Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
Benedictio Sanctissimi Sacramenti
The order of the service as it is celebrated — exposition, adoration, the two hymns of St. Thomas, the blessing itself in silence, the Divine Praises, and the reposition. The Latin is what is sung; the English is given beside it.
Exposition
The Blessed Sacrament is taken from the tabernacle and set in the monstrance upon the altar, and incensed. All kneel. The hymn is sung as it is exposed.
O Salutaris Hostia — St. Thomas Aquinas, 1264
O salutaris Hostia,
quae caeli pandis ostium:
bella premunt hostilia,
da robur, fer auxilium.
O saving Victim, opening wide
the gate of heaven to man below;
our foes press on from every side,
thine aid supply, thy strength bestow.
Uni trinoque Domino
sit sempiterna gloria,
qui vitam sine termino
nobis donet in patria. Amen.
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.
Adoration
A period of silent adoration follows — commonly with the rosary, a litany, a reading from scripture, or hymns. There is no fixed length and no fixed text; the point of the exposition is the time spent before it.
Any of the prayers of this book may be said here. The Anima Christi and the Our Father are the usual ones; the rosary is prayed before the exposed Sacrament as often as anywhere else.
The Hymn before the Blessing
Toward the end of the exposition all rise and then kneel again for the hymn, which is incensed at the first stanza. These are the last two stanzas of the Pange Lingua, and they are never omitted — the blessing does not begin until they are sung.
Tantum Ergo Sacramentum — St. Thomas Aquinas, 1264
Tantum ergo Sacramentum
veneremur cernui:
et antiquum documentum
novo cedat ritui:
praestet fides supplementum
sensuum defectui.
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.
Genitori, Genitoque
laus et iubilatio,
salus, honor, virtus quoque
sit et benedictio:
procedenti ab utroque
compar sit laudatio. Amen.
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.
The Versicle and the Prayer
The priest sings the versicle, the people answer, and he sings the collect of Corpus Christi. Alleluia is added to both versicle and response in paschaltide.
V. Panem de caelo praestitisti eis.
V. Thou hast given them bread from heaven.
R. Omne delectamentum in se habentem.
R. Containing in itself all sweetness.
Oremus. Deus, qui nobis sub sacramento mirabili passionis tuae memoriam reliquisti: tribue, quaesumus, ita nos corporis et sanguinis tui sacra mysteria venerari, ut redemptionis tuae fructum in nobis iugiter sentiamus. Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Let us pray. O God, who under a wonderful sacrament hast left us a memorial of thy passion: grant us, we beseech thee, so to venerate the sacred mysteries of thy Body and Blood, that we may ever feel within us the fruit of thy redemption. Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
The Benediction
The priest takes the monstrance in the humeral veil and makes the sign of the cross with it over the people, in silence. The bell is rung. Nothing is said and nothing is sung; this silence is the whole of the blessing, and it is what the service is named for.
The Divine Praises
Said aloud by all, kneeling, in reparation for blasphemy — composed by Luigi Felici in 1797 and added to over the following century. The priest says each line and the people repeat it.
Benedictus Deus.
Blessed be God.
Benedictum Nomen Sanctum eius.
Blessed be his holy Name.
Benedictus Iesus Christus, verus Deus et verus homo.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Benedictum Nomen Iesu.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus.
Benedictum Cor eius sacratissimum.
Blessed be his most Sacred Heart.
Benedictus Sanguis eius pretiosissimus.
Blessed be his most Precious Blood.
Benedictus Iesus in sanctissimo altaris Sacramento.
Blessed be Jesus in the most holy Sacrament of the altar.
Benedictus Sanctus Spiritus, Paraclitus.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Benedicta excelsa Mater Dei, Maria sanctissima.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Benedicta sancta eius et immaculata Conceptio.
Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception.
Benedicta eius gloriosa Assumptio.
Blessed be her glorious Assumption.
Benedictum nomen Mariae, Virginis et Matris.
Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Benedictus sanctus Ioseph, eius castissimus Sponsus.
Blessed be Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse.
Benedictus Deus in Angelis suis, et in Sanctis suis.
Blessed be God in his angels and in his saints.
The Reposition
The Blessed Sacrament is returned to the tabernacle while the psalm is sung. Adoremus in aeternum sanctissimum Sacramentum is the antiphon — we shall adore for ever the most holy Sacrament.
Psalm 116 (117) — Laudate Dominum omnes gentes
Laudate Dominum, omnes gentes;
laudate eum, omnes populi.
O praise the Lord, all ye nations;
praise him, all ye peoples.
Quoniam confirmata est super nos misericordia eius;
et veritas Domini manet in aeternum.
For his mercy is confirmed upon us;
and the truth of the Lord remaineth for ever.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto:
sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper,
et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
On Saint Alphonsus Liguori — the life, the feast, and where else the saint appears.
The hymns are the O Salutaris Hostia (from the Verbum supernum prodiens) and the Tantum Ergo (from the Pange Lingua), both written by St. Thomas Aquinas for the feast of Corpus Christi in 1264; the English is the traditional rendering after Edward Caswall. The Divine Praises are given in their present form, with the invocations added in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Benediction is a service of the Church, not a private devotion — the blessing at step V may be given only by a priest or deacon, though everything else here may be prayed by anyone before the tabernacle.
