MONTHLY HOLY HOUR

Last Saturday of each month 8.30pm - 9.30pm (September – November, January - May)
Please consult the parish Newsletter or contact the Presbytery for more details

The Monthly Holy Hour is a time of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, music and prayer which takes place in our cathedral after the Vigil Mass from 8.30pm - 9.30pm on the last Saturday of every month. It is directed by Fr. Brendan O’Sullivan with a vision of reaching out particularly to the young of our community and to welcome them to our community church and to prayer.

Each hour begins with the Cathedral in low light. Sole focus is on the illuminated Blessed Sacrament on the altar. A procession of young people follows with each carrying a candle towards the altar where they sit to participate in prayer and adoration. Fr. Brendan leads an hour of adoration, scripture reading and reflection with prayerful music accompanying throughout. There is an invitation to listen, participate, reflect, pray, sing and adore.

The Holy Hour is a culmination of many hands, and many of these from the young people of our community who through their experience of this time of prayer now take the courage themselves to minister to other young people, offering them the invitation to come and pray and to participate in this evening of prayer: they range from the welcoming committee to the musicians, to the young adult servers to those who share in the reading of scriptures and reflections. Another familiar sound is prayer in other languages welcoming the young people from other places to be part of our community. The rosary prayer is sometimes recited part in English, part in Slovakian or Polish. Another familiar scent is that of incense often carried in liturgical dance to be placed on the altar: ‘My prayer rises before you like incense, O Lord’. This hour of prayer concludes with a Divine Praises and Benediction.

The Holy Hour seeks to strengthen the perpetual adoration that was already in place in the Cathedral. It has grown over the years. What began as a group of eleven now fills the Cathedral. It has touched the lives of many – those suffering from illness, bereavement, and addiction. It has also reached to those outside of our community. People from other parts of the country and especially members of the Cenacolo Community, Knock, regularly join with us. This form of prayer has now touched into the hearts of young people in two other parishes of our diocese and they are growing strongly supported by the Longford group. Everyone is warmly invited to this time of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament each month in St. Mel’s Cathedral.