Derived from the Classical Latin word monstrum (monster; portent, unnatural thing).
Hmmm, monstrance derived from the same word as monster...Wire it up, plug it in and you get what? - The Image of the Beast or some such thing?
Uh no. It comes from the Latin word monstrare, meaning “to show”, as in “demonstrate.” In other words, it’s a device to display the Blessed Sacrament.
Wire it up, plug it in, and what do you get?
A demonstration.
Incidentally, to muster (eg. troops) is derived from the same Latin root.
Do you contend that the United States Marine Corps is the Beast of Revelation? That would make just about as much sense (ie. none at all) as your original claim.
You wrote:
“Derived from the Classical Latin word monstrum (monster; portent, unnatural thing).”
Not as far as I can tell:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11344a.htm
“Hmmm, monstrance derived from the same word as monster...Wire it up, plug it in and you get what? - The Image of the Beast or some such thing?”
Wow, are you ever off base.
The word is from a verb: monstrare. It means “to show”. The whole point is that people can see the Eucharist!
Monster on the other hand is from “Middle English monstre, from Old French, from Latin mnstrum, portent, monster, from monre, to warn; see men-1 in Indo-European roots.”
Thus, they are based on two DIFFERENT verbs: one means to show, the other means to warn. A derivative word from the same root would be something like “demonstrate”.
Here is the acutal meaning from a Catholic source:
A symbol of the Blessed Sacrament since the monstrance is the sacred vessel which contains the consecrated Host when exposed or carried in procession. It is a well-known emblem of St. Clare, who is reported to have repulsed unbelievers who assaulted her convent of nuns by presenting to their gaze Christ in the monstrance. St. Peter Julian Eymard, founder of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers, is symbolized carrying the monstrance and blessing the people with it. St. Thomas Aquinas has the monstrance among his many emblems as the author of the famous hymns Lauda Sion and Pange Lingua, written to honor the Eucharistic Lord. St. John Neumann, who first established the forty hours' devotion in America, and St. Paschal Baylon, patron of Eucharistic Congresses, are both represented in art with the monstrance. (Etym. Latin monstrans, from monstrare, to show, point out, indicate.)
See Also: OSTENSORIUM