Introit

 

Kyrie

 

Gloria

 

Collect

O God, who in this wonderful Sacrament
have left us a memorial of your Passion,
grant us, we pray,
so to revere the sacred mysteries of your Body and Blood
that we may always experience in ourselves
the fruits of your redemption.
Who live and reign with God the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Reading Gn 14:18-20

When Abram heard that his nephew, Lot, had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, and routed the abductors. 18 After Abram’s return King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. 19 He blessed Abram and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him one tenth of everything.

Responsorial Psalm 110:1,2,3,4  

R. You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek.

 

Second Reading 1 Cor 11:23-262

Beloved, 23 I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Sequence Lauda Sion

 

Laud, O Zion, your salvation, Laud with hymns of exultation, Christ, your king and shepherd true:

Bring him all the praise you know, He is more than you bestow. Never can you reach his due.

Special theme for glad thanksgiving Is the quick'ning and the living Bread today before you set:

From his hands of old partaken, As we know, by faith unshaken, Where the Twelve at supper met.

Full and clear ring out your chanting, Joy nor sweetest grace be wanting, From your heart let praises burst:

For today the feast is holden, When the institution olden Of that supper was rehearsed.

Here the new law's new oblation, By the new king's revelation, Ends the form of ancient rite:

Now the new the old effaces, Truth away the shadow chases, Light dispels the gloom of night.

What he did at supper seated, Christ ordained to be repeated, His memorial ne'er to cease:

And his rule for guidance taking, Bread and wine we hallow, making Thus our sacrifice of peace.

This the truth each Christian learns, Bread into his flesh he turns, To his precious blood the wine:

Sight has fail'd, nor thought conceives, But a dauntless faith believes, Resting on a pow'r divine.

Here beneath these signs are hidden Priceless things to sense forbidden; Signs, not things are all we see:

Blood is poured and flesh is broken, Yet in either wondrous token Christ entire we know to be.

Whoso of this food partakes, Does not rend the Lord nor breaks; Christ is whole to all that taste:

Thousands are, as one, receivers, One, as thousands of believers, Eats of him who cannot waste.

Bad and good the feast are sharing, Of what divers dooms preparing, Endless death, or endless life.

Life to these, to those damnation, See how like participation Is with unlike issues rife.

When the sacrament is broken, Doubt not, but believe 'tis spoken, That each sever'd outward token doth the very whole contain.

Nought the precious gift divides, Breaking but the sign betides Jesus still the same abides, still unbroken does remain.

 Lo! the angel’s food is given To the pilgrim who has striven; see the children’s bread from heaven, which on dogs may not be spent.

 Truth the ancient types fulfilling, Isaac bound, a victim willing, Paschal lamb, its lifeblood spilling, manna to the fathers sent.

 Very bread, good shepherd, tend us, Jesu, of your love befriend us, You refresh us, you defend us, Your eternal goodness send us In the land of life to see.

 You who all things can and know, Who on earth such food bestow, Grant us with your saints, though lowest, Where the heav’nly feast you show, ellow heirs and guests to be. Amen. Alleluia.

Alleluia Jn 6:51

 

Gospel Lk 9:11b-17

Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured. 12 The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place.” But Jesus said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish— unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And Jesus said to his disciples, “Make the people sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 They did so and made them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

Catena Nova

Homily

     Although Rome is not beckoning me this Holy Year, I will not forget the pilgrimage I made to the Holy Land and to Rome for the Great Jubilee of the year 2000.  In particular, I remember being one of about a thousand priests concelebrating the afternoon Mass on the feast of Corpus Christi on the steps of the Basilica of St. John Lateran presided over by Pope John Paul II.  Following the Mass a grand procession with the Blessed Sacrament made its way down the Via Merulana to the Basilica of St Mary Major about a mile away.  

     In his homily, John Paul not how, "With humble pride we will escort the Eucharistic Sacrament through the streets of the city, close by the buildings where people live, rejoice and suffer; between the shops and offices where they work each day. We will bring it into contact with our lives beset by a thousand dangers, weighed down by worries and sorrows, subject to the slow but inexorable wear and tear of time." (June 22, 2000)

     Lining the street during the procession were thousands of city residents and visitors, who joined in the hymns and prayers that accompanied the Eucharistic devotion while other watched from apartment windows.  By the time the procession ended it was dusk and the moon lit the square in front of Mary Major.  As the pope gave the Benediction on the steps of the basilica hundreds of people dropped to their knees in the square singing the traditional hymn Tantum ergo.  It was an indelible experience of Eucharistic faith.

     Contrast that with the words, "The monstrance is a monstrosity.  Sun God worship.  Sin" seen on a sign carried by a protestor at a Eucharistic procession held earlier this month on the streets of Dallas.  Growing numbers of people with loudspeakers and bullhorns who are opposed to Catholic teaching on the Real Presence have taunted such processions in Peoria, Tulsa, Oklahoma City as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage — a five-week follow-up to last year's Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis and which concludes today in Los Angeles. (Cf. The Pillar; June 5, 2025)

     Now whether such displays are prudent given such exposure to ridicule and blasphemy directed at the Sacrament is, I believe, a legitimate question.  The official directives for such things stipulates how the local bishop "to decide on both the advisability of such processions in today’s conditions and on a place and plan for them that will ensure their being carried out with decorum and without any loss of reverence toward the sacrament. (Order for the Solemn Exposition of the Holy Eucharist; June 21, 1973, no. 101) and that is "it is necessary however to ensure that the norms governing processions be observed, especially those ensuring respect for the dignity and reverence of the Blessed Sacrament" (Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, December 2001, no. 162).  In other words, Dallas is not Rome.

