A
popular evening devotion in
the Catholic Church is
Benediction
of the Blessed Sacrament.
At
Benediction, the Sacred Host is
exposed for us to look upon it and adore it,
and
then the
priest blesses us with the Host.
It
is a way for us to participate in some of the graces of the Holy
Eucharist. Even if we cannot consume the Host, we can still unite
ourselves to God and receive his grace by adoring the Sacred Host and
being blessed with the Host at Benediction.
Benediction is
not part of any liturgy, and
its form is not governed by any official documents.
What I will describe here is the most common practice.
Benediction
grew out of popular devotion to the Blessed Sacrament during
the thirteenth century. After the elevations of
the Host and Chalice after the consecrations
were introduced at Mass toward
the end of the twelfth century,
many
of the
faithful developed a
devotion
to looking upon
and adoring the Sacred Host. At
one time, if a dying person was unable to receive Holy Communion as
part of the Last Rites, the priest would still bring him
the Blessed Sacrament to look
upon.
In
1246, the feast of Corpus Christi was instituted
on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist. It
was and continues to be
observed
by large
processions of
people
with the Blessed Sacrament. The
modern devotion of Benediction comes from these thirteenth century
customs.
Today,
Benediction
is commonly done
in the evening before or after Mass or Vespers. At
various times and places in the Church's history, customs have
existed of gathering in the evening for various devotions, which may
have included Vespers, sermons, hymns, the Rosary, or Benediction.
Mass
was not allowed to be said in the evening until 1953, so Benediction
was
a way to still adore the Blessed Sacrament outside of Mass.
At
Benediction, the
priest wears a
surplice,
stole, and cope.
He
is assisted by at
least two servers in surplices. Benediction
is a joyful occasion, so the liturgical color is white and the organ
is played, even during Lent.
The
Blessed Sacrament is exposed in an elaborate silver and gold vessel
called a monstrance.
Pictured
below is the Blessed Sacrament exposed in a monstrance.
The
hymn O salutaris Hostia
is
sung when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed. This
hymn
consists of
the last two stanzas of the hymn Verbum
supernum prodiens,
composed by St. Thomas Aquinas and sung at Lauds on the feast of
Corpus Christi. It
is a hymn of praise to the Blessed Sacrament. During
the singing of this hymn, the priest incenses the Blessed Sacrament.
Servers may hold torches at the foot of the altar throughout the
ceremony, just
as they do
during the Canon of the Mass.
O salutaris Hostia, Quæ cæli pandis ostium: Bella premunt hostilia, Da robur, fer auxilium. Uni trinoque Domino Sit sempiterna gloria, Qui vitam sine termino Nobis donet in patria. Amen. |
O saving Victim, opening
wide The gate of heaven to us below; Our foes press hard on every side; Thine aid supply; thy strength bestow. To thy great name be endless praise, Immortal Godhead, one in three. O grant us endless length of days, In our true native land with thee. Amen. |
Next,
there is a period of adoration
of the Blessed Sacrament. The
amount of time spent in adoration varies
from a few minutes to several hours. A
popular devotion is to spend one hour (known
as a holy hour)
adoring the Blessed Sacrament, in response to our Lord's question in
his Agony
in
the Garden of Gethsemane,
“Could you
not watch one hour with me?” (Matthew
26:40).
Sometimes, as
part of the adoration,
Vespers is offered before the exposed Blessed Sacrament. Hymns
and devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary are frequently included, and
the
Holy Rosary may be said. Generally,
the priest will lead whatever devotions he thinks are necessary
and beneficial
for the parish.
After
the period of adoration, we
kneel before the Blessed Sacrament and sing the
hymn Tantum ergo.
This
hymn
consists of
the final
two stanzas of the hymn Pange
lingua gloriosi,
also composed by St. Thomas Aquinas and sung at both first and second
Vespers of the feast of Corpus Christi. In
the second line of
the Tantum ergo,
at
the words “Veneremur cernui,”
we bow in adoration of our Lord. The priest then incenses the Blessed
Sacrament again. There
are two well-known chant tunes for the Tantum
ergo.
Both originate from different parts of Spain.
