Bring Christ to the world: Retrospect on the External Solemnity of the Most Holy Body of Christ (Corpus Christi Sunday)

First of all, I apologise for not delivering the reflections for two Sundays in a row, and for the delay this week. Quite frankly, I am guilty for not writing because I have been preoccupied with many things in the recent days--from the workplace, to other situations to consider in the ministry I am in (and where to place myself in it, for that matter), to personal concerns. Anyway, I'm back for this week's reflections, which the celebration we are about to commemorate is a personal favourite of mine: the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body of Christ, or what we call as "Corpus Christi".

Originally, this Solemnity is celebrated on the Thursday after the Trinity Sunday; however, for some reason, and for the benefit of the faithful who cannot attend Mass on that day, the Church has been generous enough to allow the celebration of an External Solemnity on the Sunday after.

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REASING S AND PROPERS

Extraordinary Form (White, Double of the First Class with a Privileged Octave of the 2nd Order)

       May our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loved, with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time!

       O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament divine! All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine! [1]

       These indulgenced ejaculations express admirably the scope and purpose of the present Feast, viz., to glorify the Blessed Sacrament, and to bring souls to the feet of Jesus, the Divine Lover of souls.

The Mass (with Commemoration of the Second Sunday After Pentecost)

INTROIT ¤ Ps. 80. 17

        Cibavit eos ex adipe frumenti, alleluia: et de petra, melle saturavit eos, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. -- Exsultate Deo adjutori nostro: jubilate Deo Jacob. V.: Gloria Patri . . . -- Cibavit eos ex adipe frumenti . . .        

He fed them with the fat of wheat, alleluia; and filled them with honey out of the rock, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. -- (Ps. 80. 2). Rejoice in God our helper; sing aloud to the God of Jacob. V.: Glory be to the Father . . . -- He fed them with the fat of wheat . . .        

COLLECTS.--O God, who in a wonderful Sacrament hast left unto us the memorial of Thy Passion; grant, we beseech Thee, that we may so venerate the sacred mysteries of Thy Body and Blood as to experience continually within ourselves the fruit of Thy Redemption. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.        

Make us, O Lord, to have both a perpetual fear and a love of Thy holy Name: for Thou dost never deprive of Thy guidance those whom Thou dost establish steadfastly in Thy love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, ion

EPISTLE ¤ I. Cor. 11. 23-29

Lesson from the first Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians.

[The Blessed Sacrament remains the memorial of the Passion of Our Lord and shows forth the death of Jesus (Holy Mass).]

     Brethren, I have received of the Lord, that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye and eat, this is My Body which shall be delivered for you; this do for the commemoration of Me. In like manner also the chalice, after He had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in My Blood; this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of Me. For as often as you shall eat this bread and drink this chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord until He come. Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink of the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself; and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord.        

GRADUAL ¤ Ps. 144. 15, 16

Oculi omnium in te sperant, Domine: et tu das illis escam in tempore opportuno. V.: Aperis tu manum tuam: et imples omne animal benedictione.

     Alleluia, alleluia. V.: Caro mea vere est cibus et sanguis meus vere est potus: qui manducat meam carnem, et bibit meum sanguinem, in me manet, et ego in eo.                

The eyes of all hope in Thee, O Lord, and Thou givest them meat in due season. V.: Thou openest Thy hand, and fillest every living creature with Thy blessing.

     Alleluia, alleluia. V.(John 6. 56, 57). My Flesh is meat indeed and My Blood is drink indeed: he that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood, abideth in Me, and I in Him.        

SEQUENCE [2]

     Lauda, Sion, Salvatorem,

Lauda ducem et pastorem,

In hymnis et canticis.

     Quantum potes, tantum aude;

Quia major omni laude,

Nec laudare sufficis.

     Laudis thema specialis,

Panis vivus et vitalis,

Hodie proponitur.

     Quem in sacrae mensa coenae,

Turbae fratrum duodenae,

Datum non ambigitur.

     Sit laus plena, sit sonora;

Sit jucunda, sit decora

Mentis jubilatio.

     Dies enim solemnis agitur,

In qua mensae prima recolitur

Hujus institutio.

     In hac mensa novi Regis,

Novum Pasha novae legis

Phase vetus terminat.

     Vetustatem novitas,

umbram fugat veritas,

Noctem lux eliminat.

     Quod in coena Christus gessit,

Faciendum hoc espressit

In sui memoriam.

     Docti sacris institutis,

Panem, vinum, in salutis

Consecramus hostiam.

