What is the history of this devotion?
For several centuries, the traditional Forty Hours Devotion has been celebrated in parishes as a time of annual renewal and prayer. It originated in the early part of the sixteenth century at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Milan, Italy, probably as a commemoration of the forty hours that Christ’s body lay in the tomb between his death and resurrection. The first clear attestation for the Forty Hours Devotion comes from Milan in 1527. It was celebrated as reparation for the sins of the community and was motivated to offer prayers to God for protection during the crisis of war. The practice of celebrating Forty Hours Devotion spread rapidly from this point. This may be attributed to various causes such as the quick approval granted to it by Pope Paul III in 1539. Furthermore, the support of St. Anthony Maria Zaccaria and Saint Philip Neri, who introduced its celebration into Rome in 1550, helped to extend its celebration beyond Milan. Finally, as it was introduced to more places this practice rapidly became popular with the lay faithful.
In time the purpose for celebrating the Forty Hours Devotion was transformed. This change is witnessed in 1560 by a bull promulgated by Pope Paul IV. He states that the devotion is an imitation of the forty days of fasting of the Lord in the desert, and the time of unceasing prayer called for in scripture and by the early church. This transformation continued such that by the time of the eighteenth century this devotion became primarily Eucharistic in nature and centered on thanksgiving for the mystery and gift of the Eucharist.
From the eighteenth century onward the rules for celebrating the Forty Hours Devotion were heavily influenced by Pope Clement XII who published in 1731 the Instructio Clementina. This document gave detailed instructions for how this devotion was to be celebrated in the city of Rome. The Instructio became the basis for the further development of Forty Hours throughout the Church. It was very detailed in how the celebration was to occur and what the expectations around its celebration would entail. Other dioceses used this as the foundation for their celebration of the devotion. Such was the case in the United States. These rules for celebration did not change until after the Second Vatican Council. The present rules for celebrating the Forty Hours Devotion can be found in the Order for the Solemn Exposition of the Holy Eucharist published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1992. This document is an adaptation of The Roman Ritual: Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist outside Mass. top
Why are we celebrating the Forty Hours Devotion now?
Pope John Paul II has designated this year as the Year of the Eucharist. With this declaration, he presented the Church with a wonderful opportunity to explore, develop, and deepen our appreciation of the Eucharist. The primary setting for the promotion of a life centered in the Eucharist is, of course, the celebration of Mass, but the Church also offers other means of deepening a Eucharistic centered faith. One such practice is adoration where we gather to pray before the Lord as his presence is revealed to us in the mystery of the Eucharistic bread which is truly the Body of Christ. The Forty Hours Devotion gives us the opportunity to come as a community to pray before the Lord in solemn adoration. The Church recommends such solemn adoration at least once a year for each parish. We have, in a sense, a special impetus to do such this year with the Pope declaring this the Year of the Eucharist. top
The Mystery of the Eucharist
The solemn exposition of the holy eucharist offers the opportunity to the people of God for prayerful reflection on their call to a deeper devotion to the holy eucharist and a more faithful living of the Christian life. It provides them with an opportunity to become more aware of Christ’s presence with his people and invites them to a spiritual communion with him.
The eucharistic sacrifice is the source and culmination of the whole Christian life. Therefore devotion, both private and public, toward the eucharist even outside Mass conforms to the liturgical norms laid down by the Church. When the faithful adore Christ present in the sacrament, they should remember that this presence derives from the sacrifice and has as its purpose both sacramental and spiritual communion.
The devotion prompting the faithful to visit the blessed sacrament draws them into an ever deeper share in the paschal mystery and leads them to respond gratefully to the gift of him who through his humanity constantly pours divine life into the members of his Body. Abiding with Christ the Lord, they enjoy his intimate friendship and pour out their hearts before him for themselves and for those dear to them and they pray for the peace and salvation of the world. Offering their entire lives with Christ to the Father in the Holy Spirit, they derive from this sublime colloquy an increase of faith, hope and charity. Thus they foster these right dispositions that enable them with due devotion to celebrate the memorial of the Lord and receive frequently the bread given us by the Father.
Therefore, the faithful should strive to worship Christ the Lord in the blessed sacrament in a manner fitting in with their own way of life.
Prayer before Christ the Lord sacramentally present [in the eucharist] extends the union with Christ that the faithful have reached in communion. It renews the covenant that in turn moves them to maintain by the way they live what they have received through faith and the sacrament. They should strive to lead their whole lives in the strength of this heav-enly food, as sharers in the death and resurrection of the Lord. All should be eager to do good works and to please God, so that they may seek to imbue the world with the Christian spirit and, in all things, even in the midst of human affairs, to become witnesses of Christ. top
Relationship Between Exposition and Mass
Exposition of the holy eucharist, either in the ciborium or in a monstrance, leads us to acknowledge Christ’s marvelous presence in the sacrament and invites us to the spiritual union with him that culminates in sacramental communion. Therefore it is a strong encouragement toward the worship owed to Christ in spirit and in truth.
In such exposition care must be taken that everything clearly brings out the meaning of eucharistic worship in its correlation with the Mass. There must be nothing about the appointments used for exposition that could in any way obscure Christ’s intention of instituting the eucharist above all to be near us to feed, to heal, and to comfort us.
During the exposition of the blessed sacrament, celebration of Mass in the body of the church or oratory is prohibited. If exposition of the blessed sacrament goes on for a day or for several successive days, it should be interrupted during the celebration of Mass, unless it is celebrated in a chapel separate from the area of exposition and at least some of the faithful remain in adoration. top
Signs of Reverence to the Blessed Sacrament
Genuflection in the presence of the blessed sacrament, whether reserved in the tabernacle or exposed for public adoration, is on one knee.
For exposition of the blessed sacrament in the monstrance, four to six candles are lighted, as at Mass, and incense is used. For exposition of the blessed sacrament in the ciborium, at least two candles should be lighted and incense may be used. top
How can I participate in the Forty Hours Devotion?
All are invited to spend at least an hour in private prayer. The church will be open throughout the forty hours, day and night, for anyone to visit and to pray.
Specifically, we need at least two people to sign up for each hour during the forty hours of devotion. For safety, we hope that many more will sign up during the nighttime hours. A sign up poster is available in the back of the churchs or Our Lady Chapel beginning September 1st. We ask that you sign your name on the poster, and submit your name and phone number to the parish office (617.328.8666), so we can remind you of your designated prayer time. top
