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Holy Hour Resources for parishes, convents, monasteries and chapels

Sunday 2 June 2013For the Solemnity of Corpus ChristiTh e Body & Blood of Christ

Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane. Th ere he said to Peter and the two sons of Zebedee: “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep

watch with me.” (Matthew 26:36-38)

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‘As Catholics we have the opportunity to pay honour to the One who deserves all our praise. � e same Eucharist we receive at Mass is what (or more accurately Who) we

worship in Adoration.

‘During Adoration, we have the opportunity to come face-to-face with the living God, like spending time with a close friend, Eucharistic Adoration is about deepening and strengthening our personal relationship with God.’

(Kat Martinez, Come Adore)

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IntroductionAt the outset of the Year of Faith, Archbishop Vincent wrote of the journey of faith as a ‘great adventure into meaning, into love, into the fullness of being, into happiness, into eternal life.’ The Year of Faith, his Grace continued, ‘can enkindle in us again the joy and companionship of this adventure and help us to realise that we have so much to offer to our world today.’

While companionship and relationship have a number of expressions, the most vital is that which we share with Christ Jesus. The Year of Faith is an opportunity for a deepening of faith and an enrichment in its expression in the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist, ‘the summit towards which the activity of the Church is directed; ... and also the source from which all its power flows’ (Porta fidei, 9).

In the his apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis (68), Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI affirmed the: ‘personal relationship which the individual believer establishes with Jesus present in the Eucharist constantly points beyond itself to the whole communion of the Church and nourishes a fuller sense of membership in the Body of Christ. For this reason, besides encouraging individual believers to make time for personal prayer before the Sacrament of the Altar, I feel obliged to urge parishes and other church groups to set aside times for collective adoration.’

It is in the spirit of these messages that, on Corpus Christi 2013, the clergy and faithful in the Diocese of Westminster are invited to give unique witness to our belief in the Eucharist and our desire to deepen our relationship with Jesus with participation in Eucharistic Adoration.

Pope Francis will propose particular prayer intentions for this worldwide Eucharistic Adoration at a future date.

This booklet is intended as a starting point and contains suggestions you may wish to adopt for the Holy Hour. It is not to be considered prescriptive.

ContentsIntroduction and Contents 3

Holy Hour One (Fully Structured) 4

Holy Hour Two (Fully Structured) 7

Holy Hour Three (Partly Structured) 10

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Holy Hour OneHymnBe still for the presence of the Lord (CFE 72; L 720)

Collect (from the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, Roman Missal 1970)Lord Jesus Christ,we worship you living among usin the sacrament of your body and blood.May we offer to our Father in heavena solemn pledge of undivided love.May we offer to our brothers and sistersa life poured out in loving service of that kingdomwhere you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit,one God, for ever and ever.Amen.

Reading One (Sacramentum Caritatis, 10)The institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper took place within a ritual meal commemorating the foundational event of the people of Israel: their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. This ritual meal, which called for the sacrifice of lambs (cf. Exodus 12:1-28, 43-51), was a remembrance of the past, but at the same time a prophetic remembrance, the proclamation of a deliverance yet to come. The people had come to realise that their earlier liberation was not definitive, for their history continued to be marked by slavery and sin.

In instituting the sacrament of the Eucharist, Jesus anticipates and makes present the sacrifice of the Cross and the victory of the resurrection. At the same time, he reveals that he himself is the true sacrificial lamb, destined in the Father’s plan from the foundation of the world...The institution of the Eucharist demonstrates how Jesus’ death, for all its violence and absurdity, became in him a supreme act of love and mankind’s definitive deliverance from evil.

Pause for reflection

Reading Two (Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14)The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbour in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in

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the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgements: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.

Allow 10 minutes for silent adoration

HymnNow thank we all our God (CFE 512; L 945; HON 375)

Reading Three (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 47)At the Last Supper, on the night when He was betrayed, our Saviour instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of His Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the centuries until He should come again, and so to entrust to His beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of His death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is eaten, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.

Pause for Reflection

Reading Four (Revelation 5:11-14)Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!’ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, ‘To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might for ever and ever!’ And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ And the elders fell down and worshipped.