     Dogma datur Christianis,

Quod in carnem transit panis,

Et vinum in sanguinem.

     Quod non capis, quod non vides,

Animosa firmat fides,

Praeter rerum ordinem.

     Sub diversis speciebus,

Signis tantum, et non rebus,

Latent res eximiae.

     Caro cibus, sanguis potus;

Manet tamen Christus totus

Sub utraque specie.

     A sumente non concisus,

Non confractus, non divisus,

Integer accipitur.

     Sumit unus, sumunt mille:

Quantum isti, tantum ille:

Nec sumptus consumitur.

     Sumunt boni, sumunt mali,

Sorte tamen inaequali

Vitae vel interitus.

     Mors et malis, vita bonis:

Vide paris sumptionis

Quam sit dispar exitus.

     Fracto demum sacramento,

Ne vacilles, sed memento

Tantum esse sub fragmento

Quantum toto tegitur.

     Nulla rei fit scissura:

Signi tantum fit fractura:

Qua nec status nec statura

Signati minuitur.

     Ecce panis Angelorum,

Factus cibus viatorum,

Vere panis filiorum.

Non mittendus canibus.

     In figuris praesignatur,

Cum Isaac immolatur:

Agnus paschae deputatur;

Datur manna patribus.

     Bone pastor, panis vere,

Jesu, nostri miserere:

Tu nos pasce, nos tuere,

Tu nos bona fac videre

In terra viventium.

     Tu, qui cuncta scis et vales,

Qui nos pascis hic mortales,

Tuos ibi commensales,

Cohaeredes et sodales,

Fac Sanctorum civium.

     Amen. Alleluia.

     Sion, lift thy voice and sing:

Praise thy Savior and thy King,

Praise with hymns thy Shepherd true.

     All thou canst, do thou endeavor,

Yet thy praise can equal never

Such as merits thy great King.

     See today before us laid

The living and life-giving Bread!

Theme for praise and joy profound!

     The same which at the sacred board

Was, by our incarnate Lord,

Giv'n to His Apostels round.

     Let the praise by loud and high:

Sweet and tranquil be the joy

Felt today in every breast,

     On this festival divine

Which records the origin

Of the glorious Eucharist.

     On this table of the King,

Our new Paschal offering

Brings to end the olden rite.

     Here, for empty shadows fled,

Is reality instead;

Here, instead of darkness, light.

     His own act, at supper seated,

Christ ordain'd to be repeated,

In His memory divine;

     Wherefore now, with adoration,

We, the Host of our salvation,

Consecrate from bread and wine,

     Hear what holy Church maintaineth,

That the bread its substance changeth

Into Flesh, the wine to Blood.

     Doth it pass thy comprehending?

Faith, the law of sight transcending

Leaps to things not understood,

     Here beneath these signs are hidden

Priceless things, to sense forbidden

Signs, not things, are all we see.

     Flesh from bread, and Blood from wine,

Yet is Christ in either sign,

All entire, confessed to be.

     They, who of Him here partake,

Sever not, nor rend, nor break:

But, entire, their Lord receive,

     Whether one or thousands eat,

All receive the self-same meat,

Nor the less for others leave,

     Both the wicked and the good

Eat of this celestial Food;

But with ends how opposite!

     Here 'tis life: and there 'tis death:

The same, yet issuing to each

In a difference infinite.

     Nor a single doubt retain,

When they break the Host in twain,

But that in each part remains

What was in the whole before;

     Since the simple sign alone

Suffers change in state or form,

The signified remaining one

And the same for evermore.

     Lo! upon the altar lies,

Hidden deep from human eyes,

Bread of Angels from the skies,

Made the food of mortal man;

     Children's meat to dogs denied,

In old types presignified:

In the manna heaven-supplied

In Isaac, and the Paschal lamb.

     Jesu! Shepherd of the sheep!

Thou Thy flock in safety keep,

Living Bread! Thy life supply:

Strengthen us, or else we die:

Fill us with celestial grace!

     Thou, who feedest us below!

Source of all we have or know!

Grant that with Thy Saints above,

Sitting at the feast of love,

We may see Thee face to face.

     Amen. Alleluia.

GOSPEL ¤ John 6. 56-59

† Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St. John.

[The Holy Eucharist is instituted in the form of food, so that we may receive in Holy Communion the Victim of the Cross.]

     At that time Jesus said to the multitudes of the Jews: My Flesh is meat indeed, and My Blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, abideth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth Me, the same also shall live by Me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead. He that eateth this bread shall live for ever.        

