After the celebration of the Eucharist itself, what better Eucharistic event is there than our annual Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotion? It’s a great opportunity to linger with our Lord, recalling all that he has done for us and preparing for our eternity with him. Our annual Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotion will begin next Sunday after the 11:30am Mass and conclude with a 7:00pm Mass on Tuesday. I encourage everyone to join in this wonderful devotion!
As you know, we believe that, when we celebrate Mass, we participate in the Paschal Mystery: the once-and-for-all offering of our Lord to us for our spiritual nourishment at the Last Supper and our Lord’s offering of himself on the cross to his heavenly Father for the forgiveness of our sins. And, as we read in Sacramentum Caritatis (§ 66):
Eucharistic adoration is simply the natural consequence of the Eucharistic celebration, which is itself the Church’s supreme act of adoration. …The act of adoration outside Mass prolongs and intensifies all that takes place during the liturgical celebration itself.
We need our Lord in our lives and we are blessed that he has given himself to us in this clear sign. We truly receive him, body and blood, soul and divinity, whenever we receive Holy Communion. We are just as truly in his presence when we come before him in the Blessed Sacrament, whether reserved in the tabernacle or exposed on the altar.
Every year, we are privileged to set apart some time to be with our Lord exposed in the Blessed Sacrament during our annual Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotion. As I mentioned earlier, our Annual Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotion will be held next week: 5 – 7 October. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed on Sunday, 5 October, after the 11:30am Mass and remain exposed until Evening Prayer and Benediction at 7:00pm. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed on Monday and Tuesday after the 8:00am Mass and remain exposed all day. On Monday evening, there will be Evening Prayer and Benediction at 7:00pm. On Tuesday evening, the Annual Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotion will conclude with Mass, Procession and Benediction at 7:00pm.
We are blessed to have Fr. Michael Riggs, O.S.A., from Malvern Preparatory School, come and offer his reflections with us over these three days. Fr. Riggs is a recently ordained Augustinian friar in the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova. Born and raised on Long Island, NY, he holds a B.S. in Mathematics from Long Island University, and a M.Div. from Catholic Theological Union. After a period of working in the health insurance industry, he began to discern his vocation to religious life. He entered formation in the Order of Saint Augustine in 2017, professing simple vows in 2019, culminating in his solemn profession to the Order in 2023 and his ordination to the priesthood in May 2024. In his short time as a priest, Fr. Michael has served at Our Mother of Good Counsel Parish in Bryn Mawr, PA, where he continues to serve as a weekend associate and as chaplain to the parish’s young adult ministry, the MIX. He currently serves at Malvern Preparatory School where he teaches Church History and Catholic Social Teaching. Fr. Michael is excited to share his reflections on the Jubilee Year, Hope, and how the election of the first Augustinian Pope serves as a sign of that hope.
I invite everyone to come and linger with our Lord truly present to us, exposed for our adoration and worship, inspiration and direction! You will find a sign-up board on the table next to the piano and you are encouraged to commit to one-half hour or more for private adoration. And, if you need some inspiration to help you, bring a Bible along and reflect on the Eucharistic passages found in all the Gospels as well as Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (cf. Matthew 14:13-21; 15:32-39; 26:17-30; Mark 6:34-44; 8:1-21; 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-30; John 6:1-15, 25-69; 13:1-17:26, 1 Cor 11:23-29).