40 Hour Devotion at Port Elizabeth Oratory & Parish of St Bernadette

By Ayrton Hill – The Port Elizabeth Oratory & Parish of St Bernadette’s observed a Forty Hours Devotion from Friday, October 24 to Sunday, October 26, a beautiful and solemn time of prayer in which the Blessed Sacrament is continuously exposed on the altar.

From the opening Mass on Friday evening until the closing Benediction at 17:30 on Sunday, parishioners were invited to attend either the scheduled events or spend quiet time in prayer and contemplation.

For many, it was a deeply moving experience. The reverence of the altar, the candles throughout the night and the peacefulness of the church create a special opportunity to be with the Lord. Parishioners also got the opportunity to have the sacrament of confession throughout the forty hours period, only suspended during Masses.

So what is the Forty Hour Devotion? What do we have to do for it and why is it so important?

The Forty Hours is, in fact, a special form of Eucharistic exposition or adoration, in which the consecrated host is solemnly set up on the altar for an extended period of prayer and devotion. This traditional Catholic form of prayer, bearing witness to our Faith that Jesus is truly, really and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament, provides a unique opportunity to grow closer to Our Lord. Here, Jesus awaits us as both master and friend, and invites us to enter his closer presence: “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt. 11:28-29)

How did it originate?

The Forty Hours seems to go back to Milan in Italy, where in the 1530s Pope Paul III encouraged the practice of exposing the Blessed Sacrament in the churches for a continuous period of forty hours to pray for the spiritual and material needs of Church and society. Very early in its history, this devotion became closely connected with the Oratory – the young (then layman) St Philip Neri promoted it in Rome from around 1550, praying even through the night with his friends and disciples; the practice was taken up by St Philip’s Oratory and has been dear to the Oratory Fathers ever since.

Why Forty Hours?

In Rome in St Philip’s day, the Forty Hours was often held at the time of the “Carnival” – a secular festival before the start of Lent, where celebrations were more worldly than they were Christian. St Philip’s wish was to bring people to the joy of Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist; to give them the peace which the world doesn’t give. But why the period of forty hours? The period corresponded to the time that Our Lord rested in the tomb; it also calls to mind the journey of forty years by the Israelites in the desert. Over time, the devotion – often and still today called by its Italian name, the Quarant’ore – became universal, much encouraged by the Church. Popes established that it must be kept solemnly with a Eucharistic procession and the use of many candles – signs of the sacramental presence of Jesus, the true light of this world. In recent times, Pope St John Paul II strongly endorsed the Forty Hours in his 1980 Letter on the Eucharist Dominicae Cenae; the devotion has been maintained particularly in certain parts of the world (Italy, the U.S. and England are centres) but still shows a universal appeal.

What does all this mean for us?

As a Christian community, we set aside – consecrate – three days to a more intense and total commitment to prayer, coming to church as often as we are able during this time. We treat these days as a kind of spiritual retreat. In Church, we are mostly in silence, gathered along with others, adoring Jesus, thanking him; we recognise in his merciful presence our faults and sins; we pray fervently to him for all our needs. It’s possible to participate in a devotion at any time and for any length of time (such as the Rosary, the Divine Mercy). To visit the church as a family could be a special moment of prayer together.

“Good friends find pleasure in one
another’s company. Let us know
pleasure in the company of our
Best Friend, a Friend who can do
everything for us, a friend who
loves us beyond measure. Here in
the Blessed Sacrament, we can talk
to him straight from the heart.”

– St Alphonsus de Liguori