Christ the King 2006

It is Our custom to ask all Americans to make an Holy Hour on the Feast of Christ
the King. In much of the United States Daylight Savings Time ends, giving all of us an
extra hour which should be given to our Lord Jesus Christ.
To encourage the practice of the Holy Hour We have decided to increase the
indulgences attached to this practice without prejudice to any other indulgences that may
have been granted to this practice. Below We are preparing some considerations for the
requested Holy Hour. Separately We are providing the meditations that We composed
for the erection of the Stations in Colorado on the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the
Blessed Virgin Mary last September.
Raccolta #168: The faithful, who take part for an entire hour in the public
exercise known as the “Holy Hour,” in any church, public or semi-public oratory (if they
may lawfully make use of the latter), in order to venerate the Passion and Death of Jesus
Christ, and to worship and meditate upon the burning love whereby He was led to
institute the Holy Eucharist, may gain: A plenary indulgence, provided that they atone
for their sins in sacramental confession, receive Holy Communion and pray for the
intentions of the Sovereign Pontiff. Those, who being at least contrite, perform this pious
exercise, whether publicly or privately, may gain: an indulgence of 10 years.
We have modified the usual conditions to provide for Perfect Act of Contrition
and a Spiritual Communion to suffice where it is impossible to Confess or Communicate
actually, praying for the rapid return of the Mass and Confession. Also We have
provided that any indulgence that requires a visit to a Church may be gained in a private
chapel due to the current circumstances. For those who cannot go to one of the three
chapels currently erected, then they should visit spiritually in the same manner as they
Communicate Spiritually.
Bishop Hedley states (1909, page 44, A Bishop and His Flock): Another most
important observation must be made. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is not confined
to the channels of Baptism and the Sacrament of Penance. A man may be justified
without either of these Sacraments, but on two conditions-first, that he sorrows for his
sins with a sorrow which is grounded on and inspired by the perfect love of God; and,
secondly, that he has the wish and readiness to approach such Sacraments were it in his
power. For Almighty God, although He has given to His Church as the ordinary means
of grace and sanctity, the seven holy Sacraments, never rejects the honest and sincere
conversion of any heart among the souls so dear to Him.
Indulgence for the Holy Hour: A plenary indulgence under the usual conditions
daily for devoting one hour to Almighty God whether alone or in union with others. This
hour can consist of public and private prayer, meditation and spiritual reading.
The practice of noctural adoration recommended by Fr. Mateo Crowley-
Boeveywhere a group of people fill every hour from nine in the evening until six the next
morning is also to be praised. Where such a group exists and can pursue this, an
additional plenary indulgence for the benefit of the poor souls in Purgatory may be
gained by each participant.

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 Thoughts on the Holy Hour
PREFACE to the book, The Holy Hour

