I’m working on a big research paper for my liturgy class that is due this week. The class title is “Sacramentals, Blessing, and Devotions.” We are all writing papers on a particular devotion of our choosing. I chose to research the history and theology of adoration and benediction with the Blessed Sacrament.

Last night I had a major discovery. The direction of my research had basically led me to beleive that benediction was merely popular piety and thus unregulated before the Council. Well, last night I discovered deep in the stack of Mundelein Seminary’s library at book from 1833 that changed my previous ideas.

It’s turns out that the very first meeting of the church leaders in the United States (the First Provincial Council of Baltimore) issued a decree that an English translation ceremonial manual should be developed for use in the United States. The result of this was the book I found last night, “Manual of the Ceremonies Used in the Catholic Church,” and was published with the aproval of the Pope in 1833.

It turns out that this book lists a well-developed rite of exposition and benediction that was borrowed from and even older Latin text. This find led me to other US ceremonials that have now convinced me that in fact benediction was a well-regulated liturgy from the beginning of Church history in the US.

As an additional note: The Province of Baltimore in 1827 at the time of the Council was in fact that entire United States. Thus the translation that was made to create the 1833 ceremonial I would speculate to guess is perhaps the first offical liturgical book ever to be printed in English. The first ICEL consisted of just one man! It’s a rather interesting feeling to be holding such a book in my hand. I wonder who had this book and how it came to be in our library. The book is in excelent shape and I am thankful to have such resources available here. More later as my paper develops.