     But Corpus Christi is not just about a procession nor the care and reverence shown to the "leftover fragments" from the celebration of Mass.  It is about our faith and our appreciation for the Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood.  Which brings to mind the story of an American Jesuit priest, Fr. Walter Father Ciszek who died in 1984 and who was convicted of being a “Vatican spy” in World War II for which he spent twenty-three years in Soviet prisons.  In his memoir, He Leadeth Me, the Servant of God wrote how,

In every camp, the priests and prisoners would go to great lengths, run risks willingly, just to have the consolation of [the Eucharist]. For those who could not get to Mass, we daily consecrated Hosts and arranged for the distribution of Communion to those who wished to receive. Our risk of discovery, of course, was greater in the barracks, because of the lack of privacy and the presence of informers. Most often, therefore, we said our daily Mass somewhere at the work site during the noon break. Despite this added hardship, everyone observed a strict Eucharistic fast from the night before, passing up a chance for breakfast and working all morning on an empty stomach. Yet no one complained. In small groups the prisoners would shuffle into the assigned place, and there the priest would say Mass in his working clothes, unwashed, disheveled, bundled up against the cold. We said Mass in drafty storage shacks, or huddled in mud and slush in the corner of a building site foundation of an underground. The intensity of devotion of both priests and prisoners made up for everything; there were no altars, candles, bells, flowers, music, snow-white linens, stained glass, or the warmth that even the simplest parish church could offer. Yet in these primitive conditions, the Mass brought you closer to God than anyone might conceivably imagine. The realization of what was happening on the board, box, or stone used in place of an altar penetrated deep into the soul. Distractions caused by the fear of discovery, which accompanied each saying of the Mass under such conditions, took nothing away from the effect that the tiny bit of bread and few drops of consecrated wine produced upon the soul.

Many a time, as I folded up the handkerchief on which the body of our Lord had lain, and dried the glass or tin cup used as a chalice, the feeling of having performed something tremendously valuable for the people of this Godless country was overpowering. Just the thought of having celebrated Mass here, in this spot, made…the sufferings I endured seem totally worthwhile and necessary. No other inspiration could have deepened my faith more, could have given me spiritual courage in greater abundance, than the privilege of saying Mass for these poorest and most deprived members of Christ the Good Shepherd’s flock. I was occasionally overcome with emotion for a moment as I thought of how he had found a way to follow and to feed these lost and straying sheep in this most desolate land. So I never let a day pass without saying Mass; it was my primary concern each new day. I would go to any length, suffer any inconvenience, run any risk to make the bread of life available to these men. (Ignatius Press, 1973)

     Now perhaps you could find a greater example of "devotion to the Blessed Sacrament" than this.  I cannot.  And so on this Corpus Christi the obvious question such testimony poses to those who require little sacrifice to receive the Bread of life, for whom the Real Presence is available most anytime to those who care to adore, the obvious question is: "And what about us?"  

Intercessions (Joe Milner; Sunday Web Site)

For the Church: that we will live as a Eucharistic people, giving and sharing ourselves, as Christ continually does for us, so that all may have life.

For our fuller participation in the New Covenant: that each sharing in the Eucharist may deepen our baptismal identity as beloved daughters and sons of God and our communion in Christ.

For all who hunger for deeper meaning and truth: that our witness may help them find Christ who will fulfill the longings of their hearts.

For all who lack food and nourishment: that we may hear Christ’s challenge to “give them food” and open our hearts more fully to all who are in need.

For a greater spirit of openness and hospitality: that we may welcome all whom God sends our way and share with them the gifts that God has shared with us.

For government leaders: that God will give them a new vision of how to address violence, firearms, and the use of force in our society.

For peace: that God will protect all who are caught in warfare or violence, bring an end to armed conflicts, and give strength to all who are working for peace.

For all fathers and those who have shown us a father’s love: that God will grant them peace and health, and help them give good example and a source of encouragement to their children.

For all who have died, particularly our fathers: that God will welcome to the eternal banquet and fill them with life and peace.

You have blessed all generations, O God most high, in Jesus, our compassionate Saviour, for through him you invite us to your kingdom, welcome us to your table, and provide us with nourishment in abundance. Teach us to imitate your unfailing kindness and to build up Christ’s body, the Church, by generously handing on to others the gifts we have received from your bounty. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. (ICEL; 1998)

Offertory Antiphon

Offertory Motet (Thomas Tallis)

 

O sacrum convivium! in quo Christus sumitur: recolitur memoria passionis eius: mens impletur gratia: et futurae gloriae nobis pignus datur.

O sacred banquet! in which Christ is received, the memory of his Passion is renewed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory to us is given.

Communion Antiphon

 

Closing Hymn

Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness,
leave the gloomy haunts of sadness;
come into the daylight's splendour,
there with joy thy praises render
unto him whose grace unbounded
hath this wondrous banquet founded:
high o'er all the heavens he reigneth,
yet to dwell with thee he deigneth.

Now I sink before thee lowly,
filled with joy most deep and holy,
as with trembling awe and wonder
on thy mighty works I ponder:
how, by mystery surrounded,
depth no mortal ever sounded,
none may dare to pierce unbidden
secrets that with thee are hidden.

Sun, who all my life dost brighten,
light, who dost my soul enlighten,
joy, the sweetest heart e'er knoweth,
fount, whence all my being floweth,
at thy feet I cry, my Maker,
let me be a fit partaker
of this blessed food from heaven,
for our good, thy glory, given.

Jesus, Bread of Life, I pray thee,
let me gladly here obey thee;
never to my hurt invited,
be thy love with love requited:
from this banquet let me measure,
Lord, how vast and deep its treasure;
through the gifts thou here dost give me,
as thy guest in heaven receive me.