Q: Question regarding Eucharistic adoration in a different location immediately following daily mass:
After mass in the nave, Eucharistic Adoration immediately follows in a chapel adjacent to the nave. First, is there a mandatory rubric for the blessed sacrament in the lunette to be taken from the tabernacle to the monstrance in the chapel?
Secondly and possibly alternatively, would it be appropriate to do a Eucharistic procession taking place at the end of the mass to the chapel? If so, how would that be done? Would the procession be similar to the procession at the end of the Holy Thursday liturgy: taking place after the prayer after communion and no dismissal? Would a humeral veil be needed or can the vestments the priest is wearing for the mass be sufficient? Incense? What about a “sending song” which would normally take place at the end of mass?
If it is permissible, is it better to process with the lunette and a humeral veil or the monstrance?
Would it be more appropriate to forgo a procession at the end of the mass and simply move the blessed sacrament from tabernacle to monstrance?
Thank you for your thoughts!
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A: Here’s a recent post on my blog: https://paulturner.org/exposition-and-benediction/
In your case, paragraphs 93 and 94 apply. Putting together those paragraphs with the unique situation you have where the adoration is taking place in an adjacent space, I’d recommend the following:
- When preparing the bread and wine for the mass, include an extra 3-inch host.
- Sometime before mass, a priest opens the tabernacle, removes the consecrated 3-inch host from the lunette, breaks it into four pieces and places them in the ciborium with other consecrated hosts. The empty lunette is placed on the credence table.
- Perhaps during the sign of peace, a server places the empty lunette on the altar.
- Before communion begins, probably during the breaking of the bread, the presider places the extra newly-consecrated 3-inch host into the lunette, leaving it on the altar.
- As communion is underway, a server places the empty monstrance on the altar. Customarily, the monstrance is turned sideways, partly so that the people can tell that time for adoration has not yet arrived, and partly to facilitate placing the lunette inside.
- After communion and the purification, when the priest returns to the altar, he places the lunette with the consecrated host inside the monstrance and turns the monstrance to face the people.
- The priest returns to his chair and reads the prayer after communion.
- The priest goes to the front of the altar and, with the help of servers, incences the Blessed Sacrament.
- Putting on a humeral veil, he processes behind servers carrying incense and candles to the place of reposition.
- He sets the monstrance on that altar, kneels and incenses it again.
- After a short time of prayer, he and the servers withdraw.
- Prayers, songs and readings may take place during the time of adoration.
- When the time of adoration comes to a close, Benediction and Reposition take place as outlined in paragraphs 97-100.