The Divine Praises

The Divine Praises

Submitted by Thomas Stidl

         One of the hallmarks of my youth was First Friday Mass at our parish Church.  The Mass was set for 11:00AM along with the accompanying Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.  That Benediction included being blessed by the priest holding the Monstrance that contained the body, blood, soul, and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  After that blessing, the priest and the people would recite a prayer known as the Divine Praises.  The prayer proceeded as follows:

         Blessed be God.

         Blessed be His Holy Name.

         Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.

         Blessed be the name of Jesus.

         Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.

         Blessed be His Most Precious Blood.

         Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

         Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.

         Blessed be the Great Mother of God, Mary most holy.

         Blessed be her Holy and Immaculate Conception.

         Blessed be her Glorious Assumption.

         Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.

         Blessed be Saint Joseph, her most Chaste Spouse.

         Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints.

         Whether you realize this or not, much of the Dogma of the Roman Catholic Church are contained in these praises.  Three examples come to mind.  Jesus is true God and true Man.  He has both a Divine nature and a human nature.  This is how Jesus could repair the rift between God and Man after Adam and Eve had sinned.  The second example of Dogma is the Immaculate Conception of Mary.  God gave Mary the grace to be born without original sin.  God traveled across the eons of time and gave Mary this grace from the sacrificial death of Her Son who was yet to be born.  This is an amazing concept.  The third Dogma that comes to mind is the Assumption that our Blessed Mother is in Heaven, body and soul.  Her apparitions prove that fact.  Remember, Mary was conceived without Original Sin.  Original Sin is the cause of sickness and death in the Human Race.  Mary was sinless in her conception and throughout her human life.  At the end of her time on earth, she fell asleep and was reunited with her Son in heaven along with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Keep this in mind as you meditate on the Divine Praises.

         In my youth we would always recite a small prayer after the Divine Praises that sadly we do not recite now.  The short prayer is, “May the Heart of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar be praised, adored, and loved with grateful affection in all the Tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time.  Amen.”

         My hope is that we will restore that prayer as soon as possible.

         Until next time, Laus Tibi, Christe.  Deo Gratias.  Gloria Tibi Domini.  Praise be to God.  See you in Paradise.