Forty Hours Devotion

About the Forty Hours

For over 500 years one of the most beautiful of all Catholic devotions has been the one known as Quarant
Ore, or Forty Hours. The Blessed Sacrament is solemnly exposed for 40 hours outside the tabernacle and
continuously adored by the faithful. The selection of 40 as the number of hours for Exposition of The
Blessed Sacrament is likely because that was the number of hours Jesus spent in the tomb between His
death and resurrection. The number 40 is found repeatedly throughout the Old and New Testaments,
including: the number of days Jesus fasted and was tempted in the wilderness, the days of rain causing the
great flood during Noah’s time, and the years of journey the Israelites wandered in the desert.
Although ours will be an abbreviated celebration, there will be extended opportunities to be present with our
Lord over the three-day period. While it would be a true blessing to all to have the church filled during these
hours of Exposition, we need to be sure that our Lord will not be left alone for even one hour. Please use
the sign-up sheets in the church lobby to select a time to come and spend an hour in prayer with our Lord.