A Holy Hour is the Roman Catholic devotional tradition of spending an hour in Eucharistic adoration in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. A plenary indulgence is granted for this practice.

Christ is present in this special Eucharistic manner of transubstantiation in which the very substance of the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood (Soul and Divinity) of Jesus Christ. St. Thomas Aquinas taught that “the Eucharist is the greatest of miracles ever worked by Christ, to perpetuate his Passion and Sacrifice with us and to be specially present to each individual. Christ is present there for us, to manifest his great love for us.” St. Thomas continues, "He cares for us and is there." If we care for him, we would also be there for a Holy Hour or some other form of Eucharistic adoration. Christ had asked this of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque as He had asked the apostles in the Garden of Olives: "Can you not watch one hour with me?"

I believe that spending time in the presence of the Lord (the Blessed Sacrament) helps develop our love for Him, thus drawing us ever closer into His life. This past week I met with a gentlemen who told me that when life gets tough, he can always find peace in the silence and presence of the Lord—in all Catholic churches. That is a Catholic Blessing for sure!

What does this all mean for our parish?
Since the benefit of a Holy Hour is to commune with the Lord—and to come to know Him better—we must talk with Christ. We do this in prayer, telling Him about our hopes, desires and needs; we ask Him to walk with us and strengthen us and to lead us to the ultimate good—living our lives accomplishing God’s Will. As Catholics we pray a holy hour for both personal reasons—personal intentions/needs—and for “corporate” reasons—for the Church’s greater or collective needs such as additional vocations to the priesthood and religious life , for stronger marriage vocations as well as or for God’s blessings on a particular people, say earthquake or
victims of other natural disasters or the sick or struggling. The point is to be in greater communion with God through prayer and dialogue--when we talk with God, He speaks to us.

What Are Your Thoughts?
I would like your input. I would like to provide you (us) with more opportunities to spend time before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. I know our world, our nation, our Church and our families need more Christ in our lives. We need to praise God for His goodness toward us and we need to petition God for His ongoing grace in our world—nation—families. But to be honest, the last few holy hours have been poorly attended. And that’s mainly my fault due to poor notification and a lousy job at promoting them.

So I ask for your help to determine what it is (topic of prayer intentions) you feel our faith community really needs to focus our prayers upon? And what are the best times to hold holy
hours. It makes no sense to hold them at inconvenient times, workdays or family nights. As a realist, I know that the Church competes with your limited free time—with all too over crowded sporting and academic schedules, work and more. So what works for you? The best days of the week and times? Keep in mind that we are talking about one hour, which consists of a brief prayer and scripture, prayer intentions, and adoration.

If you would kindly email me with your thoughts (1) prayer needs and (2) days and times at stcathy@comcast.net I would be most appreciative. Thank you…and hope to see you in prayer.