Tantum ergo Sacramentum Veneremur cernui: Et antiquum documentum Novo cedat ritui: Præstet fides supplementum Sensuum defectui. Genitori, Genitoque Laus et iubilatio, Salus, honor, virtus quoque Sit et benedictio: Procedenti ab utroque Compar sit laudatio. Amen. |
Down in adoration
falling, Lo! the sacred Host we hail, Lo! o'er ancient forms departing Newer rites of grace prevail; Faith for all defects supplying, Where the feeble senses fail. To the everlasting Father, And the Son who reigns on high With the Holy Ghost proceeding Forth from each eternally, Be salvation, honour, blessing, Might, and endless majesty. Amen. |
This
is followed by a versicle and response (the
versicle and response sung after the hymn at Vespers)
and the collect of Corpus Christi.
Panem de cælo
præstitísti eis. Omne delectaméntum in se habéntem.
Orémus.
Deus,
qui nobis sub Sacraménto mirábili passiónis tuæ memóriam
reliquísti: tríbue, quǽsumus, ita nos Córporis, et Sánguinis
tui sacra mystéria venerári; ut redemptiónis tuæ fructum in
nobis iúgiter sentiámus:
Qui
vivis et regnas cum Deo Patre, in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus,
per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum.
Amen. |
Thou hast given them
bread from heaven. Having within it all sweetness.
Let
us pray.
O
God, who in this wonderful Sacrament left us a memorial of thy
Passion: grant, we implore thee, that we may so venerate the
sacred mysteries of thy Body and Blood, as always to be conscious
of the fruit of thy Redemption.
Who
livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, world without end.
Amen. |
Then
comes the Benediction itself. The
priest takes the humeral veil, goes up to the altar, and
takes the monstrance. He
turns toward the people
and makes a large Sign of the Cross with the
monstrance
to bless them.
While he is doing so, bells are rung and the Blessed Sacrament is
incensed a
third time,
like
at the elevation at Mass. The
priest turns back to the altar and places
the
monstrance back
upon it.
The
priest and servers
then kneel before the altar and say the Divine
Praises.
These
praises
were written at the end of the eighteenth century as a devotion to
make reparation for sacrilege and blasphemy.
They
are usually said in English. The
priest says each line, with the people repeating it.
Blessed be God. Blessed be his holy Name. Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man. Blessed be the Name of Jesus. Blessed be his most Sacred Heart. Blessed be his most Precious Blood. Blessed be Jesus in the most holy Sacrament of the altar. Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy. Blessed be her Holy and Immaculate Conception. Blessed be her glorious Assumption. Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother. Blessed be Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse. Blessed be God in his angels and in his saints. |
The
Blessed Sacrament is then put back into the tabernacle. Benediction
is
concluded with Psalm 116,
a
psalm of praise sung at Lauds
on Mondays,
with the antiphon, “Let us forever adore the most holy Sacrament.”
Adoremus in aeternum
sanctissimum Sacramentum. Laudate Dominum omnes gentes: laudate eum omnes populi. Quoniam confirmata est super nos misericordia ejus: et veritas Domini manet in aeternum. Adoremus in aeternum sanctissimum Sacramentum. Gloria Patri, Filio, et Spiritui Sancto: Sicut erat in principio, et nunc et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Adoremus in aeternum sanctissimum Sacramentum. |
Let us forever adore the
most holy Sacrament. O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his mercy is confirmed upon us: and the truth of the Lord remaineth for ever. Let us forever adore the most holy Sacrament. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Let us forever adore the most holy Sacrament. |
Alternatively,
a suitable hymn may be sung. The English hymn Holy
God We Praise Thy Name
is often sung at the end of Benediction. This
is the end of the ceremony of Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
Once again, this is merely the most common practice. Individual
dioceses or countries may have their
own
guidelines, but there is no official form for Benediction. This is
because Benediction, unlike the Mass or Divine Office, is not a
liturgy. Rather, it is a beautiful
devotion that has grown out of the faithful's zeal and devotion to
our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
New
terms
-
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament – A popular devotion involving adoration of and blessing with the Blessed Sacrament.
-
monstrance – An elaborate silver and gold vessel in which the Sacred Host is exposed.
-
O salutaris Hostia – A hymn written by St. Thomas Aquinas, sung when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed.
-
adoration – Worshipping the Blessed Sacrament for a period of time, usually including various devotions and periods of silence.
-
holy hour – Adoration for one hour, in response to our Lord's question, “Could you not watch one hour with me?”
-
Tantum ergo – A hymn written by St. Thomas Aquinas, sung after the adoration and just before the Benediction itself.
-
Divine Praises – A devotion originally written to make reparation for blasphemy, said in English after Benediction.
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