Corpus Christi: my pastor's homily

My pastor, Fr. Bob, gave an excellent pastoral homily today on several of the Church's (perhaps not-too-well-known) teachings concerning the Holy Eucharist. He started his homily by mentioning an encounter he had had a few weeks ago: an Episcopalian came up to him after Mass and said how happy he was to have been able to receive Communion in a Catholic church. My pastor was not going to press the issue, but the man kept speaking about other "changes" he was happy the Catholic Church had made, so my pastor felt he had to correct the man.

My pastor's homily was about the Church's teaching on who can receive Communion and what the proper preparation for receiving the Blessed Sacrament is. He mentioned fasting, prayer, reception of the sacrament of Reconciliation if necessary, and even the reading of Scripture (if not at least paying attention to what is proclaimed in the Liturgy of the Word).^* He also reminded us of Who the Eucharist is, how it is the center of our lives, the greatest gift we have received and the greatest gift we can offer back to the Father.

Please join me in offering a prayer of thanksgiving to God for my pastor, especially for the wonderful homily he gave his people this morning. (I hope he gives the homily at every Mass this weekend — a visiting priest usually says one of the four Masses each weekend.)

On a related note, the Prayer of the Faithful today was also wonderful. The intentions included prayers for the reverent celebration of the liturgy, for the lives of believers in Christ to be a witness to the world, for proper reverence and respect to be shown to the Most Holy Eucharist, for an increase of God's grace to those who live in places where the Mass cannot be celebrated often, and for the Lord to call to the priesthood more men by whose hands the Eucharist will come to us.

(And I got a compliment from a parishioner after Mass for my service: I was the reader today, and I did my best — the Spirit did the rest! — to proclaim the Scriptures clearly so that the congregation would understand their relation to this great feast day of the Church.)

Other homilies for Corpus Christi:

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, O.P.
Fr. Martin Fox
Fr. Daren J. Zehnle
Excerpts from Pope Benedict XVI

^* Fasting, prayer, penance, and Scripture are the four "preparations" I mention in my book, Praying the Mass: The Prayers of the People. I'd say I got it right, then! :)

Propers for the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

On the universal calendar, this Thursday is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (formerly known as Corpus Christi). In the US, this solemnity is transferred to the following Sunday.

Here are the proper prayers in Latin, and my attempts at translating them:

Collecta
Deus, qui nobis sub sacraménto mirábili passiónis tuae memóriam reliquísti,
tríbue, quaesumus,
ita nos Córporis et Sánguinis tui sacra mystéria venerári,
ut redemptiónis tuae fructum in nobis iúgiter sentiámus.

O God, Who bequeathed to us the memorial of Your Passion under this wonderful Sacrament,
grant to us, we beseech You,
so to venerate the sacred mysteries of Your Body and Blood,
that we may unceasingly perceive within us the fruit of Your redemption.

Super oblata
Ecclésiae tuae, quaesumus, Dómine,
unitátis et pacis propítius dona concéde,
quae sub oblátis munéribus mystice designántur.

Graciously bestow to Your Church,
we pray, Lord, the gifts of unity and peace,
which are mystically signified under the gifts offered here.

Post communionem
Fac nos, quaesumus, Dómine,
divinitátis tuae sempitérna fruitióne repléri,
quam pretiósi Córporis et Sánguinis tui temporális percéptio praefigúrat.

Cause us, we beg you, Lord,
to be filled with eternal enjoyment of Your divinity,
which the present reception of Your Precious Body and Blood prefigures.

(Note in the Post-Communion prayer the characteristic future-present juxtaposition.)

Pope Urban IV, Transiturus de hoc mundo (translation)

I'm compiling my resources on Eucharistic Adoration into a book (surprise, surprise). In doing so, I'm expanding the amount of information that I had in my notes and my presentation. To that end, I've decided to translate the fragments of Pope Urban IV's bull Transiturus de hoc mundo from August 11, 1264, with which he established the Feast of Corpus Christi.

The Latin text (below my translation) can be found in Denzinger 846-847.

Indeed, with regard to this sacrament, He said to the Apostles, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19), that the especial, unique, and manifest memorial of His most excellent love, with which He loved us, might be for us this supreme and august sacrament. Miraculous is the memorial ... in which the sign is renewed and the wonderful things are transformed, in which is contained all delight, in which certainly we obtain support of life and salvation. This is the saving memorial, in which we bring to mind the dear memory of our redemption, in which we are brought back from evil and built up in goodness, and attain an increase of virtues and graces, in which we most certainly approach the bodily presence of the Savior Himself.

