Forty Hours Devotion
This is a special period of continuous prayer during which the Eucharist is exposed in a monstrance for adoration. The devotion begins with a Mass followed by continuous adoration over a 40-hour period, and it ends with a Mass and Benediction. In the Bible the number 40 is associated with a sacred period of time: the rain at the time of the flood of Noah lasted 40 days and nights, and the Hebrews wandered in the desert for 40 years on the way to the Promised Land. Jesus fasted for 40 days before beginning his public ministry. The devotion was promoted by both Saint Philip Neri and Saint Ignatius of Loyola in the 1500s. In the United States, Saint John Neumann (1811-1860), bishop of Philadelphia, helped spread the devotion.
The following is a help us get the most out of our Eucharistic Adoration time
Intercession
Spending time before the Eucharistic presence of Our Lord is a perfect time to pray for others. Maybe there is a family member undergoing surgery, a couple preparing for their wedding or a friend going through a difficult situation that you can bring before the Lord.
Prayer journal
Another fruitful practice for adoration is writing in a prayer journal. Some people use a journal to write letters to God, keep track of prayer intentions, record any inspirations they receive during adoration or simply focus their thoughts during prayer.
Spontaneous prayer
Prayer during Eucharistic adoration doesn’t have to be just pre-written prayers from someone else, it’s also a great chance to have a conversion, face-to-face so to speak, with Jesus. Some conversation starters include:
- Thank you, Jesus, for …
- Lord, I’m really struggling with …
- God, today was …
- Jesus, I don’t understand …
- God, you have truly blessed me with …
Here are some traditional devotions you may use when praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament:
Prayer to Jesus Before the Blessed Sacrament
Jesus, each time I look at the sacred Host,
sanctify my eyes,
that they may close more and more
to all that is merely earthly.
Jesus, each time I look at the sacred Host,
send a ray of divine light into my soul,
that I may better know you and myself.
Jesus, each time I look at the sacred Host,
send a flame of divine love into my heart
to consume everything in it
that is displeasing to You
and to set it all on fire with Your love.
Now and in eternity
may my only desire be to contemplate
the infinite beauty of Your divine countenance
which delights the angels.
R. Amen.
O Sacrament Most Holy
O Sacrament most Holy,
O Sacrament Divine,
All praise and all thanksgiving,
Be every moment Thine.
R. Amen
Adoration Prayer – by Saint Faustina
I adore You, Lord and Creator, hidden in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I adore You for all the works of Your hands, that reveal to me so much wisdom, goodness and mercy, O Lord. You have spread so much beauty over the earth and it tells me about Your beauty, even though these beautiful things are but a faint reflection of You, incomprehensible Beauty. And although You have hidden Yourself and concealed Your beauty, my eye, enlightened by faith, reaches You and my soul recognizes its Creator, its Highest Good, and my heart is completely immersed in prayer of adoration.
My Lord and Creator, Your goodness encourages me to converse with You. Your mercy abolishes the chasm which separates the Creator from the creature. To converse with You, O Lord, is the delight of my heart. In You I find everything that my heart could desire. Here, Your light illumines my mind, enabling it to know You more and more deeply. Here streams of graces flow down upon my heart. Here my soul draws eternal life. O my Lord and Creator, You alone, beyond all these gifts, give Your own self to me and unite Yourself intimately with Your miserable creature.
O Christ, let my greatest delight be to see You loved and Your praise and glory proclaimed, especially the honour of Your mercy. O Christ, let me glorify Your goodness and mercy to the last moment of my life, with every drop of my blood and every beat of my heart. Would that I be transformed into a hymn of adoration of You. When I find myself on my deathbed, may the last beat of my heart be a loving hymn glorifying Your unfathomable mercy. Amen.
Litany of the Blessed Sacrament
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven,
(Response: Have mercy on us.)
God the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, one God,
Living Bread, that came down from heaven,
Hidden God and Saviour,
Corn of the elect,
Wine whose fruit are virgins,
Bread of fatness, and royal delicacies,
Perpetual Sacrifice,
Clean oblation,
Lamb without spot,
Most pure Feast,
Food of Angels,
Hidden Manna,
Memorial of the wonders of God,
Supersubstantial Bread,
Word made flesh,
Sacred Host,
Mystery of faith,
Most high and adorable Sacrament,
Most holy of all sacrifices,
True Propitiation for the living and the dead,
Heavenly Antidote against the poison of sin,
Most wonderful of all miracles,
Most holy commemoration of the passion of Christ,
Gift transcending all fullness,
Special memorial of divine love,
Affluence of divine bounty,
Most august and holy mystery,
Medicine of immortality,
Tremendous and life-giving sacrament,
Bread made flesh by the omnipotence of the word,
Unbloody sacrifice,
Our feast at once and our fellow-guest,
Sweetest banquet, at which angels minister,
Sacrament of piety,
Bond of charity,
Priest and victim,
spiritual sweetness tasted in its proper source,
Refreshment of holy souls,
Viaticum of those who die in the Lord,
Pledge of future glory,
Be merciful, spare us, O Lord.
Be merciful; graciously hear us, O Lord.
(Response: O Lord, deliver us.)
From an unworthy reception of Your body and blood,
From the lust of the flesh,
From the lust of the eyes,
From the pride of life,
From every occasion of sin,
Through the desire by which You desired to eat this Passover with Your disciples,
Through the profound humility by which You washed their feet,
Through that ardent charity by which You instituted this divine sacrament,
Through Your precious blood which You have left us on our altars,
Through the five wounds of this Your most holy body which You received for us,
We sinners,
(Response: We beseech You, hear us.)
That You would preserve and increase our faith, reverence, and devotion toward this sacrament,
That You would conduct us, through a true confession of our sins, to a frequent reception of the holy Eucharist,
That You would deliver us from all heresy, evil, and blindness of heart,
That You would impart to us the precious and heavenly fruits of this most holy sacrament,
That at the hour of death You would strengthen and defend us by this heavenly Viaticum,
Son of God, Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world : Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world : Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world : Have mercy on us, O Lord.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
V. You gave them bread from heaven,
R. Containing in itself all sweetness.
LET US PRAY:
O God, in this wonderful sacrament You left us a memorial of Your passion. Grant us so to venerate the sacred mysteries of Your body and blood that we may ever continue to feel within us the blessed fruit of Your redemption Who lives and reigns forever and ever.
R. Amen.
For the rite of Benediction please click: Small rite of Benediction 2018