OFFERTORY ¤ Levit. 21. 6

     Sacerdotes Domini incensum et panes offerunt Deo: et ideo sancti erunt Deo suo, et non polluent nomen ejus, alleluia.                

     The priests of the Lord offer incense and loaves to God, and therefore they shall be holy to their God, and shall not defile His Name. Alleluia.        

SECRETS.--Graciously bestow on Thy Church, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the gifts of unity and peace, which are mystically shown forth in the gifts now offered. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost . . .        

May the offering, to be dedicated to Thy Name, O Lord, purify us, and day by day, carry us on the observances of a heavenly life. Through our Lord . . .

PREFACE

Preface of the Most Holy Trinity

   Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos tibi semper, et ubique gratias agere: Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus. Qui cum  unigenito Filio tuo, et Spiritu Sancto, unus es Deus, unus es Dominus: non in unius singularitate personae, sed in unius Trinitate substantiae. Quod enim de tua gloria, revelante te, credimus, hoc de Filio tuo, hoc de Spiritu Sancto, sine differentia discretionis sentimus. Ut in confessione verae, sempiternaeque Deitatis, et in personis proprietas, et in essentia unitas, et in majestate adoretur aequalitas. Quam laudant Angeli atque Archangeli, Cherubim quoque ac Seraphim: qui non cessant clamare quotidie, una voce dicentes:

   It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God; Who, together with Thine only-begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost, art one God, one Lord: not in the oneness of a single Person, but in the Trinity of one substance. For what we believe by Thy revelation of Thy glory, the same do we believe of Thy Son, the same of the Holy Ghost, without difference or separation. So that in confessing the true and everlasting Godhead, distinction in persons, unity in essence, and equality in majesty may be adored. Which the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and Seraphim do praise: who cease not daily to cry out, with one voice saying:

COMMUNION ¤ I. Cor. 11. 26, 27

     Quotiescumque manducabitis panem hunc, et calicem bibetis mortem Domini annuntiabitis, donec veniat: itaque quicumque manducaverit panem vel biberit calicem Domini indigne: reus erit corporis et sanguinis Domini, alleluia.                

     As often as you shall eat this Bread, and drink the Chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until He come: therefore whosoever shall eat this Bread or drink the Chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Alleluia.        

POSTCOMMUNIONS.--Make us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, to be filled with the eternal enjoyment of Thy Divinity, which is prefigured by the reception in this life of Thy precious Body and Blood. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost . . .        

We who have receive the sacred Gifts, beseech Thee, O Lord, that by the frequenting of the Mystery, the fruit of our salvation may increase. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost . . .

The Procession [3]

       When the celebrant and his ministers leave the altar, the cantors intone the hymn Pange Lingua, below. If the procession goes a long way (on the Feast of Corpus Christi or on the Sunday during the Octave), the subsequent hymns are also sung:

PANGE LINGUA [4]

     Pange lingua, gloriosi

Corporis mysterium,

Sanguinisque pretiosi,

Quem in mundi pretium

Fructus ventris generosi

Rex effudit gentium.

     Nobis datus, nobis natus

Ex intacta Virgine,

Et in mundo conversatus,

Sparso verbi semine.

Sui moras incolatus.

Miro clausit ordine.

     In supremae nocte coenae

Recumbens cum fratribus,

Observata lege plene

Cibis in legalibus,

Cibum turbae duodenae

Se dat suis manibus.

     Verbum caro, panem verum

Verbo carnem efficit;

Fitque sanguis Christi merum:

Et si sensus deficit,

Ad firmandum cor sincerum

Sola fides sufficit.

     TANTUM ERGO SACRAMENTUM

Veneremur cernui:

Et antiquum documentum

Novo cedat ritui:

Praestet fides supplementum

Sensuum defectui.

     Genitori, Genitoque

Laus et jubilatio:

Salus, honor, virtus quoque

Sit et benedictio

Procedenti ab utroque

Compar sit laudatio.

     Amen.

     Sing, my tongue, the Savior's glory:

Of His Flesh the mystery sing;

Of His Blood all price exceeding.

Shed by our immortal King.

Destined for the world's redemption

From a noble womb to spring.

     Of a pure and spotless Virgin,

Born for us on earth below,

He, as Man with man conversing,

Stayed the seeds of truth to sow,

Then He closed in solemn order

Wondrously His life of woe.

