Posted on 02/25/2005 4:43:10 PM PST by Salvation
My parish is having 40 Hours devotions. What is the history of this devotion? |
By 1550, both St. Philip Neri and St. Ignatius Loyola had also instituted this practice, especially for the reparation of sin. Recognizing the tremendous graces offered through this devotion as well as the dangers threatening the Church, Pope Clement VIII in his letter Graves et diuturnae (November 25, 1592) proclaimed, "We have determined to establish publicly in this Mother City of Rome an uninterrupted course of prayer in such ways that in the different churches, on appointed days, there be observed the pious and salutary devotion of the Forty Hours, with such an arrangement of churches and times that, at every hour of the day and night, the whole year round the incense of prayer shall ascend without intermission before the face of the Lord." He also issued regulations for the devotions, which were later collected and promulgated by Pope Clement XI in 1705, and known as the Instructio Clementina.
In our own country, St. John Neumann (1811-60), the fourth bishop of Philadelphia, was a strong promoter of the Forty Hours Devotion. While the practice had already existed in individual churches throughout the city (as well as in other places in the country), no organized, cohesive diocesan schedule for it had ever before been attempted. St. John had an tremendous devotion to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and desired to foster such a spiritual life in his people.
Unfortunately at this time, a strong anti-Catholic sentiment plagued Philadelphia. During the Know Nothing riots of 1844, two churches were burned and another was saved simply by the threat of gunfire. Some priests, therefore, advised St. John that the introduction of 40 Hours Devotion would only flame the hatred against the Catholics and expose the Blessed Sacrament to desecration. St. John was left in a quandary.
A strange incident occurred which helped St. John decide. One night, he was working very late at his desk and fell asleep in his chair. The candle on the desk burnt down and charred some of the papers, but they were still readable. He awoke, surprised and thankful that a fire had not ignited. He fell on his knees to give thanks to God for protection, and heard His voice saying, "As the flames are burning here without consuming or injuring the writing, so shall I pour out my grace in the Blessed Sacrament without prejudice to My honor. Fear no profanation, therefore; hesitate no longer to carry out your design for my glory."
He introduced the practice of 40 Hours Devotion at the first diocesan synod in April, 1853, and the first devotions began at St. Philip Neri Parish, an appropriate place since that saint had initiated the devotion in the city of Rome. St. John himself, spent most of the three days in the Church praying. No trouble ensued. St. John then introduced the program for the whole diocese, so that each parish would have Forty Hours Devotion during the course of the year. He composed a special booklet for the devotions and obtained special indulgences for the faithful attending them. The Forty Hours Devotion was so successful it spread to other dioceses. At the Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1866, the Forty Hours Devotion was approved for all Dioceses of the United States.
The Forty Hours Devotion provides a wonderful opportunity for the spiritual growth of each person and the parish as a whole. In a world where temptation and evil abound, where devotion to the Mass and our Lord in the Holy Eucharist have declined, where the practice of penance and confession have been forgotten, we need the Forty Hours Devotion more than ever.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Saunders, Rev. William. "40 Hours, Part Two." Arlington Catholic Herald.
This article is reprinted with permission from Arlington Catholic Herald.
THE AUTHOR
Father William Saunders is dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College and pastor of Our Lady of Hope Parish in Sterling, Virginia. The above article is a "Straight Answers" column he wrote for the Arlington Catholic Herald. Father Saunders is also the author of Straight Answers, a book based on 100 of his columns and published by Cathedral Press in Baltimore.
Copyright © 2003 Arlington Catholic Herald
Are any of your parishes planning a 40 Hours Devotion? Just curious. (I've heard that is becoming popular again!)
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Thank you very good
My parish had 40 hour devotions last year.
On Fridays we are having Eucharist Adoration from 8 AM to 7 PM followed by Benediction to 7:30 and Stations of the Cross from 7:30 to 8 followed by instruction on the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist until we get tired.
I sit during 1 PM to 2 PM and come back at 7 till closing.
There is talk of trying to get the pastor to have one Latin Mass whenever. One of the gals is on the Liturgy Committee and she will bring it up.
Sounds like the Protestant and Evangelical program, "40 Days of Purpose" and its followup, "40 Days of Freedom". In any case, it's good for everyone to get into a good Bible Study group and learn the word!
This is sounding good. I hope the lady pursues it with the Liiturgy Committee.
40 Days of Purpose = Lent.
Forty hours of praying = Time spent with Christ in the Holy Eucharist!
February 26, 2005
Ember Days
Four times a year at about the time of the change of season, Christians fasted and did penance on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday the Ember Days. (The word ember is an abbreviation from a Latin expression meaning four times a year.
Toward the end of the first millennium the dates for Ember Days were fixed as the week of Ash Wednesday (springtime), the week following Pentecost (summer), the week following the feast of the Holy Cross on September 14 (fall), and the week following the feast of St. Lucy on December 13 (winter). An old saying to remember these was crux, lux, fire, ashes -- Cross (Feast of the Holy Cross), Light (Lucys Lights were the meteors in December), Fire (Pentecost) and Ashes (Ash Wednesday.)
Some say this practice was based on ancient practices of good health periodically cleaning out the body by fasting.
Ember Days ceased to be part of Church law in 1966, when Pope Paul VI promulgated the changes in the penitential practices of the Church.
Ember Days, that's an interesting concept. About fasting, many health professionals are encouraging people to fast to cleanse out their system. Many religious denominations encourage fasting and prayer among their members to bring worshippers closer to God.
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