Morning Mass, "Blessed be..."

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EIF5A

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Protestant here who’s been going to morning Mass recently.

There seems to be an early segment of Mass where people recite “Blessed be…”

I assume Catholics have this memorized, but where can I find this?
 
Besides Marty’s thought, the only other thing that I can think of that starts out “Blessed be…” is the Benedictus that’s prayed during Morning Prayer. I wonder if they may be praying Morning Prayer before Mass?

The Benedictus or Canticle of Zechariah comes from Luke’s gospel:

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight,
all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace. Amen.
Luke 1:68-79
 
I’m thinking that this might be the Divine Praises:

Blessed be God
Blessed be His Holy Name
Blessed be Jesus Christ, True God and True Man
Blessed be His Holy Name
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart
Blessed be His Most Precious Blood
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar,
etc.

(Google the rest of it.)

I love this prayer, and it was one of the first prayers that I memorized when I converted to Catholicism from Evangelical Protestantism.

I’m not sure why it is being prayed during the Mass, though. We pray it during the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, but never during Mass.

Surely this isn’t the “Blessed be” that the priest prays before the consecration. The congregation only answers, “Blessed be God forever,” and that’s not exactly something that has to be memorized. You hear it once, you’ve got it.
 
Cat said:
I’m thinking that this might be the Divine Praises:
Click to expand...
Another good one.

This almost sounds like a trivia game. How many prayers can you think of that start out “Blessed be…”?
 
At daily Mass the prayer at the Preparation of the Gifts is said aloud - once for the bread and once for the wine:

“Blessed are you Lord, God of all creation, …”

The response is “Blessed be God forever.”

The prayer is almost the same for the bread and wine, but there are slight differences.

Often this prayer is said silently by the priest at Mass on Sundays and Holy Days (with no congregational response) as the offertory song or an anthem is sung.
 
Cat said:
I’m thinking that this might be the Divine Praises:

Blessed be God
Blessed be His Holy Name
Blessed be Jesus Christ, True God and True Man
Blessed be His Holy Name
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart
Blessed be His Most Precious Blood
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar,
etc.

(Google the rest of it.)

I love this prayer, and it was one of the first prayers that I memorized when I converted to Catholicism from Evangelical Protestantism.

I’m not sure why it is being prayed during the Mass, though. We pray it during the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, but never during Mass.

Surely this isn’t the “Blessed be” that the priest prays before the consecration. The congregation only answers, “Blessed be God forever,” and that’s not exactly something that has to be memorized. You hear it once, you’ve got it.
Click to expand...
This is what our parish prays at the end of daily Mass. Bet this is what the OP needs.
 
Cat said:
I’m thinking that this might be the Divine Praises:

Blessed be God
Blessed be His Holy Name
Blessed be Jesus Christ, True God and True Man
Blessed be His Holy Name
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart
Blessed be His Most Precious Blood
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar,
etc.

(Google the rest of it.)

I love this prayer, and it was one of the first prayers that I memorized when I converted to Catholicism from Evangelical Protestantism.

I’m not sure why it is being prayed during the Mass, though. We pray it during the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, but never during Mass.

Surely this isn’t the “Blessed be” that the priest prays before the consecration. The congregation only answers, “Blessed be God forever,” and that’s not exactly something that has to be memorized. You hear it once, you’ve got it.
Click to expand...
Ah, yes, this is it! I wasn’t sure at first because people say it quietly but I googled the rest and it sounds familiar. We kneel and pray this at the very beginning. (And then some other prayers and responses happen – sorry, don’t know the technical term.)

Is the morning Mass different than Sunday Mass? I don’t remember this prayer during normal Sunday afternoon Mass.
 
EIF5A said:
Ah, yes, this is it! I wasn’t sure at first because people say it quietly but I googled the rest and it sounds familiar. We kneel and pray this at the very beginning. (And then some other prayers and responses happen – sorry, don’t know the technical term.)

Is the morning Mass different than Sunday Mass? I don’t remember this prayer during normal Sunday afternoon Mass.
Click to expand...
By “morning” Mass I thought you meant daily Mass. Daily Mass often does not have music accompaniment and the Creed is omitted. With no music, the preparatory prayer is said aloud while it is usually said inaudibly on Sundays so as not to interfere with the music.

Got to admit I’ve never heard the Divine Praises outside Benediction - and Benediction is usually said separate from Mass now - or after Mass in the pre-VII days, not before. However, there is no reason why it cannot be said before Mass.
 
johnnykins said:
By “morning” Mass I thought you meant daily Mass. Daily Mass often does not have music accompaniment and the Creed is omitted. With no music, the preparatory prayer is said aloud while it is usually said inaudibly on Sundays so as not to interfere with the music.

Got to admit I’ve never heard the Divine Praises outside Benediction - and Benediction is usually said separate from Mass now - or after Mass in the pre-VII days, not before. However, there is no reason why it cannot be said before Mass.
Click to expand...
Well, it is prayed silently but can/may be prayed aloud if there is no musical accompaniment and if the priest wants to. It’s a fine detail, but I just wanted to make that clear because the offertory prayers can all always be prayed silently. This seems to be assumed in the Missal, while allowing for audible parts.
 
Cat said:
I’m thinking that this might be the Divine Praises:

Blessed be God
Blessed be His Holy Name
Blessed be Jesus Christ, True God and True Man
Blessed be His Holy Name
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart
Blessed be His Most Precious Blood
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar,
etc.
Click to expand...
You can actually find this in the pre-Vatican II handmissals as well.
 
In the case of the Divine Praises, maybe that parish had a long period of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (e.g. overnight) that ended before Mass?
 
ATeNumquam said:
In the case of the Divine Praises, maybe that parish had a long period of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (e.g. overnight) that ended before Mass?
Click to expand...
I have heard this prayer before Mass when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed before Mass. Not all parishes have Adoration Chapels, and have it certain times. When the Sacrament is moved from the altar, I have heard this.

I’m glad you asked, because I’d wondered that as well.

Edit: Further information:
ourcatholicprayers.com/divine-praises.html
catholic-forum.com/saints/pray0284.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Praises
 
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