Note, on the one hand how we are gathered together in spirit and mind with those others whose memory we celebrate, but we do not obtain thereby their real presence. [But] in this sacramental commemoration of Christ, Jesus Christ is truly present, albeit under another form, He is truly with us in His very own substance. Indeed, as He was about to ascend into Heaven, He said to the Apostles and to their followers: “Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (Matt. 28:20), comforting them by the gracious promise, that He would abide and be with them even in his bodily presence.

Transcending every fullness of bounty, exceeding all manner of love, He provides himself in this meal. O singular and admirable, O unique and extraordinary gift, whereby the Giver comes as gift, and the very same is given with the Giver inside. Therefore, He gives to us himself as sustenance, that, because man had been overcome by death [by food in Eden], even so He might be raised to life by food. A taste [of the food in Eden] mortally wounded man, and a taste [of this food] cured him. See this: because, whence the wound was sprung [from a tree (in the garden)], so came the cure [from a tree (the cross)], and whence death crept in, thence life came forth. Of the former tasting it is written accordingly: “In whatsoever day you eat [of it], you shall die to the death” (Gen. 2:17); of the latter [tasting], it reads truly: “If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever.” (John 6:52)

Such an appropriate gift and fitting work of the Holy Spirit came forth, that the Eternal Word of God, who is the food and refreshment of [us] rational creatures, was made flesh, that He may be given as food for a rational creature, for flesh and body, that is, for man. This bread is received [as food], but it is not truly “devoured;” it is eaten, but it is not changed, because in the eating it is not transformed at all, but, if it is received worthily, the one who receives it is conformed to Him.

In institutione quidem huius sacramenti dixit ipse Apostolis: 'Hoc facite in meam commemorationem' (Lc 22, 19), ut praecipuum et insigne memoriale sui amoris eximii, quo nos dilexit, esset nobis hoc praecelsum et venerabile sacramentum. Memoriale, inquam, mirabile ..., in quo innovata sunt signa et mirabilia immutata, in quo habetur omne delectamentum ..., in quo utique vitae suffragium consequimur et salutis. Hoc est memoriale ... salvificum, in quo gratam redemptionis nostrae recensemus memoriam, in quo a malo retrahimur et in bono confortamur et ad virtutum et gratiarum proficimus incrementa, in quo profecto proficimus ipsius corporali praesentia Salvatoris.

Alia namque, quorum memoriam agimus, spiritu menteque complectimur, sed non propter hoc realem eorum praesentiam obtinemus. In hac vero sacramentali Christi commemoratione Iesus Christus praesens sub alia quidem forma, in propria vero substantia est nobiscum. Adscensurus enim in caelum dixit Apostolis et eorum sequacibus: 'Ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi' (Mt 28,20), benigna ipsos promissione confortans, quod remaneret et esset cum eis etiam praesentia corporali.

Transcendens omnem plenitudinem largitatis, omnem modum dilectionis excedens, attribuit se in cibum. O singularis et admiranda liberalitas, ubi donator venit in donum, et datum est idem penitus cum datore! ... Dedit igitur nobis se in pabulum, ut, quia per mortem homo corruerat, et per cibum relevaretur ad vitam. ... Gustus sauciavit, et gustus sanavit. Vide, quia, unde vulnus est ortum, prodiit et medela, et, unde mors subiit, exinde vita evenit. De illo siquidem gustu dicitur: 'Quacumque die comederis, morte morieris' (Gen 2, 17); de isto vero legitur: 'Si quis comederit ex hoc pane, vivet in aeternum' (Jo 6, 52). ...

Decens quoque liberalitas exstitit et conveniens operatio, ut Verbum Dei aeternum, quod rationabilis creaturae cibus est et refectio, factum caro, se rationabili creaturae carni et corpori, homini videlicet, in edulium largiretur. ... Hic panis sumitur, sed vere non consumitur; manducatur, sed non transmutatur, quia in edentem minime transformatur, sed, si digne recipitur, sibi recipiens conformatur.

Corpus Christi Mass in Rome - Communion on the Tongue, Kneeling

The Holy Father celebrated the Solemnity of Corpus Christi (which is traditionally observed on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, although here in the States it has been transferred to the following Sunday) in Rome today.

During the reception of Holy Communion by the faithful, a kneeler was placed at the foot of the sanctuary, and those receiving from the hands of the Holy Father received on the tongue, kneeling!