Monstrance, Eucharistic Christian Wall Art

What is painted

The monstrance stands upright on a slender stem and a broad base, and from its center burst dozens of golden rays, long and short, spreading out like a sun. In the middle, behind a round window, rests the host, a disc of pure white. Everything else in the picture is quiet: a warm beige ground, soft shadows, a glow of gold reflected around the vessel.

It is painted as a still life, with care for the shine of the metal and the stillness of the object. The print carries no text, so it can be read by anyone who knows what it holds.

What a monstrance is for

The name comes from the Latin monstrare, to show. A monstrance is the vessel in which the consecrated host is displayed for Eucharistic adoration, when the faithful pray before the Blessed Sacrament outside of Mass, and for Benediction, when the priest blesses the people with it. It is also carried in procession on the feast of Corpus Christi, which was extended to the whole Church in the thirteenth century.

The sunburst shape became common in the baroque period and is still the most familiar design. It fits the belief behind it: for Catholics the host is not a symbol of Christ but his real presence, so the vessel is shaped like the light of the sun around it. Jesus' words in John 6, “I am the bread of life”, are the verses most often connected with this devotion.

Many parishes keep a chapel of perpetual adoration where the monstrance stays on the altar day and night, and people sign up to pray for an hour at a time.

For a First Communion, a confirmation, or a prayer corner

This is Catholic wall art in the plainest sense, and it is chosen for a home altar, a prayer corner or a bedroom where someone prays at night. It makes a devout First Communion gift and a fitting present for confirmation, for a priest's anniversary of ordination, or for someone who keeps a weekly holy hour.

The Christian poster is printed to order in the United States on heavy archival matte paper and shipped free within the US, unframed, with a narrow margin of paper around the image. Sizes range from 5x7 to 24x36, plus metric and A sizes. Among Christian wall art for Catholic homes, few images are this direct: it shows what the Church adores and nothing else, and its gold tones glow softly in a dim room.