A Message on the Lenten Forty Hours Devotion

When you look at the monstrance, what do you see? You see the Sacred Host, the Real Presence of Jesus, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, in the Eucharist. But on the altar, the Lord seems inactive and immovable. I assure you He is neither. In this sacrament, He continually pours Himself out in love for you and for the world He came to save. You gaze on Him in the Eucharist because He first gazed upon You, not with a look of judgment, but with eyes of love – a look that, if we let it, pierces us to the soul and sees into the core of our being – loving us, calling out to us, asking that we turn from sinful ways and return to Him. This gift of His loving gaze transfigures us. It is not given to us because we deserve it, or because we are worthy of it; nor is it denied to us because we are sinful or feel ashamed to be in His Presence. It is given because of the Merciful Love He bears for you.

Our Lenten Forty Hours devotion will begin on Sunday, March 26 at 7:00 pm with Solemn Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and sung vespers. It will continue through Tuesday, March 28 and will conclude with Solemn Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at sung Vespers at 7:00 pm. The Blessed Sacrament will remain exposed for the forty hours during these days. The church will remain open day and night. The registration form is available here: immaculateconception.org/lenten-forty-hours-devotion

It will also be available online for individuals, families, and parish ministries and organizations to designate one hour to spend in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and to intercede for the needs of the parish and the world. It is important that the Blessed Sacrament never be left unattended throughout the 40 hour so please make a sacrifice of time to spend with the Lord.

If you come to adoration distracted, inconvenienced, worrying about how the laundry is going to get done, or wishing you were on the sofa watching TV, then you are in good company. To one degree or another, we all are distracted by so many trivial and unnecessary things. If sitting in silence before the Lord makes you uncomfortable – if you think “what am I supposed to do?”, or “how am I supposed to pray”?, you’re not alone. Silence can be uncomfortable, because it forces us to face ourselves and the God Who speaks in the depths of our being. Push through such distractions and run to Christ!

What is your to-do list compared to this? What is so hard, really, about spending time with Christ who, even now, pours Himself out in love for you in the Blessed Sacrament? “Time spent with Christ is never time wasted”, Pope St. John Paul II famously said. So please spend time with the Lord during the forty hours!