     On the night of His last supper,

Seated with His chosen band,

He, the paschal victim eating,

First fulfills the Law's command;

Then as food to all His brethren

Gives himself with His own hand.

     Word made Flesh, the bread of nature,

By His words to Flesh He turns;

Wine into His Blood He changes:

What though sense no change discerns,

Only be the heart in earnest,

Faith her lesson quickly learns.

     Down in adoration falling,

Lo, the Sacred Host we hail,

Lo, o'er ancient forms departing

Newer rites of grace prevail;

Faith for all defects supplying,

Where the feeble senses fail.

     To the everlasting Father

And the Son who reigns on high

With the Holy Ghost proceeding

Forth from each eternally,

Be salvation, honor, blessing,

Might and endless majesty.

     Amen.

AVE VERUM

Ave, verum Corpus natum,

De Maria Virgine.

Vere passum, immolatum,

In cuce pro homine.

Cujus latus perforatum

Fluxit aqua et sanguine.

Esto nobis praegustatum,

Mortis in examine.

O Jesu dulcis! O Jesu pie!

O Jesu, Fili Mariae!

Hail to Thee! true Body sprung

From the Virgin Mary's womb!

The same that on the cross was hung

And bore for man the bitter doom.

Thou whose side was pierced and flowed

Both with water and with blood;

Suffer us to taste of Thee

In our life's last agony.

O kind, O loving One!

O Jesus, Mary's Son!

ADORO TE [5]

     Adoro te devote, latens Deitas,

Quae sub his figuris vere latitas;

Tibi se cor meum totum subjicit,

Quia te contemplans, totum deficit.

     Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur,

Sed auditu solo tuto creditur,

Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius,

Nil hoc verbo veritatis verius.

     In Cruce latebat sola Deitas.

At hic latet simul et humanitas;

Ambo tamen credens atque confitens;

Peto quod petivit latro poenitens.

     Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intueor,

Deum tamen meum te confiteor,

Fac me tibi semper magis credere.

In te spem habere, te diligere.

     O memoriale mortis Domini,

Panis vivus, vitam praestans homini,

Praesta meae menti de te vivere

Et te illi semper dulce sapere.

     Pie pellicans, Jesu Domine,

Me immundum munda tuo Sanguine,

Cujus una stilla salvum facere

Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere.

     Jesu, quem velatum nunc aspicio,

Oro fiat illud quod tam sitio,

Ut, te revelata cernens facie

Visu sim beatus tuae gloriae.

     Amen.

     Prostrate I adore Thee, Deity unseen,

Who Thy glory hidest 'neath these shadows mean;

Lo, to Thee surrendered, my whole heart is bowed,

Tranced as it beholds Thee, shrined within the cloud.

     Taste, and touch, and vision to discern Thee fail,

But the hearing only well may here prevail.

I believe whate'er the Son of God hath told;

What the Truth hath spoken that for truth I hold.

     On the Cross lay hidden by Thy Deity,

Here is hidden also Thy Humanity:

But in both believing and confessing, Lord,

Ask I what the dying thief of Thee implored.

     Thy dread wounds, like Thomas, though I cannot see,

His be my confession, Lord and God, of Thee,

Make my faith unfeigned evermore increase,

Give me hope unfading, love that cannot cease.

     O Memorial wondrous of the Lord's own death!

Living Bread, that givest all thy creatures breath,

Grant my spirit ever by Thy life may live,

To my taste Thy sweetness never-failing give.

     Pelican of mercy, Jesu, Lord and God,

Cleanse me, wretched sinner, in Thy precious Blood:

Blood where one drop for human-kind outpoured

Might from all transgressions have the world restored.

     Jesu, whom now veiled I by faith descry,

What my soul doth thirst for, do not, Lord, deny:

That Thy Face unveiled I at last may see,

With the blissful vision blest, my God, of Thee.

     Amen.

VERBUM SUPERNUM

     Verbum supernum prodiens,

Nec Patris linquens dexteram,

Ad opus suum exiens.

Venit ad vitae vesperam.

     In mortem a disciplo,

Suis tradendus aemulis,

Prius in vitae ferculo

Se tradidit discipulis.

     Quibus sub bina specie

Carnem dedit et Sanguinem:

Ut duplicis substantiae

Totum cibaret hominem.

     Se nascens dedit socium,

Convescens in edulium,

Se moriens in pretium,

Se regnans dat in praemium.

     O salutaris Hostia,

Quae coeli pandis ostium:

Bella premunt hostilia,

Da robur, fer auxilium.