The Holy Hour consists in an hour of mental or of vocal prayer, in union with the
prayer of the Saviour in the Garden of Olives on Maundy Thursday night.
As a practice, it is our Lord Himself who instituted it, determined its end and
essential feature: an hour of prayer in union with His Heart in agony in Gethsemani. For
St. Margaret Mary tells us in her writings that one day, in 1674, while she was adoring
the Blessed Sacrament, the Saviour suddenly appeared to her. His wounds shone like
suns, and His Sacred Heart was like a furnace from which dazzling flames shot forth.
After complaining of the ingratitude of men, and recommending the Communion
of Reparation, He added : "Every night, between Thursday and Friday, I will make you
partake of that sorrow unto death which it was My will to suffer in the Garden of Olives. .
. . To join with Me in the humble prayer which I then offered to My Father, you shall rise
between eleven o'clock and midnight; you shall prostrate yourself with Me, for one hour,
with your face to the ground, both to appease the anger of God by imploring mercy for
sinners, and to sweeten in some way the bitterness I felt when My Apostles abandoned
Me, being unable to watch one hour with Me."
Thus to repair the ingratitude of men; to partake of the sadness of the Heart of
Jesus in agony; to implore mercy for sinners; to appease the anger of God; such is the end
of the Holy Hour.
In order to spread this devotion among the faithful, and to organize it by
association, a confraternity was founded in 1829 by Father Debrosse, S. J., in the chapel
of the Jesuit Residence at Paray-le-Monial, with the approval of the Ordinary, the Bishop
of Autun, and by Brief of Pope Pius VIII. The Centre was afterwards transferred to the
Visitation Monastery. In 1886 Leo XIII raised the association to the dignity of an
Archconfraternity.
In virtue of a Rescript of Pius IX, in 1875, all the Associates of the Apostleship of
Prayer, without any special registration (in the Apostleship of Prayer), have the right to
gain the Plenary Indulgence granted to the members of the Archconfraternity of the Holy
Hour, whose Centre is at the monastery of the Visitation in Paray-leMonial.
By letters Apostolic dated March 30, 1886, the devotion may be practised in
public or in private. If in public, that is to say, in common with others, then the Local
Directors may name, for this exercise, in church or chapel, any hour of any day of the
week they see fit to select. Some choose for this hour the time of their ordinary monthly
or weekly public League devotion. If in private, then the time is restricted to an hour,
between about 2 p. m. of every Thursday and sunrise on Friday, or, as it is commonly
understood, the hour of early Mass on Friday.
The Holy Hour may be spent in prayer of any kind, provided that it is offered in
memory of the Sacred Passion, especially of the Prayer and Agony of our Lord in the
Garden of Gethsemani. Any posture may be adopted, kneeling, standing or sitting. No
particular place is prescribed, so that even sick persons may practise this devotion. In
order, however, to gain the Plenary Indulgence, the invariable conditions of Confession,
Communion, and prayer for the Pope's intention are required.

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 Pope Michael’s Thoughts
Note well that these thoughts may occupy more time than an hour, so consider
them on the Feast of Christ the King, and set aside time again on Wednesday, November
1, the Feast of All Saints which should be observed no different than any other Holy Day
of Obligation and take up some more of these considerations.
From A Layman’s Way to Perfection, by Robert B. Eiten, S.J., Imprimatur
October 24, 1952: In his classic Introduction to the Devout Life, which was written for
the direction of a woman in the world, St. Francis de Sales recommends that an hour be
given daily to mental prayer. Years ago, Bishop Fulton Sheen urged people to spend an
hour before the Blessed Sacrament daily; he has not only preached this but has lived it
out in his own life, and certainly on many days at a cost of great inconvenience. But if
we are really intent on doing something, time and opportunity will never be lacking.
We expect to hear the question: Certainly you don’t expect us to make a daily
Holy Hour? Let us return to the book: I think, too, that we will find that those who are
striving to reach a high decree of perfection, normally do spend an hour daily in mental
prayer. Thus this recommendation would seem to be correct.
Let us hope, however, that those who have now begun or will begin shortly to
spend a few minutes daily in mental prayer, will gradually lengthen it until they devote at
lest fifteen minutes daily to this exercise.
My friends, we are creatures of habit and We would like to strongly recommend
some changes in habit for the better. Many state that the contemplatives are a hidden
strength of the Church. By their hidden lives of prayer they earn for those of us in the
world the graces we need to perform our daily duties well. And today there are no
contemplatives! Should we all look for a cave and crawl in and become contemplatives?
Absolutely not. We must continue in the world, but this does not mean that we cannot
make it a habit to be a contemplative, if only for a few minutes each and every day
without fail. It seems, however, that a mental prayer must at least be two or three
minutes long if any fruit is to be obtained.
Recently We heard a statement that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Stop and
think to establish a good habit will only take three weeks and then it will become second
nature. For instance several recommend the practice of dedicating our day to God in the
morning by reciting three Hail Marys as soon as we wake up and then sanctify the night
by reciting three Hail Marys, when we go to bed. How long can this take? Maybe a
minute at each end of the day. This leaves 1,338 minutes for other things. And if we do
the minimum of three minutes in meditation recommended by Fr. Eiten or three minute,
we still have 1,335 minutes left for other things.

