Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is the service in which Jesus Christ is adored in the consecrated Host exposed on the altar, and in which the priest blesses the faithful with the Sacred Host.

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament begins with the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament (i.e., consecrated Host) in a monstrance set upon the altar. The liturgy includes singing the ancient Latin hymns written by St Thomas Aquinas, O Salutaris Hostia and Tantum Ergo, followed by the benediction proper. The liturgy concludes with the Divine Praises and Psalm 117 (LXX 116) “Laudate Dominum” with the antiphon, “Let us forever adore the Most Holy Sacrament.”

A monstrance (pictured at left) is a vessel used to display the consecrated Eucharistic host, during Eucharistic Adoration or Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Created in the medieval period, the monstrance is usually gold or silver and has an opening through which the Consecrated Host can be viewed. The word monstrance comes from the Latin word monstrare, meaning “to show.”