Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A receptacle in which the host is held and displayed.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In the Roman Catholic Church, originally, any receptacle in which sacred relics were held up to view; after the fourteenth century, restricted to the transparent or glass-faced shrine in which the consecrated host is presented for the adoration of the people, either while being carried in procession or when exposed on the altar.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (R. C. Ch.) A transparent pyx, in which the consecrated host is exposed to view.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An ornamental, often precious receptacle, either open or with a transparent cover, in which the consecrated host is placed for veneration.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun proof by a process of argument or a series of proposition proving an asserted conclusion
- noun (Roman Catholic Church) a vessel (usually of gold or silver) in which the consecrated Host is exposed for adoration
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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The monstrance is rather new, made in sterling silver by Goudji
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Actually it's called a monstrance and it contains a consecrated communion wafer (the big size that only priests get to eat), which by now has magically become the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the form of bread. (there was a time when people chopped each other's heads off over a disagreement about whether it contained any blood) "the abuse took place in the 1970s; the police were informed and acted" - Jack Valero
RichardDawkins.net : The Latest Updates Jack Valero - The Guardian Comment 2010
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It seemed to me to be hung up in a kind of monstrance which stood above the Tabernacle.
The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary 1774-1824 1954
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Among all those things, the first place is given to a great golden monstrance which is worth eleven thousand ducados.
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Amongst the intricate arabesques little angels'-heads were embossed, and on one side a group of cherubs was bearing a "monstrance" with the sacred Host through silver clouds.
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The treasury contains a ten-foot high, 400 lb. shimmering gold "monstrance" that is paraded through the streets of Toledo on Corpus Christi day.
TravelPod.com TravelStream™ — Recent Entries at TravelPod.com 2009
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How can you, when every crucifix, monstrance, rosary, statue of the Virgin Mary or picture of the Sacred Heart that you see reminds you of the abuse that you suffered?
Fr. Benedict Groeschel blasts American Psychological Association 2009
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Details from a monstrance designed for St. John Cantius church in Chicago by one of their parishioners and realized by Granda.
Arts from Granda 2009
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Here he is flanked by two holy nuns and mystics, St. Lutgardis of Tongeren (a Cistercian) and St. Juliana of Liège with the monstrance.
Neuzelle Abbey 2009
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In the aureole above the globe, around which the snake is wound, symbolising his victory over world and sin, Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance would be resereved on Maundy Thursday/Good Friday.
chained_bear commented on the word monstrance
In Catholic school many of us enjoyed provoking the sisters by mispronouncing the monstrance, the great gold thing that holds the host, as "the monstrous." Yes, many of us were a bit evil.
February 16, 2007
reesetee commented on the word monstrance
Depending on what parish you find yourself in, some of them actually are a bit monstrous. ;->
February 16, 2007
reesetee commented on the word monstrance
See also: ostensorium.
December 7, 2007
fbharjo commented on the word monstrance
ourstrance
March 13, 2013