On its Titular Feast the parish of Corpus Christi in Willingboro, NJ held a Corpus Christi procession at 4pm on Saturday, June 1, 2013
The Feast of Corpus Christi, or the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (as it is often called today), goes back to the 13th century, but it celebrates something far older: the institution of the Sacrament of Holy Communion at the Last Supper. While Holy Thursday is also a celebration of this mystery, the solemn nature of Holy Week, and the focus on Christ's Passion on Good Friday, overshadows that aspect of Holy Thursday.
In 1246, Bishop Robert de Thorete of the Belgina diocese of Liège, at the suggestion of St. Juliana of Mont Cornillon (also in Belgium), convened a synod and instituted the celebration of the feast. From Liège, the celebration began to spread, and, on September 8, 1264, Pope Urban IV issued the papal bull "Transiturus," which established the Feast of Corpus Christi as a universal feast of the Church, to be celebrated on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday.
At the request of Pope Urban IV, St. Thomas Aquinas composed the office (the official prayers of the Church) for the feast. This office is widely considered one of the most beautiful in the traditional Roman Breviary (the official prayer book of the Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours), and it is the source of the famous Eucharistic hymns " Pange Lingua Gloriosi" and " Tantum Ergo Sacramentum."
Pange Lingua Gloriosi Corporis Mysterium is a hymn written by St Thomas Aquinas (1225--1274) for the Feast of
Corpus Christi . It is also sung on Maundy Thursday.
Pange Lingua
Sing, my tongue, the Savior's glory,
of His flesh the mystery sing;
of the 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 that Last Supper,
seated with His chosen band,
He the Pascal victim eating,
first fulfills the Law's command;
then as Food to His Apostles
gives Himself with His own hand.
Word-made-Flesh, the bread of nature
by His word 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.
Tantum Ergo is the last two stanzas from the Eucharistic Hymn (Pange Lingua) composed by St. Thomas Aquinas and is used at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The response and the prayer at the end is a later addition used at Benediction. A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who recite it and a plenary indulgence is granted to those who recite it on Holy Thursday or Corpus Christi.
Latin
Tantum ergo Sacramentum
Veneremur cernui:
Et antiquum documentum
Novo cedat ritui:
Praestet fides supplementum
Sensuum defectui.
Genitori, Genitoque
Laus et iubilatio,
Salus, honor, virtus quoque
Sit et benedictio:
Procedenti ab utroque
Compar sit laudatio.
Listen to it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADtCymPUlv4
For centuries after the celebration was extended to the universal Church, the feast was also celebrated with a eucharistic procession, in which the Sacred Host was carried throughout the town, accompanied by hymns and litanies. The faithful would venerate the Body of Christ as the procession passed by. In recent years, this practice has almost disappeared, though some parishes still hold a brief procession around the outside of the parish church.
While the Feast of Corpus Christi is one of the ten Holy Days of Obligation in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, in some countries, including the United States, the feast has been transferred to the following Sunday, or in this case the Saturday evening vigil.
Parishoners braved the 95 degree heat wave to walk the hour around the block surrounding the parish property.
The deacon was heard to say after the procession that "it was the most beautiful event he had ever seen at Corpus Christi"
Cars stopped.
Pange Lingua Gloriosi Corporis Mysterium
This beautiful version regrettably leaves out the second verse.
The recording is from the CD illuminations, compiled by Dan Gibson.
Pope John Paul II declared October 2004 through October 2005 as the "Year of the Eucharist." In his Apostolic Letter Mane nobiscum Domine he urged for the procession on Corpus Christi: "This year let us also celebrate with particular devotion the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, with its traditional procession. Our faith in the God who took flesh in order to become our companion along the way needs to be everywhere proclaimed, especially in our streets and homes, as an expression of our grateful love and as an inexhaustible source of blessings."
Passing the rectory offices.
Arriving at the first altar.
a "St Joseph"-like husband carries his wife's purse!
The women who offered their home for the first altar.
Little children on bikes gathered.
