Some days, when I enter my parish’s adoration chapel, I approach one of the available kneelers located right in front of the monstrance. Up this close, my eyes can linger undistractedly on the Sacred Host cradled in the golden vessel. I look searchingly at the light and shadows playing on its smooth white surface, hoping to discern faint traces of Jesus’ face there. The reality of how much He shines with love for you and me is veiled by the Eucharistic mystery.
But although He hides how fully He is consumed with love for us, Jesus speaks to us in images. There is meaning in a monstrance. This beautiful sacred vessel receives its Latin name from the word monstrare, which means “to show.” What does a monstrance reveal to us about Christ Himself?
The Eucharistic Mystery Shown Forth in History
“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!” // Psalm 84:1
A monstrance is a regal sacred vessel, an outward sign of the sacramental matter held within. It attracts our notice as Jesus’ royal attire: His crown, His throne––perhaps even in a miniature way, His castle.
Monstrances have showcased the immense majesty of Jesus’ mystery to the Church for at least a thousand years. When the feast of Corpus Christi was established in the year 1264, Eucharistic Adoration became an established practice in Catholic worship. The monstrances used at that time were like tall reliquaries to display the consecrated Host. A couple of centuries later, in the 1500s, Protestantism attacked the doctrine of the Blessed Sacrament. The Church responded with a Counter-Reformation emphasizing the truth of Jesus’ Real Presence. As Eucharistic devotion grew, the monstrance became an important and recognizable liturgical vessel.
The beauty of a monstrance reflects the sacramental reality that it holds. It is made of precious metals—sometimes silver, although usually gold—and often adorned with luminous stones. Some monstrances are decked with religious, scriptural, or liturgical imagery. Christ, our Lady, the apostles, or different choirs of angels may be etched in relief or inlaid colorfully along parts of it.
Yet, a monstrance need not be ornate with brilliant stones or Scriptural scenes to speak to us of Who Jesus is. The simplest aspects of its design perfectly point to Him. Monstrances reveal Jesus as the light of our lives, the pursuer of our hearts, and the One Who loves us infinitely.
You Light Up My Life
“But for you who fear my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.” // Malachi 4:2
The sunburst is likely the most popular monstrance design. Beautiful rays of gold or silver branch out from the Sacred Host at the center, drawing our eyes to Jesus Himself. The sun, a traditional symbol of our Lord, is frequently featured on basilica side altars and medieval architecture all over Europe.
With this monstrance style, Jesus indicates that He wants to be your sunshine. He offers His Eucharistic Presence as the light of your life, the joy of your heart, and the guiding star of all you do. Imagine His eyes shining with happiness when you visit the chapel to be with Him! The more we immerse ourselves in the light of Christ, the Son of the Father Who bestows every good gift and grace, the more we also shine and are sanctified. As Saint Carlo Acutis said, “When we face the sun we get a tan . . . but when we stand before Jesus in the Eucharist, we become saints.”
The Pursuer
“Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered.” // Revelation 5:5
If the rays that make up the sunburst design are layered intricately and closely enough, the form of the monstrance can look like a lion’s mane. Recently, while traveling, I entered an adoration chapel for the first time, looked at the monstrance, and was struck by this resemblance. It awakened a quiet peace and a girlish hope in my heart––I felt like Lucy Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia, in the presence of the terrifying but luminous and beautiful Aslan.
This image of Jesus as the “Lion of Judah” reveals the soft fierceness of His pursuit for us. It stirs the deepest longing of a woman’s heart, the desire to be safeguarded by a strong, admirable love. Jesus pursues us intently although always gently, and His kingly presence protects His beloveds in good times and in bad.
Love You Forever
“I have loved you with an everlasting love.” // Jeremiah 31:3
Some monstrances feature a simpler design formed from a single circle or several concentric ones surrounding the Sacred Host. A circle, having no beginning and no end, mirrors God’s eternal being. His everlasting love makes Him always worthy of yours in return.
The circular motifs in a monstrance are a reminder that Jesus is constantly and fully there for you through His gift of self in the Eucharist. His care encompasses all the circumstances of your life. He loves you always and forever, to infinity.
To the Moon and Back
“Who is this that looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun . . .” // Song of Solomon 6:10
One more meaning hides in a tiny detail common to every monstrance. The luna (sometimes also called the lunette or lunula) is a little transparent container of glass or crystal rimmed in gold that protects the Sacred Host and clasps it into the monstrance. The Host is usually removed from the monstrance and reserved in the tabernacle while still encased in the luna.
Although indirectly, the luna is the focal point of the monstrance because it allows us to behold Jesus in the Sacred Host. Luna means “moon” in Latin and Spanish; likewise, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux referred to Mary as the moon because “just as among all planets the moon is most like the sun, so among all creatures [she is] the nearest in resemblance to God.” This connection reminds us how closely Mary is situated to the mystery of Jesus in the Eucharist. The moon lights up our night sky by reflecting the sun’s light, just as our Lady reflects the glory of Christ. Even more, like the luna in the monstrance bears the Host into the sacred vessel, so also Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, bears Christ to us. In Holy Communion, we receive the very Body He received from the flesh of our Lady.
Jesus loves us so well in the details. The next time you adore Him in a beautiful monstrance, take time to admire these visual signs of who He is. How do they remind you of His Real Presence in the best and the worst moments of your life?
