Quadraginta Horarum Supplicatio...

Quarant' Ore ended yesterday morning with a Missa Cantata coram Sanctissimo. I served (badly) as Torch-bearer. I believe that this was the first time I had ever attended and served a Mass completely coram Sanctissimo. It was splendid, and the devotion of others was plain to see and edifying. Fr Finigan preached an interesting sermon and began by contrasting Exposition to the Eye of Sauron, which was interesting - I had not myself thought of it like this before. Apparently many people turned to me as soon as he mentioned The Lord of the Rings; I was aware of only one person who did so, out of the corner of my eye. I was, of course, trying to be constantly aware of the immediate presence of Our Lord.

Only in hindsight have I thought completely about the superior graces of attending Quarant' Ore. A thought came to me during Mass this morning that attending Quarant' Ore was like being outside Time or in another world altogether, and that after the Blessed Sacrament was reposed, some veil was lifted or something. I must say I felt disappointed. Afterwards, I had to go to work (what a grotesque declension that proved), and trying to explain to some of my godless colleagues about Quarant' Ore was a waste of time. When I first started work, my uncle admonished me to try and keep my faith as quiet as possible in the work-place because, he said, the people I work with are either Protestants or have no faith at all. I suppose that one can only hope that the graces and blessings which emanate from the Blessed Sacrament can come in time to those with no faith at all, as well as to those disoriented Catholics who despise the ancestral forms of Liturgy.