A gift of an hour

Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger

Only recently has it dawned on me that an hour in prayer was most probably the occasion in which God planted the seed of my vocational awareness. People often ask priests questions about how they received their call. I do it myself. “When did you first think about becoming a priest?” Speaking only for myself, I cannot say exactly when that happened. As I have often told so many, I had dreamed of becoming an airline pilot. I still love flying (not waiting in airports!). I am one who keeps the window shades open all the time and tracks every mile on any device they let me keep on. One day, however, I got the urge to ask a priest, in the confessional, what next step I should take to become a priest. At that point, it was a matter of choosing the right high school which, as it turned out, was an important moment for the series of relationships and formational steps it would lead me to.

The inspiration, however, seems to have been planted during “the watches.” It was once a common practice for parishes to celebrate an annual “Forty Hours” of Eucharistic devotions. That would include opening and closing Masses, between which the Blessed Sacrament was exposed without interruption. Typically, each hour in between — a “watch” — would be assigned to sign-up volunteers so that never would the Lord’s sacramental presence be unattended. 

In my home parish of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (Ridgewood, Queens), Forty Hours began with the last Mass (12:15 p.m.) of Easter Sunday. Customarily, the altar servers were given the first option of signing up during the day hours and until about 9 p.m., if I recall correctly. Other societies covered the night hours. I distinctly remember signing up with another server and spending time before the Lord, saying the rosary and occasionally some of the prayers which were provided in the kneeler in front of each of the two chairs in the sanctuary placed closely to the foot of the altar upon which the monstrance had been placed. 

Something about those moments of “watching” the host — the Lord, really — something happened, it has now dawned on me, that enabled the Lord to plant a seed in my heart that may have been the start of my journey toward the priesthood. I know I am hardly one of a few who have experienced this. I believe when we give God just a little time to enter our lives, it happens all the time. What surprises me is that I had not realized until now that my vocational direction began in this setting.

The “watches” by the way, are derived from a comment by Jesus to his dozing disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before he died. Recall that he had taken three of them to pray with him there after the Last Supper. The Gospels tell us that they would meet there often and, I would suspect, those moments included prayer. That night, it seems, was a very intensely painful one for Jesus as he implored his Father to spare him the cup that he was being asked to drink. The accounts of his agony are graphic, including the sweating of blood. What thoughts and feelings he was experiencing, God alone knows. Certainly, an awareness of the immensity of the evils in the world — past, present and future — must have been a large part of it. When Jesus finished, he went over to his disciples, finding them asleep, and said to Peter, “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?” (Mt 26:40). Then he adds a noteworthy word of caution, “Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt 26:41).

We know those words sound familiar. Certain translations of the Lord’s Prayer render the last lines as “do not put us to the final test” (Mt 6:13). These are the only two places in the Gospel of Matthew where those words are used, and commentators are not in agreement on their meaning. Perhaps Jesus was anticipating that the scandal of the Cross would so shock his disciples that they would lose faith and be overcome by doubt and fear. Certainly, their behavior prior to his post-Resurrection appearances would have well confirmed the concerns of that warning.

The Christian practice of spending an hour in prayer — a “watch,” a Holy Hour — may well have stemmed from this incident, although a vision of Jesus by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1673) certainly led to a more widespread observance among Roman Catholics. As we prepare for our New York State Eucharistic Revival on Oct. 20-22 (nyseucharisticcongress.org), it would be something very spiritually rewarding for all of us to engage in. And there is plenty of help online, if you are not already familiar with the practice and would like some guidance. Simply search online for “Holy Hour Adoration” and you will find numerous resources.

A lot can happen in an hour when people who love one another get together. Above all, a “Holy Hour” is a gift of mutual love. One of the best gifts one can give another person is the gift of time. Just spending time in the presence of another person is a way of affirming their presence, their life itself. Personal presence is not always possible in our busy world, but we know that there is nothing that God desires more than to be personally present to each and every one of us. That is why Jesus gives us the gift of his Eucharistic Presence at which we can always count on him being right there in our midst.

The inspiring narrative of the two men encountering the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus occurs during a journey in which the two are wandering, full of questions, trying to understand the recent events of which they have heard reports from others. Then as they focus on Jesus, he shows up, at first not in a way they can recognize him. The events that follow, the opening of the scriptures, the invitation to stay, the beginning of a meal, sound very much like a Eucharistic liturgy, which the last lines seem to more than hint at with the words, “and they recognized him in the breaking of the bread” (cf. Lk 24:30-35). Yes, there is something more here — some ONE more — than the mere appearances of bread. 

I have heard from those who have wrestled with various addictions finding great peace and healing in taking the time to be with Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration. Many addictions are fed by images that appear on the various screens that are such a part of our technologized world. The image of the pure white host in a monstrance also is something of a screen. Instead of images that might seduce us into places where true love is never found, to gaze on this image draws us into the pure Love that lasts. Both forms of gazing are about desire, but what the will is focused on in each activity is radically different.

Yes, adoration is an act of the will, focused on the object of desire. As we have reflected, there is no greater gift that we can offer a friend than that of spending time with them. The very act of deciding to offer a gift of an hour to God is itself a grace, an invitation from God to allow for the time to let God’s loving grace enter our lives. It may take a number of other acts of love just to prepare for that moment. A couple with a family may have to decide to arrange their busy schedule so that each of them can have the freedom to find that hour in whatever place of quiet, without distraction, can be found. It does not have to be in a church, and it may well require the use of some form of earplugs if the noise cannot be muffled any other way. 

Many religious houses and parishes establish regular hours on which members of the community can rely and plan time to be in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. The only “free time” for some may be early in the morning, late at night or even the lunch “hour.” Keep in mind that this is an act of the will, as all true love is, a desire to be in the presence of the beloved. It is like the time we always “make” for people whom we really care about. No one loves us more than God so no one deserves this gift of an hour of our presence than the one who is always present to us. It may not be that every gift of an hour in prayer results in discovering a call or an answer to a serious question, but it certainly is a good way to put “first things first” and, who knows, be surprised by grace.

Follow Bishop Ed @AlbanyDiocese.