Join Archbishop Cushley for Adoration

Join Archbishop Cushley for a Holy Hour in Edinburgh tonight (Sunday 18 December) from 6-7pm.

It takes place at St Margaret's Chapel in the Gillis Centre, 100 Strathearn Road, EH9 1BB.

The Holy Hour consists of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with Vespers (evening prayer).

It is the first of four holy hours instituted by the Archbishop as a response to the Synod 2021-23.

In the Archdiocesan Synod Report he said: "Arising from the synodal process in this Archdiocese, there is, I believe, a real need to deepen the prayer life, the spirituality, and discernment of every individual in this Archdiocese.

"I invite all the faithful to come and pray with me before Our Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament. Together let us ask the Lord to bless our endeavours and raise up committed disciples in this Archdiocese.

"Let us pray for insight, courage, and joy in our mission as His followers. Let us be confident that He is with us and He will hear us."

Holy Hour, 6-7pm, Sunday 18 December, St Margaret's Chapel, 100 Strathearn Road, Edinburgh, EH9 1BB. Free parking onsite.

WATCH: Eucharistic Adoration in South Queensferry

The 40 Hours' Devotion began today (Sunday 5 June) at St Margaret's Church in South Queensferry and continues until Tuesday. Spend time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

 

Want to find out more about Eucharistic Adoration? Watch our prep videos at bit.ly/40HoursPlaylist

Deacon Eddie: Go deeper in Eucharistic Adoration

As a deacon, as well as a mathematics teacher, with a wife and three children, I have been asked many times if I really believe “all that stuff” about Eucharistic Adoration.

Yes I do. I believe it is very important in our lives as Catholics.

I sometimes still get people challenging my belief: “It's too far-fetched to imagine we have the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, isn’t it?”

We receive some comfort and support against this challenge in Luke’s gospel, when Jesus comforts us against those who don’t believe and those who refuse to believe by saying, “Father Abraham says, ‘They will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.’” (Luke 16:31)

Don’t be discouraged by those who struggle to believe. Don't be closed to the wonders of God’s power.

Adoring the Lord

A period of silent Adoration, a Holy Hour or a Benediction service are some examples of how we can experience the power and joy of adoring the Lord.

His body blood, soul and divinity are truly present in the Eucharist, and we are invited to sit with him.

Rather than focusing simply on what happens in Adoration, it is powerful to think about how we experience Jesus.

So much of what we need in life depends on our rational mind - the ability to balance family finances or the choices we make when driving. The rational mind is very much a requirement to survive in the world today.

Go Deeper

Go deeper. Go beyond our rational mind - perceive this powerful gift from God, this real presence in the Eucharist, in a deeper way.

It is in this contemplative mind that I find the joy of Adoration. In a busy life, being able to just sit quietly in the presence of the Lord is a particularly powerful gift. “Deep calls unto deep”(Ps 42:7).

For me, a deeper connection in Adoration is found in how I experience it. Being open to the contemplative mind allows me the peace, the joy of sitting before the Lord in this way.

Reaching deep within us, to connect to the depth of the Lord’s love is particularly sensible - quite a rational thing to do!

40 Hours' Devotion

Our parishes of St John’s and St Mary Magdalene's host's the Archdiocesan 40 hours' Devotion from Sunday 19 February to Tuesday 21 February.

We are asking parishioners to try and leave some space in those days to join us for a chance to re-invigorate our community with this great and powerful experience, which I hope we find helps us grow personally and as a community. Everyone is welcome.

It would be wonderful if we could consider not just spending time in prayer before Jesus in the Eucharist, but also really think about how we engage with it and, by doing so, help deepen our personal relationship with God. Not a small challenge but a worthy one.

Eddie White is a Deacon at the parishes of St John the Evangelist and St Mary Magdalene's in Edinburgh. The 40 Hours' Devotion takes place in those parishes from this Sunday - details here. Find out when the 40 Hours' Devotion takes place in your parish here.

40 Hours' Devotion launches at St Mary's Cathedral

The 40 Hours' Devotion began last night at St Mary's Cathedral as we celebrate a full liturgical year of Eucharistic Adoration!

The devotion continues tonight (Monday) at the Cathedral with Adoration from 10:30am to 7:00pm, with a guided Holy Hour with Msgr Andrew McFadden at 7pm.

Adoration continues on Tuesday (Solemnity of St Andrew) with Adoration from 10:30am to 7:00pm, with a guided Holy Hour with Archbishop Cushley at 7pm.The next parishes to host the 40 Hours' Devotion are St Serf's, Kirkcaldy and St Mary's Haddington, on Sunday 5 December.

Find out when your parish hosts the 40 Hours' Devotion at: bit.ly/40hoursschedule Get prepared here. Below images: Ieva Matiejunaite.

Rome grants Indulgence for 40 Hours’ Devotion

Rome has granted an indulgence to those who pray before the Blessed Sacrament as part of the Archdiocese's 40 Hours' Devotion.

Archbishop Cushley petitioned the Vatican to make the request and was pleased to hear that it was recently granted. It means that those who spend an hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament as part of the 40 Hours' Devotion receive the indulgence under the usual conditions.

Archbishop Cushley said: "I am grateful to the Holy Father for this spiritual gift to the people of the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh.

"During this time of grace for us, I invite everyone to hear again the Lord's question to the disciples on the night that He instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice: ‘Could you not watch one hour with me?’. I am praying that many will respond with an emphatic ‘yes, Lord’ over the coming year.”

Launch

The 40 Hours' Devotion launches at St Mary's Cathedral at 1pm on Sunday (28 November). It will then take place in all parishes throughout this new liturgical year (see the schedule here.)

There will be Eucharistic Adoration throughout the day with guided Holy Hours from Fr Scott Deeley (Sunday), Mgr Andrew McFadden (Monday) and Archbishop Cushley (Tuesday).

An indulgence is described in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as:

"... a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints."(CCC 1471) .

Prepare for the Eucharist Adoration in your parish by watching our video series 'Jesus in the Eucharist and You' on our YouTube channel here.

WATCH: Archbishop announces launch of 40 Hours' Devotion

Archbishop Cushley is to relaunch the "simple and beautiful tradition" of 40 hours' Devotion this Advent.

It will see each parish in the Archdiocese have 40 hours of exposition of the Blessed Sacrament so people can come together to pray in silence before the Lord.

In a pastoral letter to be read out in all churches today (Sunday 6 June), he said the launch was "to foster a rediscovery of the great gift of Christ’s abiding presence in the Eucharist," particularly after a time when churches were closed due to the pandemic.

Watch the video below. FAQs, bottom.

 

FAQs

What is the Forty Hours’ Devotion?
It’s a beautiful and simple Catholic devotion, sometimes known as Quarantore. We spend time in silent prayer before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament which is exposed on the altar for forty hours.

Why is it being held in our Archdiocese?
Jesus is made present at the Mass where He offers Himself to the Father for us and feeds us with Himself. After a time when our churches were closed, the Archbishop wants us to rediscover the Sacrifice of the Mass as the ‘source and summit’ of our lives and our churches as the most sacred places in our communities where Jesus truly dwells. The Forty Hours’ is an excellent way to do this.

How does it work?
Each parish will be allocated a time for the Forty Hours’ Devotion. Some parishes may wish to do this through the night others will have a break overnight and begin again each morning. Your parish priest is best placed to decide what will work in his parish. Be generous in helping the priests by things like offering to keep hours of watch and giving of your resources and time to make the church beautiful.

When does it begin?
It's planned for the First Sunday of Advent this year.