Allow 10 minutes for silent adoration

HymnAll Glory, Laud and Honour (CFE 17; L 229; HON 19)

Reading Five (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 48)The Church, therefore, earnestly desires that Christ’s faithful, when present at this mystery of faith, should not be there as strangers or silent spectators; on the contrary, through a good understanding of the rites and prayers they should take part in the sacred action conscious of what they are doing, with devotion and full collaboration. They should be instructed by God’s word and be nourished at the table of the Lord’s body; they should give thanks to God; by offering the Immaculate Victim, not only through the hands of the priest, but also with him, they should learn also to offer themselves; through Christ the Mediator, they should be drawn day by day into ever more perfect union with God and with each other, so that finally God may be all in all.

Pause for Reflection

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Reading Six (John 6:5-15)When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, ‘Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’ Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’

Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’

When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Allow 10 minutes for silent adoration

HymnWe walk by faith and not by sight (CFE 789; L 284)

Benediction

The Divine PraisesBlessed be God.Blessed be His Holy Name.Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.Blessed be the name of Jesus.Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the paraclete.Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception.Blessed be her glorious Assumption.Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.Blessed be Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse.Blessed be God in His angels and in His Saints.

May the heart of Jesus, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, adored, and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. Amen.

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Holy Hour TwoHymnJesus, my Lord, my God, my all (CFE 329; L 913; HON 283)

Collect (from the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Roman Missal 2011)Grant, we pray, almighty God,that we, who glory in the Heart of your beloved Sonand recall the wonders of his love for us,may be made worthy to receivean overflowing measure of gracefrom that fount of heavenly gifts.Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Reading One (Sacramentum Caritatis, 16)The Second Vatican Council recalled that ‘all the sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are directed towards it. For in the most blessed Eucharist is contained the entire spiritual wealth of the Church, namely Christ himself our Pasch and our living bread, who gives life to humanity through his flesh – that flesh which is given life and gives life by the Holy Spirit. Thus men and women are invited and led to offer themselves, their works and all creation in union with Christ’ (cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 5).

Pause for reflection

Reading Two (Isaiah 53:7-9, 11-12)He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Allow 10 minutes for silent adoration

HymnAdoremus te, Domine (CFE 11; L 667; HON 672)

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Reading Three (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 6)By baptism we are plunged into the paschal mystery of Christ: we die with Him, are buried with Him, and rise with Him; we receive the spirit of adoption as children ‘in which we cry: Abba, Father’ (Romans 8:15), and thus become true adorers whom the Father seeks… From Pentecost onwards the Church has never failed to come together to celebrate the paschal mystery: reading those things ‘which were in all the scriptures concerning him’ (Luke 24:27), celebrating the Eucharist in which ‘the victory and triumph of his death are again made present’, and at the same time giving thanks ‘to God for his unspeakable gift’ (2 Corinthians 9:15) in Christ Jesus, ‘in praise of his glory’ (Ephesians 1:12), through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Pause for Reflection

Reading Four (Ephesians 1:3-8)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us.

Allow 10 minutes for silent adoration

HymnFather we adore you (CFE 164; L 718; HON 134)

Reading Five (Lumen Gentium, 33)The laity are gathered together in the People of God and make up the Body of Christ under one head... The lay apostolate is a participation in the salvific mission of the Church itself. Through their baptism and confirmation all are commissioned to that apostolate by the Lord Himself. Moreover, by the sacraments, especially holy Eucharist, that charity toward God and mankind which is the soul of the apostolate is communicated and nourished. Now the laity are called in a special way to make the Church present and operative in those places and circumstances where only through them can it become the salt of the earth. Thus every lay person, in virtue of the very gifts bestowed upon them, is at the same time a witness and a living instrument of the mission of the Church itself.

Pause for Reflection

Reading Six (Luke 24:28-35)As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

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Allow 10 minutes for silent adoration

The Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (abbreviated where indicated)Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.Christ, graciously hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.God, the Son, Redeemer of the World, have mercy on us.God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, formed in the womb of the Virgin Mother by the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, united substantially with the Word of God, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, holy temple of God, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High, have mercy on us...Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, have mercy on us...Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father is well pleased, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy, have mercy on us...Heart of Jesus, made obedient unto death, have mercy on us....Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in Thee, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, have mercy on us.Heart of Jesus, delight of all saints, have mercy on us.Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.Lamb of God who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.V. Jesus, meek and humble of Heart. R. Make our hearts like unto Thine.

Almighty and everlasting God, look upon the Heart of Thy well-beloved Son and upon the acts of praise and satisfaction which He renders unto Thee in the name of sinners; and do Thou, in Thy great goodness, grant pardon to them who seek Thy mercy, in the name of the same Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, world without end.

