The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-02-16
THE DEVOTION OF THE HOLY
HOUR.


most beneficial to faithful souls, writes
the Rev. Patrick j. Sloan in the Mag
nificat. In Gethsemanis Garden on
the night before He died, taking with
Him Peter and the two sons of Zebe-
dee, He began to grow sorroWful and
to be sad. Then He said to them: My
soul is sorrowful even unto death:
Stay you here and watch with Me.
And going a little further, He fell upon
His face, praying and saying: My
Father, if it be possible, let this chalice
pass from Me- Nevertheless, not as
| will, but as Thou wilt. And He com.
eth to His Disciples and fndeth them
asleep; and He said to Peter: What?
Could you not watch one hour with
Me? Watch ye, and pray that We enter
not into temptation"
The Catholic Church is our garden
of prayer. Christ has selected us from
the world and brought us within His
Temple, to be as one with Him in
work, in prayer and in sacrifice. THE
spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh
is weak" To live a Christian life, VIC
must watch and pray that we enter
not into temptation. Otherwise we
shall become ensnared in the meshT
OF evil, fall into sin, lose His g.
and separate ourselves from His
friendship and favor. TO rs as TO st
Peter, He says: Can you not watch
one hour with me-" In response tC
this question and to the desires of the
Sacred Heart which prompted it, pious
Christians are accustomed on the
night of Holy Thursday to spend one
hour in vocal or mental prayer, con
templating the sorroWful agony Of onl
Divine Saviour in Gethsemani and tht
infinite love which urged Him to SUI
fer so much for cur salvation ans
sanctification
SO we'll pleased was Our Blessed
Lord with his devotion of the Holy
Hour that He appeared one day tC
Blessed Margaret Mary, as she tells
us in her writings, and, revealing tx
her the intensity with which He hat
loved mankind, sorrowfully complained
Of the ingratitude which He received
in return. DO thou, at least" He
said to her, give Me the pleasure Of
making amends for all their ingrati
| tude, as far as lies in thy power. II
the first place, thou wilt receive Me il
Holy Communion as frequently q.
obedience will allow thee, particularly
on the First Friday of every month
and every week on the night between
Thursday and Friday thou wilt beal
Me company in that humble prayer
which | offered to My Father in the
Garden OF Olives. Thou wilt rise be
tween II and II o'clock, and thou will
remain PROSTATE before Me for ar
hour, not only to appease the Divine
wrath by pleading for mercy for sin
ners, but also to commemorate the
sorrow which / then felt at being
abandoned by My Apostles and which
forced Me to reprOach them with mo-
being able to watch one hour with
me- Blessed Margaret Mary was mos
faithful in the practice Of this Hour
of Alteration; and Jesus, Who is new
er to be outdone in generosity, rec
ompensed her with many favors. Thus
originated the pious custom among
truly devout souls of consecrating al
hour to prayer during the night be
tween Thursday and Friday, for the
purpose of praying for themselves ant
others and of commemorative The
painful sorrow which the Sacred Hear
of Jesus suffered in the Garden O.
Gethsemani.
To foster this devotion and to rem
der it more fruitful, and at the same
time to bring it into as close relation
ship as possible with Jesus present il
the Holy Eucharist, Plus VII, by {
Rescript of Feb. IA, 1915, and O
April 6, 1916, granted a plenary indul
gence to all who would devote one
hour, in public or in private, to any
piOus exercise in honor of the institu
ton of the Blessed Sacrament OF
Holy Thursday or on the Feast Of Cor
pus- Christi, provided they are trul,
penitents and go to confession ant
Communion on that day or on any da!
during the following week. 4 partia
indulgence of 300 days is granted TO
practicing this devotion on any othe,
Thursday of the year.
So rich and manifest were the bless
ings received through this devotion o
the Holy Hour that in 1929 Fathe
Debrosse, S. j., with the approval o
the Ordinary Bishop of Autun, and b,
a Brief of Pope Plus VIII, founded {
confraternity for its maintenance ant
spread among the people of all nations
The center of this confraternity wa:
at first in the Chapel of the Jesui
Residence at sParay-le-M onial, but lat
er was transferred to the Visitation
Monastery.
BY Rescript of 1875, the Sovereign
Pontiff Plus TX granted to all the AS
sociates of the Apostleship of Prayer
without any special registration, thu
privilege of gaining all the indul
gences granted to the members of The
Confraternity of the Holy Hour.
This Confraternity was esteemed 81
highly by Leo XIII that in 1886 ht
raised it to the dignity CT an Arch
confraternity and empowered the loca
directors to appoint, for the publ,
practice of this devotion in a church
or chapel, any hour they deem con
venient on any day of the week
For its private practice, however. the