Meditation
We all meditate. Let us go to a construction site. Let us watch the master
carpenter as he proceeds. A wall has to be erected. The carpenter grabs a scrap piece of
2x4 and pulls the pen from behind his ear. He goes over to the plans and scribbles some
things down. He hollers to me, his helper, to grab the end of the tape measure as he takes
a measurement. Then there is more scribbling and a moment of thought. He tells me to

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fetch three ten foot 2x4s, which I immediately do. Again he has me take the end of the
tape and go to one end of the 2x4s and he begins making marks. And then the notepad
2x4 is laid down and larger marks are made to mark where the studs go. Now I am
commanded to fetch the required studs and we begin nailing them in place. What has the
carpenter done? He has thought out how he wants to lay out the wall. He has thought out
how to deal with the window and while I am nailing in boards as instructed he may be
cutting others for this task. My friends, he has meditated on how best to build this wall
and make use of the materials and tools at hand. We can see the same with the cook in
the kitchen, who is preparing a meal. The meat is browned, the spices are measured, the
recipe consulted and notes are made. And as the meal is cooking, the pot is tasted to see
if any subtle additions need to be made. Yes, when we perform these seemingly routine
tasks, we meditate how best to perform them. What we need to do is to apply these same
talents to our spiritual life.
Where would we be if the carpenter or cook did not meditate? The walls would
not be straight and the awful mess coming from the kitchen would be inedible. And both
of these as we all do, praise and serve God by meditating on our daily duties and how
best to accomplish them. We make our lives a living prayer, if we remember that God
gave us the mind and the tools which we are using to perform these tasks.

A Specific Request
We know that some cannot make a daily Holy Hour. However, there is one day
we ought to be able to set an hour aside for God in addition to our other devotions.
And these are all of the Holy Days of Obligation. Today we are making an Holy Hour
and surely on All Saints Day we can return again for the same devotion! 1 We are all
creatures of habit and how do we normally spend the Lord’s Day? Well we sleep in,
then we eat breakfast, and then we leisurely go to pray for a half an hour or so and then
visit a spell. Finally we return home and sit down to watch twenty-two men fight over a
piece of pigskin or thirty or so men drive like maniacs on a road that goes nowhere. 2 As
we watch these men drive at breakneck speeds going around in circles, let us think: is my
spiritual life going around in circles; going nowhere?
Matthew 26:40-41: And he cometh to his disciples and findeth them asleep. And
he saith to Peter: What? Could you not watch one hour with me? Watch ye: and pray
that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. My
friends we will spend hours in front of the TV or in other pursuits, and yet how little time
will we spend with God?

1
We will make an exception for those who are employed in full time work, which they cannot avoid on
Holy Days that fall during the work week. However, Catholic businesses should be closed and independent
contractors should take the day off as if it were a Sunday, since it is no different in the eyes of God and His
Church, unless to do so would be a hardship to one’s family and his duty to them.
2
Here We describe American football as watched by many on television on Sunday afternoons in the fall.
Then we describe auto racing where a group of men drive around in circles for several hours, the one
completing between 200 and 500 miles, depending on the race, fastest wins the prize.

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 But I Don’t Have Time
Is this really true. We are writing to people with disparity duties and disparity
calls on their time from duty. For the woman with a full time job, who is trying to also
take care of her family, We don’t expect to find much spare time. If she does sit for a
moment, she really needs to just sit, and this We understand. But what of the retired
person at he other end of the spectrum, who receives a decent pension and can literally sit
around 24-7? 3 Can’t the latter find several hours a week for spiritual pursuits? Indeed,
are they not possibly able to help lighten the load of family and friends not so blessed?
The saints tell us to think of our last end. In all thy works remember thy last end,
and thou shalt never sin. (Ecclesiasticus 7:40) Above We ask for one hour out of 168 be
devoted exclusively to God each week. Someday we will have to account for 600,000
hours or more, if we live a full life. There is absolutely nothing we can do to change how
we have spent the last 400,000 4 hours of Our life, but to ask God’s forgiveness for the
misspent hours, nay probably decades. No, we must draw a line and ask God to help us
establish the habits we should establish.

