Liturgy (services): Benediction
Benediction is the worship of Christ in his Blessed Sacrament.
We spend time in prayer before the Lord and then we receive his blessing. It is a time of contemplation and reflection and a reminder of Christ's presence in a very special way.
We unite ourselves with the Lord and concentrate for a few moments on the mystery that Christ is present with us now as He is also present in the Kingdom of God. this is a hard thing to get our head around! So we need a time of calm, of peace and of meditation.
When Christ was born we were told He was Emmanuel, a name which means "God-is-with-us." In Benediction the Church recalls this understanding that God is not far off, not looking down on us and detached from humanity but in a real way present with us, suffering with us and celebrating with us.
At St Mary's we offer Benediction on key celebrations across the year: these are published in the monthly Newsletter and Weekly Mass Book and all are welcome. If you've never been before, don't panic! Everything you need is provided, just come along and experience the wonderful sense of Our Lord being truly with us.