     Uni trinoque Domino

Sit sempiterna gloria,

Qui vitam sine termino

Nobis donet in patria.

     Amen.

     The Word of God proceeding forth,

Yet leaving not the Father's side,

And going to His work on earth,

Had reached at length life's eventide.

     By a disciple to be given

To rivals for His Blood athirst;

Himself, the very Bread of heaven,

He gave to His disciples first.

     He gave Himself in either kind:

His precious Flesh, His precious Blood;

Of flesh and blood is man combined

And He of man would be the Food.

     In birth man's fellow-man was He;

His Meat while sitting at the board;

He died, his Ransomer to be;

He reigns to be his great Reward.

     O saving Victim, opening wide

The gate of heaven to man below,

Our foes press in from every side:

Thine aid supply, Thy strength bestow.

     To Thy great Name be endless praise,

Immortal Godhead, One in Three!

Oh, grant us endless length of days

In our true native land with Thee.

     Amen.

ADOREMUS/PSALM 116

Adoremus in aeternum sanctissimum Sacramentum.

Let us adore for ever the Most Holy Sacrament.

   Laudate Dominum omnes gentes: * laudate eum, omnes populi.

   Quoniam confirmata est super nos misericordia ejus: * et veritas Domini manet in aeternum.

   Gloria Patri . . .

   Adoremus . . .

   Praise the Lord, all ye nations! praise Him, all ye people.

   For His mercy is confirmed upon us: and the truth of the Lord remaineth forever.

   Glory be to the Father . . .

   Let us adore . . .

MAGNIFICAT [6]

My soul doth magnify the Lord:

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.

Because He hath regarded the humility of His handmaiden; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

For He that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is His Name.

And His mercy is from generation to generation, to them that fear Him.

He hath showed might in His arm: He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart:

He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.

He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the right He hath sent away empty.

He hath received Israel His servant, being mindful of His mercy.

As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

Glory be to the Father . . .        

TE DEUM

   Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum confitemur.

   Te, aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur.

   Tibi omnes Angeli; Tibi coeli et universae potestates.

   Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce proclamant:

   Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.

   Pleni sunt coeli et terra majestatis gloriae tuae.

   Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus:

   Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus;

   Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.

   Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur Ecclesia:

   Patrem immensae majestatis:

   Venerandum tuum verum, et unicum Filium;

   Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum

   Tu Rex gloriae, Christe,

   Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius.

   Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Virginis uterum.

   Tu devicto mortis aculeo aperuisti credentibus regna coelorum.

   Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes in gloria Patris.

   Judex crederis esse venturus.

   Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni, * quos pretioso sanguine redemisti. [7]

   Aeterna fac cum Sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.

   Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine, et benedic haereditati tuae.

   Et rege eos et extolle illos usque in aeternum.

   Per singulos dies benedicimus te.

   Et laudamus nomen tuum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi.

   Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire.

   Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri.

   Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te.

   In te, Domine, speravi: non confundar in aeternum.

   V.: Benedictus es, Domine, Deus patrum nostrorum.

   R.: Et laudabilis, et gloriosus in saecula.

   V.: Benedicamus Patrem et Filium, cum Sancto Spiritu.

   R.: Laudamus et superexaltemus eum in saecula.                

   We praise Thee, O God; we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.

   Thee, the Father everlasting, all the earth doth worship.

   To Thee all the Angels, to Thee the heavens, and all the powers,

   To Thee the Cherubim and Seraphim cry out without ceasing:

   Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts.

   Full are the heavens and the earth of the majesty of Thy glory.

   The glorious choir of Apostles praises Thee:

   The admirabile company of the Prophets praises Thee;

   The white-robed army of Martyrs praises Thee.

   Thee, the holy Church throughout the world doth confess.

   The Father of infinite Majesty,

   Thine adorable, true, and only Son,

   Also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter,

   Thou, O Christ, art the King of Glory.

   Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father,

   Thou, having taken upon Thee to deliver man, didst not disdain the Virgin's womb.

   Thou, having overcome the sting of death, hast opened to believers the kingdom of heaven.

   Thou sittest at the right hand of the Father.

   Thou, we believe, art the Judge to come.

   We beseech Thee, therefore, to help Thy servants, whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious Blood. [7]

   Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints in glory everlasting.

   O Lord, save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance.

   And govern them, and exalt them for ever.

   Day by day we bless Thee.

   And we praise Thy Name for ever: yea, for ever and ever.

