The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Conewago, one of the seven Jubilee Year sites within the Diocese of Harrisburg, was the setting September 21-23 for a parish Forty Hours’ Eucharistic Devotion. The featured preacher each night was Archbishop Timothy Broglio, Archbishop of the Military Services since 2008 and President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops since 2022.
The native of Ohio set a personal example of the importance of spending time with Jesus in Adoration, taking time out from his own busy schedule to travel to rural Hanover. He was invited to preach at the Forty Hours by Father Dwight Schlaline, pastor, who was ordained by the prelate to the Diocesan priesthood in 2010.
“Every year since then, he has written me a personal letter on the anniversary of my ordination,” explained Father Schlaline. “Last year, I had the idea of inviting him to my 15th anniversary dinner this year or to come preach at our Forty Hours. He wasn’t available for the dinner, but he said he could do the Forty Hours. I was surprised but delighted!”
The Forty Hours Devotion is a Catholic practice of continuous, 40-hour public Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (the Eucharist) as a mini-retreat or parish mission to draw closer to Jesus Christ. The 40-hour timeframe symbolizes events like Jesus’ 40 days in the desert and the 40 hours his body lay in the tomb – with the goal of fostering faith and a deeper relationship with God.
The Gospel on the final night of the devotion was from Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
In his remarks during the final night, Archbishop Broglio noted, “Divine love is never isolating in our relationships, God’s love always opens us up to others.” He then shared an insight from Bishop Robert Barron, founder of the Catholic ministerial organization Word on Fire, who asks believers to reflect on, “What is it precisely that weighs us down – is it my own ego, my own inflated view of self-importance and self-sufficiency?”
Admitting he had no special knowledge of agriculture, and that his audience at the rural parish “probably knows more than I do on this,” he observed that two oxen sharing a yoke equally share the burden, and similarly, if we accept the invitation to share our “load” with Jesus, our burden, too, will be lighter.
Referring to Eucharistic devotion, the archbishop noted “we should always feel welcome in His presence…to pause in our busy lives to spend time in prayer. The Church must be a place of mercy where everyone can feel welcome, forgiven and called to live the Gospel.”
He also pointed to the example and words of St. Thérèse of Lisieux to “enter into a personal relationship with Jesus by abandoning ourselves to Him like a little child.”
Archbishop Broglio closed with a challenge to evangelize: “The Lord calls us to open our eyes to the opportunities to proclaim his praise and fill our world with his joyful hope and Good News,” he said.
At the conclusion of 40 Hours, Father Schlaline thanked the congregation for their time spent in Adoration and expressed his appreciation to his 10 brother priests, three seminarians from Mount St. Mary’s and two deacons who assisted. He noted the parish is organizing a pilgrimage to Lourdes next fall; information is available on the parish website for those interested in joining the trip.
(Patrick Brennan is a freelance reporter for The Catholic Witness. Photos by Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness.)
By Patrick Brennan, The Catholic Witness
