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Friday January 7, 2005

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oblation \uh-BLAY-shuhn; oh-\ , noun:
1. The act of offering something, such as worship or thanks, especially to a deity.
2. (Usually capitalized) The act of offering the bread and wine of the Eucharist.
3. Something offered in a religious rite or as a charitable gift.

There is another kind of spiritual courage as well, quieter and less celebrated, but just as remarkable: that of making each day, in its most conventional aspects -- cooking, eating, breathing -- an oblation to the absolute.
-- Philip Zaleski, "A Buddhist From Dublin", New York Times, July 24, 1994

These aren't flowers randomly snatched from the garden; these are florist's flowers, purchased as an offering, an oblation.
-- Carol Shields, Dressing Up for the Carnival

And that day we also celebrate the memory of his goodness in sending a star to guide the three wise men from the east to Bethlehem, that they might there worship, and present him with their oblation of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
-- Izaak Walton, The lives of John Donne and George Herbert

Oblation derives from Latin oblatio, from oblatus, past participle of offerre, "to carry to, to bring to, to offer," from ob-, "to" + ferre, "to bring."

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for oblation

 

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