritual communion
  • Be drawn into an ever deeper share in the Paschal Mystery
  • Respond gratefully to gift of Christ present in the Eucharist
  • Enjoy Christ’s intimate friendship
  • Pray for themselves, those dear to them and for the world
  • Strive to worship Christ in a manner fitting to their way of life
• Through prayer in solemn exposition the faithful
  • Offer their entire lives with Christ to the Father in the Holy Spirit
  • Derive and increase in faith, hope and charity
  • Extends the union with Christ reached in reception of communion
  • Renew the covenant
  • Are strengthened to live out the covenant received through faith and sacrament
  • Are reminded to live their whole lives
    • strengthened by sacramental communion
    • as sharers in the Paschal Mystery (Christ’s death/resurrection/ascension, the pouring forth of the Holy Spirit, and Christ’s return)
    • eager to do good works and to please God
    • to instill in the world the Christian spirit
    • to become witnesses to Christ
• The relationship of Exposition to Mass
  • Acknowledges Christ’s marvelous presence in the sacrament
  • Offers strong encouragement toward the worship owed to Christ in spirit and in truth
  • Is intended to lead back to the celebration of Mass

While the Forty Hours Devotion nurtures the love of the faithful for our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, three special dimensions have also surrounded this devotion: the protection from evil and temptation; reparation for our own sins and for the Poor Souls in Purgatory; and deliverance from political, material, or spiritual calamities.

Many great saints such as St. Charles Borromeo, St. Philip Neri, St. Ignatius Loyola, and, in our own country, St. John Neumann were all strong promoters of the Forty Hours Devotion. Let us implore Our Lord to pour forth His abundant graces on our families. In particular, let us pray for purification of the Catholic Church, that it will be the spotless Bride of Christ, for the United States of America in this important moment of election, and an end of the pandemic and the harmful effects of the lockdown.