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, 4 – 6 October. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed on Sunday, 4 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, we will, once again, celebrate Evening Prayer and Benediction at 7:00pm. On Tuesday evening, the Annual Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotion will conclude with Mass at 7:00pm.
We are blessed to have Fr. Steve DeLacy return to offer his reflections with us over these three days. You may recall that Fr. Delacy led our Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotion 12 years ago. He is currently the Vicar for the Office for Faith Formation with Youth and Young Adults for our Archdiocese where his infectious joy and positive approach to life draws countless young men and women closer to God. His reflections this year will help to deepen our understanding of the Mass by focusing on the Eucharistic Doxology, the Mystery of Faith, and the Lamb of God with a special emphasis on how these parts of the Mass put us in contact with Jesus, expanding our awareness of our own identity and cultivating any healing we need in our lives.
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).