A Resolution?
Some may be reading this and resolve immediately to begin a daily Holy Hour,
start reciting all fifteen decades of the Rosary every day; make a Spiritual Communion
daily and do spiritual reading. Let’s not forget the Stations at least on Fridays, etc. Hold
it just a minute. This person may make it a day or two or maybe even a week, but then
they will quit. No, my friends, let us make slow simple resolutions, such as the three Hail
Marys mentioned above. To this can be added in a few months the daily Morning
Offering. Fr. Eiten recommended starting with two to three minutes of meditation per
day. True all of the actions enumerated are good, unless they keep us from our daily
duty, but we cannot start everything at once. No, let us start slowly and build a solid
spiritual life on a solid foundation. Let us pick up a spiritual book every day, even if we
only read and understand one sentence a day. As the old joke goes: How do you eat an
elephant? One bit at a time.
Indeed We pray We have not asked too much for an Holy Hour every Lord’s Day
in addition to your current devotions. What We are asking is that all increase spiritual
practices, even if only an extra few minutes a day. We can all insert a new habit. For
instance, instead of sitting down after dinner and clicking on the television, we could read
from the life of a Saint for a couple of minutes. As you consider these things, review
your habitual life and see where something good could be inserted easily. Pick one thing
at a time and get it established before moving on. Don’t try to eat the whole elephant at
once, you’ll choke and die spiritually. Saint John Vianney reminds us: The saints did not
all begin well; but they all ended well. And so let us work on ending well!

3
24-7 is an American colloquialism for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, meaning to be able to do
something 24-7, that is constantly without interruption.
4
This is in Our own case at 47. You can do the Math on your own life.

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 THE LIVING PRESENCE
The Intrinsic Value of the Blessed Eucharist
BY REV. HUGH O'LAVERTY
CHAPTER XVI THE HOLY HOUR
A VERY common objection made by those weak in faith against such practices as
daily Mass, daily visits, the Holy Hour, etc.-in fact, against all good works that are not of
obligation, is that those who attend these devotions are no better than those who stay at
home.
They can also say, of course, that those who attend Mass on Sundays are no better
than those who do not. And from the point of view of worldlings, perhaps, those who
never go to Mass nor ever say a prayer may be "just as good" as those who are faithful
adherents of the Church. Our Lord Himself was regarded as an impostor by many of the
Jews. He was never a success in business, and He was only an ordinary tradesman or
laborer.
He was not even diplomatic. He called the proud Pharisees "whited sepulchres,"
and He was so imprudent as to compare the great and powerful Herod to a fox. He told
the truth, when worldly diplomacy would have saved His life.
The saints may not have been as good in the eyes of the world as many who were
far from being saints. Yet it is a pity to find such ignorance of divine truths even among
so-called well-instructed Catholics. Sanctifying grace does not necessarily make a person
clever, nor does it increase his worldly knowledge. In fact, the soul raised to a high state
of perfection recognizes very clearly the unimportance and the emptiness of the things of
this earth. Our Lord Himself gave a lesson on these questions in the words He addressed
to Martha and Mary. Mary was preparing her soul for the everlasting joys of paradise,
while Martha was worrying over matters that would make no difference in Eternity. Our
Lord told Martha that she was troubled over many things while in reality only one thing
was necessary. This one thing was and is God's grace, heavenly riches. Mary was
learning how to sanctify herself. There is nothing in this world that is worth worrying
overwhatever ends with Time is of little value by comparison with Eternity. When people
say they have no time to go to Mass let them examine themselves and see how much time
is wasted on unimportant things and how much is wasted on useless and sometimes
worse than useless conversation. If they took any real thought we would soon find the
churches filled at the week-day Mass.
If we know families from which vocations arise, we will notice that they are
devoted to Mass and attend Mass daily whenever possible. The saints assisted faithfully
at Mass, and it was from this love of the Blessed Eucharist that they gained the special
graces necessary for the performance of their work in this world. And if we observe a
household of which even one attends daily Mass we will find that special blessings fall
upon all the members. It would seem that Our Lord is pleased to show them some mark
of His love.
Lack of time is not really the true reason for so few attending daily Mass. It is
rather ignorance of what Mass is and of its supernatural value. We can gain all favors at
Mass, obtain true sorrow for our sins and the grace to overcome all temptations. The

