March 15, 2026 • Fourth Sunday of Lent
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
Today, we begin our Annual Solemn Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotions.
The exact origin of the Forty Hours Devotion is not completely known. We can trace it back to 1527 in Milan, Italy, as a time of special prayer asking God’s protection during a war. The practice of celebrating Forty Hours Devotion spread rapidly from this point. In Rome, periods of forty hours of Solemn Exposition of the Eucharist were scheduled to form a continuous time of adoration from church to church. Saint John
Neumann was influenced by this devotion while growing up in Bohemia and promoted it in the U.S.
The Forty Hours Devotion holds a special place in the spiritual life of our parish and is an opportunity to gather as a community before the Blessed Sacrament and to pray before the Lord in solemn adoration. It gives us time to deepen our appreciation of the importance of the
mystery of the Eucharist in our lives.
“Forty” is a significant number. Noah was on the ark for 40 days. The Israelites spent 40 years in the desert. Jesus fasted for 40 days. Jesus lay in the tomb for 40 hours from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. Ascension Thursday occurs 40 days after Easter. So in the middle of these 40 days of Lent, we will offer 40 hours of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The structure of the Forty Hours Devotion is fairly straightforward. It’s time spent in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (including overnight
Monday to Tuesday) and Evening Prayer each night. This year’s schedule is below.
Sunday, March 15, 2026
11:30 a.m. Solemn Opening Mass
12:30 p.m. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament begins
7:00 p.m. Evening Prayer and Benediction (Confessions follow)
Monday, March 16, 2026
8:30 a.m. Mass
9:00 a.m. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament begins
7:00 p.m. Evening Prayer and Benediction (Confessions follow)
75th Day of the 75th Year Special Reception
8:00 p.m. Adoration continues overnight
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
8:30 a.m. Mass — Feast of Saint Patrick
9:00 a.m. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament begins
7:00 p.m. Evening Prayer and Benediction
We need to make sure that Jesus is not left alone. Adoration sign-up sheets are at the entrances to the church. Please take an hour to spend some special time with Jesus. We are honored to have Father Clark Stiteler as our homilist on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday evening. We are also delighted that Bishop Timothy Senior will be joining us for Closing Prayer on Tuesday evening.
Grace and peace!
Father Neil Sullivan