HymnSoul of my Saviour (CFE 663; L 938; HON 498)

Benediction

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Holy Hour ThreeFirst 15 minutes: REALISATION of who is present in the Holy Eucharist

Think of the marvel of this great reality: Christ, the God-Man, is truly present in his divinity as well as his humanity, body and soul. Even substantially present: not just the presence of God but the presence of God as the God-Man via the substance of bread and wine changed into the Body and Blood of Christ. Think of it until there is in your soul a response of wonder (‘Is it possible?’ ‘How can that be?’ and yet ‘it is true’) and admiration (how wonderful: Jesus is really, truly present here!).

Make use of some familiar prayers and songs of adoration usually found in our missals and hymn books to reflect more deeply on that presence, such as ‘Down in Adoration Falling ...’ (Tantum Ergo), ‘Holy God, We Praise Thy Name,’ the ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts’ of the Mass, or any Benediction hymn. Read the words slowly, with great, deep understanding, making them express the sentiments of your own heart.

Second 15 minutes: THANKSGIVING to God as we grasp the wonder of who is present

Momentarily give some fresh thought to the fact: God is with us in this special, most remarkable way. Now let words of thanksgiving rise up in your soul, or just simply give thanks to God for his presence here in such a remarkable way. Thank God for the great Sacrament of the Priesthood and for vocations by which he perpetuates his presence in the Holy Eucharist. In a parallel situation think of our Blessed Mother's joy when she realised that Christ, the great Messiah, was present within her, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Realise how the same Jesus who was present there in Mary’s body is now here hidden under the form of bread.

You might also take some time to recall and thank God for other special blessings and wonders of God: your family, vocation, the gift of life, opportunity to be in his Presence, special friends, etc. Thank him for his love for you, for his unfailing help in trials and difficulties.

Third 15 minutes: PETITION

First of all, ask Jesus here present in the Holy Eucharist for the grace that is dearest to him, the grace he wants most for you and others: the great blessing of redemption and eternal salvation.

• Just think, for some time what that means... for you, for each member of your family, your friends, people of you neighbourhood and parish, for all mankind.

• Think of how marvellous that would be if all would be so blessed: to be in heaven for all eternity!• Pray for that! Beg for it: the fulfilment of Christ's greatest desire and the main reason for his

coming, for which he is present here – ‘Come to me all you who labour and are burdened and I will refresh you’ (Matthew 11:28).

Pray for conversions. Pray for particular people, those who are away from the Church and the Sacraments. Pray for the sick and lonely, the discouraged, our youth, the unborn, our country, its leaders.

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Pray for our Holy Father, and for all priests and religious.Pray for vocations to complete the work of Christ. Pray for the grace to know the will of God always in your own life. Pray for peace, God's peace in the hearts of all.

Fourth 15 minutes: ATONEMENTWhy atonement? A look into one's own conscience and the conscience of the world gives the answer. A mere glance at headlines and you see insults, blasphemies, defiance thrown by man into the face of God, the injuries of man to man. Think of the sins of injustice that cry to heaven for vengeance, the sins against life, the slurs and insults against the virginity and Immaculate Conception of our Blessed Mother, the sins of disregard, of refusal to recognise the authority of the Holy Father, Christ's own spokesman and Vicar on earth.

You might wish to express your thoughts of sorrow for all these sins. You may do so in your own words or make us of the liturgical words of the ‘Lord, have mercy,’ the ‘Lamb of God’ or the hymn ‘O Lord, I am not worthy.’ You might pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the Litanies of the Sacred Heart (see p.9) or of the Holy Name of Jesus. Also most appropriate is the Litany of our Blessed Mother, asking her under all her titles of honour and power to ‘pray for all of us.’ The Litany of the Saints and the Prayer to Saint Michael could be expressive of the hopes in your heart.

A slow, thoughtful saying of the Rosary would be very helpful during any phase of a Holy Hour. Although the repeated Hail Mary is addressed directly to Mary, it is to Jesus that the act of love is ultimately directed, with her and through her. The repetition is nourished by the desire to be conformed ever more completely to Christ, the true programme of the Christian life (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 26). The Rosary can help us to focus on the life of Christ, the one we adore, in this time of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

With our Blessed Mother and with Christ present there before you in the Holy Eucharist, recall and consider those events in his life. Ponder all those things in your heart as you ask our Blessed Mother to pray for us.

Benediction

drawn from the website of the Blessed John Paul II Eucharistic Adoration Association

Booklet designed and compiled by the Agency for Evangelisation, 2013

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