40 Hours Devotion
September 14, 15 & 16, 2025
As Jesus began His Passion in the Garden of Gethsemane, He asked His disciples to stay awake while He prayed.
He left and prayed alone, but after coming back, he found them asleep. He said to Peter, "Could you not watch one hour with me?" (Matthew 26:40).
40 Hours" is a Catholic devotion of continuous prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for 40 Hours (in our case, a few more than that!). Please join us and Bishop Ronald Gainer, our retired Bishop, for three powerful days of silence and prayer with Our God.
Dates & Times
Sunday September 14, 2025
Adoration in the church starts right after the 10:30am Mass
Sunday evening Opening Mass - 6PM
Monday, September 15, 2025
Monday morning Mass - 8AM
Monday evening devotions - 6PM
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Tuesday morning Mass - 8AM
Tuesday evening devotions - 6PM
Guest Homilist - Bishop Ronald Gainer
Bishop Ronald Gainer
The Most Reverend Ronald W. Gainer was appointed the 11th Bishop of Harrisburg by his Holiness Pope Francis on January 24, 2014. He was installed as Bishop of Harrisburg on March 19, 2014.
Bishop Gainer was born August 24, 1947, in Pottsville, Pa. He was ordained a Priest for the Diocese of Allentown on May 19, 1973. Bishop Gainer was consecrated and installed as Bishop of Lexington, Ky. on February 22, 2003.
Bishop Gainer completed his studies at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia in 1973, earning a Master of Divinity degree. He also earned a licentiate degree in Canon Law and a diploma in Latin Letters from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1986.
For much of his priesthood, Bishop Gainer served in parish, campus ministry, marriage and family ministry, and tribunal positions. As Secretary of Catholic Life and Evangelization for the Diocese of Allentown, he supervised 14 diocesan offices and the promotion of the works of spiritual renewal and evangelization.
In addition to his responsibilities as the Bishop of Harrisburg, Bishop Gainer also served as President of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the eight Latin and two Eastern dioceses in Pennsylvania.
On the national level, Bishop Gainer has been a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) where he held various positions.
Bishop Gainer’s request for retirement was accepted by Pope Francis on April 25, 2023.
Adoration & Prayer
To sign-up for one of the 40 hours of adoration, see the sign-up at the vestibule of the church. Or, just join us to pray! Please come!
More Info about 40 Hours
This devotion commemorates the time Christ's body rested in the tomb.
- The practice began in Milan, Italy around 1527 and was promoted in the U.S. by St. John Neumann, who was at one time our bishop and founded Seven Sorrows!
- This devotion invites Catholics to deepen their relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ present in body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist. St. Alphonsus Liguori taught that adoring Christ in the Blessed Sacrament was the "greatest after the sacraments, the one dearest to God and the one most helpful to us."
- The 40 Hours Devotion starts Sunday, Sept. 14, after the 10:30AM Mass. Bishop Gainer will preach our 6PM Sunday Mass, and also our services on Monday and Tuesday night (Sept. 15-16) at 6PM.
To sign-up for one of the 40 hours of adoration, see the sign-up at the vestibule of the church. Or, just join us to pray! Please come!
Now as they were eating, Jesus, having taken bread and having blessed it, broke it, and having given it to the disciples, He said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Matthew26:26