Holy hour

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Holy Hour is the Catholic devotional tradition of spending an hour devoted to prayer, often in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

The Holy Hour is meant as an act of reparation to Jesus Christ. The devotion takes its form from Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his crucifixion. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus spoke to his disciples, saying "My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me." (Matthew 26:38) Returning to the disciples after prayer, he found them asleep and chastised Peter, asking "So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?" (Matthew 26:40) The Holy Hour, especially when kept on Thursday nights, is meant as a symbolic attempt to comfort Jesus in the place of his sleeping disciples.