Sanctus and Benedictus

At the Offertory we can think of ourselves as standing at a distance from the Throne of God, but now as we come nearer we are, as it were, within earshot and so we join with the angels and archangels and with all the company of Heaven and sing, “Holy, holy, holy”.  This is called the Sanctus because that is the Latin word for holy.  It is followed by the Benedictus, which looks ahead to that moment in the Eucharist when Jesus is present in our very midst as he was with his Apostles on the first Easter Day:

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the Highest”. (4)

This was the song, you remember, which the crowds sang when they escorted Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:9).  It is called the Benedictus because that is the Latin for Blessed.  Hosanna is the Hebrew for “Save, pray!” and is a shout of adoration.

During this part of the Eucharist the torch bearers with their lighted candles come in and kneel at the altar steps so as to form a kind of guard of honour for Jesus when he comes to be present on the altar in the Blessed Sacrament.