Need help with Benediction info

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We’ve recently begun to have benediction at our parish (yeah!) but I’ve noticed something unusual about the proper sequence of things. I’m hoping someone can set the record straight…

After the incensing, adoration, and actual blessing of the people with the Host in the monstrance, the priest/deacon removes the Host and returns it to the tabernacle. Following this, he comes back out to the front and leads the Divine Praises. After this, there is the closing hymn 'Holy God We Praise thy Name."

My question: Why are we returning Jesus to the tabernacle and THEN saying the Divine Praises to an empty altar? Doesn’t that seem strange?

When asked, our deacon said that this is sequence given in our missalette (We have an OCP missalette and the benediction stuff is shown inside the back cover). Sure enough, the deacon is right!

If the given sequence in the missalette is right, doesn’t that seem incongruous to say the Divine Praises after reposition? Help!
 
surritter said:
We’ve recently begun to have benediction at our parish (yeah!) but I’ve noticed something unusual about the proper sequence of things. I’m hoping someone can set the record straight…

After the incensing, adoration, and actual blessing of the people with the Host in the monstrance, the priest/deacon removes the Host and returns it to the tabernacle. Following this, he comes back out to the front and leads the Divine Praises. After this, there is the closing hymn 'Holy God We Praise thy Name."

My question: Why are we returning Jesus to the tabernacle and THEN saying the Divine Praises to an empty altar? Doesn’t that seem strange?

When asked, our deacon said that this is sequence given in our missalette (We have an OCP missalette and the benediction stuff is shown inside the back cover). Sure enough, the deacon is right!

If the given sequence in the missalette is right, doesn’t that seem incongruous to say the Divine Praises after reposition? Help!
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At my parish, after the blessing, the Priest genuflect, kneels, we say the Divine Praises, THEN he reposes the Blessed Sacrament… Then… “Holy God We Praise Thy Name.”
 
That is rather odd…

In what liturgical book is Benediction covered? Is it at all?
 
In my missal, reposing the Blessed Sacrament happens after the Divine Praises are recited. I’ve never seen it done any other way.

Just a thought: if the Rite of Exposition and Benediction is in my personal missal, maybe it is in the ritual missal that priests use. Gotta be something better than an OCP missalette to refer to.

God Bless!🙂
 
Thanks – I’m hoping someone can steer me toward the official document(s).
 
The formal guide for the Benediction Rite is found in Worship of the Eucharist Outside of Mass and is very bland on the execution of the Rite of Benediction itself. I’ve never heard of the Eucharist being reposed before the Divine Praises were recited however. Honestly, the form of Benediction is very open and its up to the presider what order things go in.
 
30 years ago, when I was an altar boy, the form the OP identifies is exactly the way it was done.

In a quick web search, the divine praises appear both before and after the reposition. So perhaps not what one might be used to seeing, but it’s not totally uncommon.
 
surritter said:
We’ve recently begun to have benediction at our parish (yeah!) but I’ve noticed something unusual about the proper sequence of things. I’m hoping someone can set the record straight…

After the incensing, adoration, and actual blessing of the people with the Host in the monstrance, the priest/deacon removes the Host and returns it to the tabernacle. Following this, he comes back out to the front and leads the Divine Praises. After this, there is the closing hymn 'Holy God We Praise thy Name."

My question: Why are we returning Jesus to the tabernacle and THEN saying the Divine Praises to an empty altar? Doesn’t that seem strange?

When asked, our deacon said that this is sequence given in our missalette (We have an OCP missalette and the benediction stuff is shown inside the back cover). Sure enough, the deacon is right!

If the given sequence in the missalette is right, doesn’t that seem incongruous to say the Divine Praises after reposition? Help!
Click to expand...
Well, you are not actually saying the Divine Praises to an empty altar. You are saying them to Jesus in the Tabernacle (He is still present there). However, it does seem to make more sense to say them with the Blessed Sacrament exposed, but one is still saying them to Jesus the other way.🤷
 
CB_Catholic said:
Well, you are not actually saying the Divine Praises to an empty altar. You are saying them to Jesus in the Tabernacle (He is still present there). However, it does seem to make more sense to say them with the Blessed Sacrament exposed, but one is still saying them to Jesus the other way.🤷
Click to expand...
Not to mention that the deacon kneels at the foot of the altar, while our tabernacle is way off to the side. So still somewhat incongruous, but He is still present in the room of course.
 
Our parish also uses an OCP book, and I looked inside the back cover. It appears that they list the Divine Praises as option “A” of a closing prayer or hymn. Option “B” is the familiar “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name.”

So I agree that it’s better to have the Eucharist exposed when doing the Divine Praises, but since there’s apparently no exact rules about this, I guess they chose to list it as a closing option, after reposition.

But if any priest/deacon has other ideas about this, we’d love to hear them.
 
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