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second reason is spiritual sloth or indifference toward heavenly blessings. God's own
creatures are afraid to taste and see how sweet the Lord is. They do not realize that the
yoke of Christ is made light by the possession of God's grace. The same thing is true of
the Holy Hour that is true of visits to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament whenever
possible.
Through St. Margaret Mary Our Lord made known His wish that the faithful
would remember His sufferings in Gethsemane by the practice of the Holy Hour.
The friends of Jesus may console His Sacred Heart by spending an hour in prayer
every Thursday evening in memory of the agony of that first Holy Thursday night when
He was abandoned even by His chosen apostles.
This Holy Hour is an hour of reparation for sin, an hour of prayer for the
conversion of sinners and the propagation of the faith throughout the world. It is also an
hour of sweet familiarity with Jesus, when He will make known to us many heavenly
truths. Poor, simple, unlettered souls, kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament, gain
knowledge of which Plato and Aristotle never dreamed. They will have judgment which
will baffle the keenest intellects, and they will act, under the most difficult conditions,
with a wisdom which can only be the outcome of divine assistance. You will notice how
one such quiet person can guide a family in the midst of difficulties, and overcome
obstacles which would cause strong people to fear. This naturally follows the spiritual
enlightenment caused by the dwelling of the Holy Ghost in the soul
Jesus has another reason for asking us to console His Sacred Heart in the Holy
Hour. He wishes us to cooperate with Him in the salvation of souls. Everything else in
the world matters little if souls are saved. Wars, famines, pestilences are evils, but if
through these evils souls are brought to eternal salvation then they are not so much evils
as trials sent by God for the salvation of many. Jesus saved souls chiefly by His suffer-
ings and by His prayers, and Our Lady cooperated with Him in the redemption of the
world by her sufferings and prayers. It should be the aim of a religious to be a saint or at
least to aim for sanctity, just as it is the aim of a business man to be successful. Those
who are unable to devote themselves to God in the religious life can nevertheless become
very holy. Numberless are the friends of Jesus scattered throughout the world who do
much, by their prayers, to counteract all the works of the devil and his agents. These holy
souls are the chief instruments in the hands of Our Lord for the salvation of others. What
the devil fears most is 'not great armies or great organizations. He is defeated not so much
by worldly wealth and strength as by penance and prayer. He is powerless against any
country which possesses an army of those who pray well. He is powerless against the
soul that knows the value of penance.
The Holy Hour, made every Thursday evening before the Blessed Sacrament, is
an act of penance. All prayer is penance, and an hour's continuous prayer before Jesus in
the Tabernacle is particularly hateful to the Evil One. Obstacles placed in the way of
those whom this hour of penance would make holy should be overcome. It may cost a
little sacrifice, but sacrifice renders it all the more efficacious, and our prayers the most
powerful.
We can, indeed, present at this time, as well as at daily Mass and in Holy
Communion, all our temporal needs. Let us, however, be generous with Jesus and He will
provide for us. Let us occupy ourselves with His interests and leave our own to His
generosity.