   Vouchsafe, O Lord, this day, to keep us without sin.

   Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy upon us.

   Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us; as we have trusted in Thee.

   In Thee, O Lord, have I trusted; let me not be confounded for ever.

   V.: Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers.

   R.: And worthy to be praised, and glorified for ever.

   V.: Let us bless the Father and the Son, with the Holy Ghost.

   R.: Let us praise and magnify Him for ever.        

Let us pray. -- O God, of whose mercies there is no number, and the treasure of whose goodness is infinite; we render thanks to Thy most gracious Majesty for the gifts Thou hast bestowed upon us, evermore beseeching Thy clemency; that as Thou grantest the petitions of those that ask Thee, Thou wilt never forsake them, but wilt prepare them for the rewards to come. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son . . .

       On the return of the procession, the celebrant and his ministers go to the altar and genuflect at the foot; and the cantors, after Te Deum . . ., intone the Tantum ergo . . .,, and the Blessing of the Holy Sacrament is given.

Mass during the Octave

       On days within the Octave of Corpus Christi, the Mass Cibavit eos, above, will be celebrated and if no other feast occurs the second prayer is Grant us . . . with its corresponding Secret and Postcommunion, and the third for the Church or for the Pope. If there is double feast of the first class occurring, the Mass of the feast will be celebrated - with the second prayer, Secret, and Postcommunion of the Mass of Corpus Christi.

Novena Preceding the Feast of the Sacred Heart

       [To all the faithful who devoutly participate at a public novena held in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whether this exercise is to be held immediately before the Feast or at another time of the year, is granted: Indulgence of 10 years each day. -- Plenary, if they were present at least five times at these exercises, after Confession, Communion, and a prayer for the intention of His Holiness.

       To those, however, who perform privately these pious exercises with the intention to do so nine consecutive days, is granted: Indulgence of 7 years, once a day. -- Plenary, on the usual conditions, for the complete novena, if they are hindered by any reasonable cause from performing these exercises in public. -- P.P.O. n. 218.]

1 Indulgence of 300 days. -- Plenary, under the usual conditions, if these invocations are recited daily during a month. -- P.P.O. n. 110.

2 Indulgence of 7 years, on the Feast of Corpus Christi. -- Plenary, under the usual conditions, when this Sequence is recited on the same Feast and on each day of its Octave. -- P.P.O. n. 138.

3 The faithful who shall participate at solemn procession of the Holy Eucharist, whether inside a church or in public, can gain: Indulgence of 5 years. -- Plenary, under the usual conditions with a prayer for the intention of His Holiness.

4 Indulgence of 7 years. -- 5 years, for the two strophes Tantum ergo with verse and prayer. -- Plenary, under the usual conditions, if this hymn or at least the two last verses Tantum ergo with verse and prayer are daily recided during a month. -- P.P.O. n. 136.

5 Indulgence of 5 years. -- Plenary, under the usual circumstances, if this Hymn is daily recited during a month. -- P.P.O. n. 137.

6 Indulgence of 5 years. -- P.P.O n. 637.

7 Indulgence of 300 years. -- P.P.O. n. 184.

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Ordinary Form

Prophecy: Dt 8:2-3, 14B-16A (2-16)

In those days: Moses saith to the Israelites:

Thou shalt remember all the way through which the Lord thy God hath brought thee for forty years through the desert, to afflict thee and to prove thee, and that the things that were known in thy heart might be made known, whether thou wouldst keep his commandments or no. He afflicted thee with want, and gave thee manna for thy food, which neither thou nor thy fathers knew: to shew that not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God. 

(Thy raiment, with which thou wast covered, hath not decayed for age, and thy foot is not worn, lo this is the fortieth year, That thou mayst consider in thy heart, that as a man traineth up his son, so the Lord thy God hath trained thee up. That thou shouldst keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways, and fear him. For the Lord thy God will bring thee into a good land, of brooks and of waters, and of fountains: in the plains of which and the hills deep rivers break out: A land of wheat, and barley, and vineyards, wherein fig trees and pomegranates, and oliveyards grow: a land of oil and honey. Where without any want thou shalt eat thy bread, and enjoy abundance of all things: where the stones are iron, and out of its hills are dug mines of brass: That when thou hast eaten, and art full, thou mayst bless the Lord thy God for the excellent land which he hath given thee. Take heed, and beware lest at any time thou forget the Lord thy God, and neglect his commandments and judgments and ceremonies, which I command thee this day: Lest after thou hast eaten and art filled, hast built goodly houses, and dwelt in them, And shalt have herds of oxen and flocks of sheep, and plenty of gold and of silver, and of all things, Thy heart be lifted up… )

[A]nd thou remember not the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: And was thy leader in the great and terrible wilderness, wherein there was the serpent burning with his breath, and the scorpion and the dipsas, and no waters at all: who brought forth streams out of the hardest rock, And fed thee in the wilderness with manna which thy fathers knew not.