So much devotion.
Fr Alberto Tamayo
St. Juliana, a young Belgian nun in Retinne in the thirteenth century, while in prayer received the
inspiration for a feast that celebrates and promotes the gift of the Real Presence of Christ in the
Holy Eucharist, and from that moment, the Feast of Corpus Christi spread throughout the
province, continent, and world.
Protecting the people crossing the street
The second altar stop.
The lady of the house.
We adore you, O Christ
And we praise you
Because by your holy cross
You have redeemed the world!
The day before his death on the Cross, Christ
instituted the Eucharist in the Upper Room. He also offered bread and wine,
which "in his sacred hands" (Roman Canon) became his Body and his
Blood, offered in sacrifice. Thus he fulfilled the prophecy of the old covenant
linked to Melchizedek's sacrificial offering. For this very reason—the Letter
to the Hebrews recalls—"he became the source of eternal salvation to all
who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of
Melchizedek" (5:7-10).
A basketball game stopped in awe. One man thought the Pope was here!
| Novena Honoring the Body and Blood of Christ I thank You, Jesus, my Divine Redeemer, for coming upon the earth for our sake, and for instituting the adorable Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist in order to remain with us until the end of the world. I thank You for hiding beneath the Eucharistic species Your infinite majesty and beauty, which Your Angels delight to behold, so that I might have courage to approach the throne of Your Mercy. I thank You, most loving Jesus, for having made Your- self my food, and for uniting me to Yourself with so much love in this wonderful Sacrament that I may live in You. I thank You, my Jesus, for giving Yourself to me in this Blessed Sacrament, and so enriching it with the treasures of Your love that You have no greater gift to give me. I thank You not only for becoming my food but also for offering Yourself as a continual sacrifice to Your Eternal Father for my salvation. I thank You, Divine Priest, for offering Yourself as a Sacrifice daily upon our altars in adoration and homage to the Most Blessed Trinity, and for making amends for our poor and miserable adorations. I thank You for renewing in this daily Sacrifice the actual Sacrifice of the Cross offered on Calvary, in which You satisfy Divine justice for us poor sinners. I thank You, dear Jesus, for having become the priceless Victim to merit for me the fullness of heavenly favors. Awaken in me such confidence in You that their fullness may descend ever more fruitfully upon my soul. I thank You for offering Yourself in thanksgiving to God for all His benefits, spiritual and temporal, which He has bestowed upon me. In union with Your offering of Yourself to Your Father in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, I ask for this special favor: (Mention your request). If it be Your holy Will, grant my request. Through You I also hope to receive the grace of perseverance in Your love and faithful service, a holy death, and a happy eternity with You in Heaven. Amen. |
O Lord, You have given us this 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 is given to us.
You have given them bread from Heaven.
Having all sweetness within.
Let us pray. God our Father, for Your glory and our salvation You appointed Jesus Christ eternal High Priest. May the people He gained for You by His Blood come to share in the power of His Cross and Resurrection by celebrating His Memorial in this Eucharist, for He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever.Amen.
O Jesus, since You have left us a remembrance of Your Passion beneath the veils of this Sacrament, grant us, we pray, so to venerate the sacred mysteries of Your Body and Blood that we may always enjoy the fruits of Your Redemption, for You live and reign forever.Amen.
A man stopped mowing the lawn to take photographs.
He waited till the procession was over to continue mowing the lawn.
Processing in for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
PLENARY INDULGENCE is granted to those who devoutly visit the parochial church either on its titular feast or on the 2nd of August when the indulgence of the "Portiuncula" occurs. In visiting the church IT IS REQUIRED that one Our Father and the Creed be recited. Both indulgences can be acquired either on the day designated above or on some other day designated by the Ordinary (bishop) for the benefit of the faithful.
"An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints." (1983 Catechism ¶ 1471)
To order copies of this series of photos on a CD send $15.00 money order or certified check to:
Maria Dolan, P.O. Box 221, Allenwood, NJ 08720
No comments:
Post a Comment