What exactly is the First Friday Devotion that is celebrated here at Prince of Peace on the first Friday of each month at 6pm?
The First Friday devotion is a celebration of Exposition and Benediction of the Body of Christ. It is similar to having an hour of adoration in the adoration chapel, but with more people, and with Benediction.
So what happens at this service?
When you enter church, there are sheets of paper for you to write any special intentions on and these intentions are placed before the Altar during the opening procession. No one ever reads these intentions. They are burned following the service at some point.
One of the Deacons serves as presider for this service. As he enters, we sing the traditional hymn “O salutaris Hostia”. On the program, the text is listed in both English and Latin and you can sing in either one. After the Deacon processes in and places the intentions in front of the altar, he goes to the Tabernacle and takes out the lunette with the Blessed Sacrament in it. A lunette is a round piece of metal with glass sides that open up to hold the consecrated host in it. The lunette is then placed inside the Monstrance. The Monstrance is a vessel used by the Catholic Church to hold objects to venerate. It normally has the appearance of a sun in the middle (where the lunette is placed) with rays going out from it called a ‘sunburst’. Sometimes relics of saints are displayed in one, or in our case, the Blessed Sacrament. IF the Monstrance is NOT facing the people, normally as it is sitting on the altar and is turned to face the side, it does NOT have the lunette in it. Once the Sacrament is placed in it, it is turned so that the people can see the front of it. The same is true is a minister is carrying the Monstrance – if it is facing outward, the Sacrament/relic is in it; if it is held the opposite way so that the side is out, there is no Sacrament or relic in it.
The Deacon places the lunette in the Monstrance on the altar, goes to kneel in front of it and incenses it. Silent adoration then begins for about an hour. During this time, the Deacon may choose to proclaim a reading to direct attention to a certain devotion or reason for being there and may give a short homily. The majority of the time is pure silence. If you’ve never had the opportunity to experience this, I would highly encourage you to attend sometime. We generally have between 40- 60 people in attendance, and the prayers of those in attendance are palpable. You can seriously feel the prayers of the people being lifted up in the silence. You are welcome to kneel during this time or be seated. Some people pray the rosary in silence, some may read evening prayer, another devotion, or the Bible, some just pray.
At the end of the hour, the Deacon goes to kneel in front of the altar as “Tantum Ergo” is sung. Once again, both English and Latin are given for it. There is a short response following this and a prayer. The Deacon then receives the humeral veil from a server. The humeral veil is a piece of cloth that goes over the shoulders like a shawl. It has a special place in it where the hands go inside the material. It is only with this humeral veil on that the Deacon holds the Monstrance for the Eucharistic Blessing. The priest also wears this vestment on Holy Thursday during the transfer of the Eucharist at the end of the service. With the veil on, the Deacon goes to the Altar, lifts up the Monstrance and blesses the adorers with a sign of the Cross. The Monstrance is incensed during this blessing by the server.
After the blessing, the Monstrance is returned to the Altar. The Deacon goes to kneel and recites the Divine Praises. He says a phrase “Blessed be God” and then the congregation repeats it: “Blessed be God”. Once the Divine Praises are finished, the Deacon returns to the Altar, and traditionally removes the lunette with the Blessed Sacrament from the Monstrance. He returns it to the Tabernacle. As he is doing this, the closing song is begun: Holy God, We Praise Thy Name. All stand to sing and then depart in silence. At POP, the entire Monstrance is picked up from the altar and the Deacon returns it to the Adoration Chapel for continued adoration instead of removing the Blessed Sacrament.
This service is done on the first Friday of each month at 6pm. The next one is July 5. If you can’t make this service, but are interested in doing an hour of adoration at some point during the week, please contact the Parish Office for more information.
Please come to lift your prayers to God in the company of your parish family. God’s peace will be with you.