Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

“The worship given to the Trinity of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit... must fill our churches also outside the timetable of Masses…This worship must be prominent in all our encounters with the Blessed Sacrament… Adoration of Christ in this sacrament of love must also find expression in various forms of Eucharistic devotion: personal prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, hours of adoration, periods of exposition – short, prolonged, and annual (Forty Hours) - Eucharistic benediction, Eucharistic processions, Eucharistic Congresses… Let us be generous with our time in going to meet him in adoration and in contemplation that is full of faith and ready to make reparation for the great faults and crimes of the world. May our adoration never cease.”   - Pope John Paul II

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is one of the most popular catholic devotions. It is basically a communal adoration of the Blessed Sacrament that consists of Eucharistic songs, meditation, and various prayers. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed upon the altar in a monstrance and is surrounded with lit candles. At the end, the priest takes the monstrance into his hands and with it makes the sign of the cross (hence the name Benediction) in silence over the kneeling congregations. A song concludes the devotion.