St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current, 1911-01-13
The "FOrty Hours"

ward, to continue during Sunday,
Monday and Tuesday, ending on
Tuesday evening. There will be
sermons on Sunday, Monday and
Tuesday evenings by out-of-town
clergymen, in which the doctrine
of the Catholic church concerning
the Holy Eucharist will be ex-
planned.
The Forty Hours Prayer OF
Alteration, or as it is more COM
monty known, the Forty Hours
is thus called, because during forty
eight hours the Blessed Sacrament
is conspicuously exposed OH the
altar in Catholic churches in order
that the faithful may come and
pray before it and adore it. After
a solemn mass and sometimes when
circumstances permit, a procession,
the Blessed Sacrament is enshrined
and enthroned above the altar, and
around il is disposed a armament,
as il were, of countless lights,
radiating from it, symbolical Of the
ever wakeful host of heaven, the
spirits Of restless life and unfading
brightness that keep watch around
the seat of glory above; and then
the faithful gather about the altar
as about a throne, and adore their
God in silence and awe.
The object of this devotion of
the Forty Hours alteration of
the Blessed Sacrament is TO offer a
solemn act of reparation TO our
Divine Lord for the neglect and
abandonment to which His sacred
humanity was exposed from the
moment of His death on the cross
TO the hour Of His triumphant res
direction. By II we also propose
to offer to God some reparation for
the sins of bad Christians in gen
eral, and in particular for the
heartle,s neglect Of which so many
disloyal Catholics are guilty towards
our Savior, who dwells with us in
the Blessed Sacrament; also to atone
for proianations Of the Holy Mys.
teries by bad Catholics, and for the
insults to which our Lord is ex-
posed at the hands OF heretics who
refuse TO believe in the Real
Presence.
This devotion is said to have the
following origin: In the year A.
ID. 1887, the city of Milan, Italy,
was desolated by a plague. A simi.
lar epidemic had twelve years pre-.
viously destroyed one hundred and
twenty thousand of It's inhabitants.
II was also torn by civil discord,
aud oppressed by a foreign foe,
whose legions surrounded il and
threatened to besiege il.
There was at that time preaching
the customary Lenten instructions
in the famed cathedral OF Milan
a Capuchin friar, equally distin-
suished for his holiness OF life and
solid learning, Father Joseph di
Fero. But what harvest could he
expect. 10 gather into the celestial
granary from city threatened by
.he invasion of a hostile armyp He
commenced his course of sermons,
md his auditory increasing each
lay, he was all at once enlightened
~ ray OF divine light. He sug-
rested TO the citizens the sublime
levotion OF the public alteration OF
,ur Lord Jesus Christ in the adora-
Die Sacrament of the Eucharist, as
propitiatory offering to avert the
lreadiul scourge which was about
o fall upon the city. The people
,ladly consented and FASTENED To
,egin the exposition OF the adora-
,le sacrament on Palm Sunday. |
rhe Holy Sacrament was exposed, |
md not only did the Cardinal Arch,
bishop, with the entire clergy, both |
ocular aud regular, assist at the
procession, but like
wise the senators OF the city, all
wearing sackcloth as an emblem of
'enance. The fervcnt faith aud
'rayers of the Milanese obtained
Trough this means the removal OF
heir enemies. The enemies agreed
pom truce aud the besieging
rmy departed.
Later on the devotion was also
ltroduced from time to time in
ilterent cities as an offset against
he eNoesses OF the Carnival, aud
5 a reparation TO our Lord for the
conduct OF those who
ldulged in the license which the
ccurrence of the Carnival brought
bout. One bishop after another
dopted the devotion for his do
ese until II became an almost uni
ersal practice. The popes gave
nc devotion the seal of their ap-
roval and as a result, the devotion
'as spread throughout the Catholic
'orld, 1t had been the instrument
/ the hand of God of saving un-
BID numbers of souls.
The devotion to be begun next
unday will be the first in the city
St. Johns and will take place
nnually at the Catholic church.
II citizens of ST. Johns are cor
ially invited to be present at the
Itferent services from the opening
} the closing, The first service
i'll be the opening of the Forty J
.ours' on Sunday morning at
$50 o clock and in the evening at
90 p. m, and on Monday and
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