(And after he had afflicted and proved thee, at the last he had mercy on thee. )

Responsorial: Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20

R: Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem:

praise thy God, O Sion.

Because he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates,

he hath blessed thy children within thee.

Who hath placed peace in thy borders:

and filleth thee with the fat of corn.

Who sendeth forth his speech to the earth:

his word runneth swiftly.

Who declareth his word to Jacob:

his justices and his judgments to Israel.

He hath not done in like manner to every nation:

and his judgments he hath not made manifest to them.

Alleluia.

Epistle: I Cor 10:16-17

Brethren: The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord? For we, being many, are one bread, one body: all that partake of one bread.

Sequence: Lauda Sion

     Sion, lift thy voice and sing:

Praise thy Savior and thy King,

Praise with hymns thy Shepherd true.

     All thou canst, do thou endeavor,

Yet thy praise can equal never

Such as merits thy great King.

     See today before us laid

The living and life-giving Bread!

Theme for praise and joy profound!

     The same which at the sacred board

Was, by our incarnate Lord,

Giv'n to His Apostels round.

     Let the praise by loud and high:

Sweet and tranquil be the joy

Felt today in every breast,

     On this festival divine

Which records the origin

Of the glorious Eucharist.

     On this table of the King,

Our new Paschal offering

Brings to end the olden rite.

     Here, for empty shadows fled,

Is reality instead;

Here, instead of darkness, light.

     His own act, at supper seated,

Christ ordain'd to be repeated,

In His memory divine;

     Wherefore now, with adoration,

We, the Host of our salvation,

Consecrate from bread and wine,

     Hear what holy Church maintaineth,

That the bread its substance changeth

Into Flesh, the wine to Blood.

     Doth it pass thy comprehending?

Faith, the law of sight transcending

Leaps to things not understood,

     Here beneath these signs are hidden

Priceless things, to sense forbidden

Signs, not things, are all we see.

     Flesh from bread, and Blood from wine,

Yet is Christ in either sign,

All entire, confessed to be.

     They, who of Him here partake,

Sever not, nor rend, nor break:

But, entire, their Lord receive,

     Whether one or thousands eat,

All receive the self-same meat,

Nor the less for others leave,

     Both the wicked and the good

Eat of this celestial Food;

But with ends how opposite!

     Here 'tis life: and there 'tis death:

The same, yet issuing to each

In a difference infinite.

     Nor a single doubt retain,

When they break the Host in twain,

But that in each part remains

What was in the whole before;

     Since the simple sign alone

Suffers change in state or form,

The signified remaining one

And the same for evermore.

     Lo! upon the altar lies,

Hidden deep from human eyes,

Bread of Angels from the skies,

Made the food of mortal man;

     Children's meat to dogs denied,

In old types presignified:

In the manna heaven-supplied

In Isaac, and the Paschal lamb.

     Jesu! Shepherd of the sheep!

Thou Thy flock in safety keep,

Living Bread! Thy life supply:

Strengthen us, or else we die:

Fill us with celestial grace!

     Thou, who feedest us below!

Source of all we have or know!

Grant that with Thy Saints above,

Sitting at the feast of love,

We may see Thee face to face.

     Amen. Alleluia.

Gospel: Jn 6:51-58

At that time: Jesus said to the multitudes:

I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.

The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say unto you: except you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me: and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead. He that eateth this bread shall live for ever.

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RETROSPECT

I personally believe that the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body of Christ (as well as the traditional Solemnity of the Most Precious Blood of Christ--Sanguis Christi--celebrated every July 1st) should be observed with utmost reverence, homage, and adoration to our Lord, who in His immense favour to all of creation, decided to give up His life for us to obtain eternal life lost through the fault of Adam.

Our Lord has given us the greatest gift that was ever given to us who believe in Him: the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

This gift of Himself was offered first at the Upper Room where the Lord Himself, the Eternal High Priest and Paschal Victim, ordained His apostles priests. This gathering was a fulfillment to the Jewish Passover, in which the lamb is Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, who offered His Body and shed His Blood on Calvary.

