FORTY HOURS DEVOTION AT OUR LADY OF LOURDES
You're invited to encounter divine Peace during our Forty Hours Devotion from February 5-7, no matter what your background or experience in life may be. During "Forty Hours", parishioners, neighbors, tourists, travelers, and airline personnel - anyone moving in or passing through - are all invited to prayer and silence before the Risen Christ's "Real Presence" in the Blessed Sacrament. We all need some peace, silence and stillness in our noisy and troubled world! People of all faiths and beliefs and cultures are invited! "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).
You're also invited to a dinner party celebrating of Mary's apparition to St. Bernadette on February 11, 1858. RSVP here. Forty Hours concludes after the 5:30 PM Vigil Mass on Saturday, February 7 with dinner party in the Parish Hall, caterd by the Crystal City Sports Pub. RSVP for dinner here. Here is our Forty Hours schedule:
Thursday, February 5
7 PM Mass & Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Sign up for a 30 minute Adoration slot here. You may sign up for as many as you want!
Devotional reflection by Fr. Peffley
Our Lady of Lourdes Novena Prayer
Litany of Our Lady of Light (Our Lady of Hope)
Time for Quiet Prayer
9 PM Night Prayer
Friday, February 6
6:45 AM Mass & Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Our Lady of Lourdes Novena Prayer
Litany of Our Lady of Light (Our Lady of Hope)
Sign up for a 30-minute Adoration slot here. You may sign up for as many slots as you want!
Silent Prayer until 11:30 AM
11:30 AM Rosary
12 Noon Mass & Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Our Lady of Lourdes Novena Prayer
Litany of the Sacred Heart
Sign up for a 30-minute Adoration slot here. You may sign up for as many slots as you want!
Confessions
Silent Prayer until 3:00 PM
3:00 PM Chaplet of Divine Mercy
Silent Prayer until 7:00 PM
7:00 PM Spanish Mass
Spanish Prayers with our Hispanic parishioners
9:00 PM Benediction
Saturday, February 7
9:00 AM Mass & Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Our Lady of Lourdes Novena Prayer
Litany of Our Lady of Light (Our Lady of Hope)
Sign up for a 30-minute Adoration slot here. You may sign up for as many slots as you want!
Quiet Prayer
2:00 PM Guided Meditation for CCD Families
4:00 - 5:00 PM Confessions
5:30 PM Mass of Our Lady of Lourdes
Procession with the Blessed Sacrament & Solemn Benediction
7:00 PM - Dinner Party in the Parish Hall, celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes (RSVP Here)
Tips for Personal Prayer
Fr. Frederick Edlefsen
“We pray in words only that we may one day be free of words, and adore, praise, and love in silence that ‘Beauty which closes all lips.’”
(Rev. Dom Paul Delatte, Commentary on The Rule of St. Benedict)
“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”
(St. Therese of Lisieux)
Preparing to Pray
First, make a good Confession.
Then, ask the Holy Spirit to teach you to pray (Romans 8:26).
Find a quiet place. Before the Blessed Sacrament is ideal. But any quiet place will do.
Reflect on nature’s beauty. Wonder at Creation’s beauty often provokes prayer.
Read a brief Bible passage.
Spiritual reading provokes recollection. Stop reading if you feel recollected or sense God’s presence. Distracted? Read more until you’re recollected. St. Teresa of Avila always took a spiritual book to prayer.
Vocal Prayer...
...is talking to God with words, aloud or silently. Like spiritual reading, vocal prayer invites the Holy Spirit to help us recollect. Vocal prayer may be done privately or with others. The most common vocal prayers are the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be, Rosary. There are many others. We can also speak to God in our own words. Vocal prayer prepares us for meditation.
Meditation...
...begins with “mental prayer” – using the mind or imagination to ponder things divine. Holy images may be helpful. Or ponder Christ’s life, a Bible passage, a saint’s wisdom, something from Mass, or a Church teaching. “Mental prayer” often leads to “affective prayer,” which is a deeper level of meditation. It’s a heartfelt affection for God – or “prayer of the heart” – springing from within. Thoughts give way to affections. Meditation moves from the “head” to the “heart.”
Prayer of Simplicity...
...often flows from meditation. It’s a simple and loving “gaze” on God’s presence, with the “vision of faith.” You won’t “see” something, but you’ll “perceive” or “gaze” upon God with the “eye of the soul.” It usually entails a brief but profound sense of serenity.
Contemplation is mystical.
The Holy Spirit invades us through his Gifts of Wisdom and Understanding. You’re overcome by a delightful divine love. It leaves a memorable confidence in God and a sense of joy and freedom.
What Is 40 Hours?
Fr. Frederick Edlefsen
Forty Hours Devotion is a mini-retreat for the whole parish. Its main feature is prayer and meditation before the Blessed Sacrament, which is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” Forty Hours creates a continuous “sacrifice of praise” that flows from the Mass. The Mass is our most important act of worship because it unites our lives to Christ’s death andresurrection (the Paschal Mystery). The Mass makes our lives a continuous offering to the Father through the death and resurrection of Jesus. All prayer flows from the sacrifice of the Mass. In other words, prayer and meditation outside of Mass form a continuous “sacrifice of praise” that is vital to our relationship with God and one another. Charity is the fruit of prayer.
Why “forty” hours? In the Bible, “forty” signifies a sacred time. Rains fell for 40 days and nights in the time of Noah. The Israelites journeyed 40 years in the desert after fleeing from Egypt. Moses was twice on Mount Sinai for 40 days, receiving the Covenant from God. The prophet Elijah journeyed 40 days and nights to Mount Horeb (Sinai), where he prayed in a cave. Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness for 40 days after his Baptism. There were 40 hours between Christ’s burial and resurrection. Forty Hours Devotion connects us to these sacred events, again forming a “continuous sacrifice of praise.” Forty Hours Devotion begins with a Solemn Mass of Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. The Blessed Sacrament remains exposed on the altar in a monstrance for the next couple of days. During this time, the Sacrament is reposed during scheduled daily Masses and exposed again after Masses. The faithful are invited to read the Bible and meditate in the presence of the Sacrament during this sacred time. Forty Hours Devotion will conclude with a Solemn Mass at 5:30 PM on February 11, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, followed by a procession of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction.