Today, that one sacrifice is commemorated at the Mass, where through the lips of the priest of God, bread and wine becomes the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our victorious Lord and through the hands of the priest, we receive the Bread that came down from heaven.

But just because the priest is obligated to remember this redeeming sacrifice, it does not mean that we should neglect doing our part in making the Mass meaningful to us. Active participation in the Mass does NOT mean sub-standard Church music and postmodern artistic acts within the Mass (sure, they can do that outside the Mass, specifically after it). Active participation in the Mass means (1) going to confession; (2) adoring and receiving the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament; and (3) living Christ and sharing Christ in the modern world.

The first step in active participation is to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. St. Paul reminds us in the Epistle for this Solemnity that "whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink of the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord…" that "he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord." We have to remember that Paul meant this seriously, since he, an apostle of Christ and a priest of God according to the order of Melchisedech, offers this same Body and Blood of his Master and Lord when the ship he was in bound for Rome was caught in the eye of the storm and was about to be shipwrecked. This only means one thing: WE HAVE TO TAKE CONFESSION SERIOUSLY; and I am not exempted in it. It is such a gift that Jesus instituted also this relieving Sacrament on the night of Easter Sunday--just as He instituted the Holy Eucharist three days before--in order for us to be worthy of the promises of Him who instituted these two sacraments and the other five. By the time I am writing this, I have not yet gone to confession, so I am a bit disappointed of myself that I cannot receive our Lord at Mass; but this is a much better feeling than receiving Him in the state of mortal sin without the resolve of going to confession right after Mass.

The next step is to adore and worthily receive the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. I am not badmouthing those who think that communion in the hand is fine; but you see, we are receiving the King of Kings under the appearance of bread. Isn't it proper to receive Him at least on the tongue? Isn't it proper to at least genuflect whenever we see a closed tabernacle with a lit candle near it? Because I think this is the proper minimum adoration that we can give to our Lord. Believe me: I even prostrate before Him in my weirder heydays out of utter respect and adoration. Adoration in the Most Holy Eucharist is so valuable to St. Thomas Aquinas back then--just as it is now--that he composed four hymns purpose-built for the theme: Verbum supernum prodiens (O Salutaris Hostia), Pange lingua gloriosi (Tantum ergo sacramentum), Adoro te devote, and Sacris solemniis (Panis Angelicus). We also have the hymn "Anima Christi" and "Ave Verum Corpus", which was immortialised by Mozart, as well as the not-so-famous Spanish-Filipino hymns "Himno Eucaristico Filipino" and "No mas amor que el tuyo", with the latter one originally intended for the adoration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Singing these hymns just make me so privileged that I can praise God who willed to make Himself the Bread of life--the fulfillment of the manna in the desert and the unleavened bread in every Passover celebrated by the Jews for thousands of years.

Finally, Now that we have been satisfied of our hunger for God, we are now dismissed at the end of the Mass: Ite, missa est. Go forth, the Mass is ended. Does that mean we must return into the world? Yes. Does that mean we should do what we normally do in the next six days? Yes, but a bit of no. You see, if we take the Holy Eucharist very, very seriously, we must bring Christ to the world through us. We, who have made our resolve to sin no more and to avoid any and all occasion of sin, and who have received the Body of Christ and praising Him with psalms and hymns, should do our homework as well. For students and educators, they must bring Christ and share Him in the academic field. For Christian workmen, they must labour for Christ and offer the fruits of their labour to Him. For homemakers, they are to teach their children of the greatness of God that He willed to be with us as King over our homes. For priests, they must celebrate the Mass more fervently than before for theirs is the divine privilege of being an alter Christus--wherein Christ acts through them by lending their hands, their lips, and even their entire selves to Christ. And the list goes on and on and on.

Basically, the bottom line is this: Jesus is truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist. If we receive Him worthily, we are called to be saints and sent forth as heroes by daring us to bravely bring Him to the world through the littlest of things that we do. If we receive Him unworthily, however, we are condemning ourselves to the dreadful pains of Hell, if we do not recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

And so we ask: Do I receive the Lord, the Bread of life that came down from Heaven, with due worthiness, adoration, and conviction?

 

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PRAYING THE COLLECT

O God, who in a wonderful Sacrament hast left unto us the memorial of Thy Passion; grant, we beseech Thee, that we may so venerate the sacred mysteries of Thy Body and Blood as to experience continually within ourselves the fruit of Thy Redemption.

Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost: One God, world without end. Amen.