THE MEDITATION THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY SUNDAY A.D. 2014

THE FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI

“Thou Gavest them Bread from Heaven : Containing in Itself all sweetness”

The Holy Gospel According to St. John; Chapter 6, Verses 55 - 58 The People's Anglican Missal; Pages C52 - C55

Saint Joseph Continuous Sunday Missal ( 1958 Ed.); Page 644

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Sunday, June 22nd

, is appointed as The First Sunday After Trinity Sunday in the Kalendar. The

feast of Corpus Christi having been celebrated on Thursday previous ( June 19th

). I would be

remiss if our weekly Meditation did not offer some thoughts on this most important feast in the Holy

Catholic Church, where we are in the Octave of Corpus Christi so, this Sunday we're jumping over

Trinity I, and taking an inward look at the importance of this Feast of THE COMMEMORATION

OF THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, commonly called

CORPUS CHRISTI. The texts for this feast are listed as usual on the first page of the Meditation,

so you can follow. - Fr. k.l.l. +

Gospel Summary: Jesus tells the Jews that He will give the world His flesh to eat and His blood

to drink.

O SACRED BANQUET

Mankind's bodily hungers and thirsts reveal to him the thirsts and hungers of his spirit. It's an

absolute fact that man's body requires food to sustain him, without food, he dies. He eats and is filled,

but his satisfaction is only momentary, soon, he's hungry again. This is true of the body and its need

for food. It is all the more true of the heart of man, i.e.; the soul.

Mankind thirsts for food that will keep its longing heart forever satisfied. Our Lord puts it so well

in the sixth chapter of St. John's Gospel from which our meditation is taken: “ Labor not for the meat

which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give

unto you.” ( St. John; Chap. 6, Vs. 27 ).

We recognize our basic needs. The psalmist puts these words in our mouths today in our liturgy:

“The eyes of all wait upon Thee, O Lord ; and thou gavest them their meat in due season. Thou openest

thine hand : and fillest all things living with plenteousness.” ( Psalm 145, the Gradual Psalm). We put

our hope in Christ. Body and soul we hope in Him . . . and He does not, nor will not fail us. “I am the

bread of life : he that cometh to me shall never hunger ; and he that believeth in me shall never thirst . .

. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.” - ( Jn. Ch. 6, Vss 35 & 55).

Jesus is speaking to the Jews in this account, but His promise is fulfilled in and for ALL of us. He

gives Himself to us to satisfy all of our deepest hungers. Christ is the “Living Bread” that we need “ or

else we die”. O Sacrum convivium ! . . . O Sacred Banquet!

We take ordinary food into our bodies and it is assimilated into our various systems so that they can

continue to function and we as a whole can keep on living. We grow and mature eating ordinary food.

There is an opposite effect in Christ, through His Most Precious Body and Blood Christ assimilates us

to Himself ! We are made one with Him according to His very own words: “He that eateth my Flesh,

and drinketh my Blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” But wait, we are still ourselves even though we

are one with Christ in this holy Sacrament. How could we love Him as human beings if we didn't retain

our individual personalities? Feeding us, as He does, Jesus helps us to be more ourselves than ever . . .

more complete and full human beings. Our Savior has such mystical love for us!

WHO EATS THIS BREAD

O Lord, we are still ourselves . . . and that, perhaps is the difficulty. We are people who are free to

think and to love and to chose, but we are also people who are free to grow cold and lax and forgetful

and blind to the realities of the spirit. You tell us that when we receive Holy Communion, You abide

within us, and we in You. You who are God. You truly dwell in us! You are more one with us than a

husband is one with his wife or a mother with the child she carries in her womb but we are so busy

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thinking about other things and going about our over-burdened lives that this fact leaves us often cold

and apathetic. So we go on longing, hungering, and desiring; all the while forgetting that we are in the

midst of plenty.

Blessed Lord Jesus, much as we need to receive your Sacred Flesh and to drink of your Most

Precious Blood, just as much and more do we need this great celebration of Corpus Christi, with all of

its praise and joyous gratitude, to sharpen our thirst and stimulate our hearty and sincerest thanks.

We need this feast to help us to see and know what You have wanted to do in and for us. We need it

to remind us, above all, that communion with You is communion with You as the divine Victim of

Calvary. We proclaim your death , as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, until You return at

the end of time.

We abide in You when we eat your flesh . . . You, the Victim. We are thus one with You in Your

offering of Yourself to the Father, in your praise and worship of the Father. We become a part of Your

holy obedience to His Holy will, and of Your surrender of self for all mankind and for the love of all

mankind. Blessed Lord, this sounds so lofty . . . so theoretical . . . but it is what can happen.

There has to be a deep change within us. We are perplexed, we are unsure, we are so often fallen in

our faith. Lord Jesus, You can help us change. If You can change simple bread and wine into Your

Body and Blood, You can also change every one of us into persons who sees as never before that You

are the only answer to all hunger and all desires and who freely, lovingly wills the change that You so

desire. “ Most merciful Lord, we beseech thee, that whereas we have rebelled and done evil against

thee, we may, by thy grace be conformed into thy will.” - ( from the Secret Prayer for the 5th

Sunday

After Trinity).

Prayer for the day: MY FLESH IS MEAT INDEED.

Prayer for the Week:

What shall I give Thee for all these thousands of benefits ?

I would I could serve Thee all the days of my life ! -Thomas A Kempis

4.

FEASTS, FASTS, and OTHER THINGS

FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI

On Maundy Thursday, the day which the Church commemorates the institution of the Holy

Eucharist, it is impossible to honor the Blessed Sacrament with appropriate solemn and joyful rites.

Such a festival is precluded by the sad and sorrowful memories of the day – the betrayal of Judas,

Christ's agony and arrest, Peter's denial – and also by the fact the other prescribed ceremonies are

already occupying the time of clergy and the faithful on Holy Thursday.

It was a humble nun in Belgium, Saint Juliana ( 1258), the Prioress of Mont Cornillion, who first

suggested and advocated a special feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrament to be celebrated on a day

other than Maundy Thursday. From her 16th

year she had often in her prayers beheld a strange sight: it

was as if the full moon had appeared to her in a brilliant light, while part of its disc remained black and

lightless. Finally, in a vision, Christ showed her the meaning of this picture. The moon represented the

eccelesiastical year; the black spot indicated the lack of a festival in honor of the Blessed Sacrament.

She was to announce to the authorities of the Church that God wished such a feast to be established.

Juliana, in 1230, communicated her secret to a small group of learned theologians. She had to suffer

scorn and ridicule for some years as her message became publicaly known, but the bishop of her

diocese of Liege and some of his canons eventually lent their support to her appeals. A diocesan synod

in 1246 decided in her favor and prescribed such a feast for the churches of Liege.

Was it mere coincidence that one of the men who had supported her efforts in Belgium later became

pope ? … of course not, for in faith there are no coincidences! This was Jacques Pantaleon,

Archdeacon of Liege. He assumed the name of Urban IV ( 1261-1265), upon his election to the papal

office. Six years after Juliana's death, on September 6, 1264, he established for the whole Church that

festival in honor of the Holy Eucharist which the saintly nun had proclaimed to be willed by God. It

was to be celebrated with great solemnity on the Thursday after Pentecost week, and indulgences were

granted to all who would receive Holy Communion or attend special devotions in addition to attending

Mass.

Urban IV commissioned the great Dominican scholar Saint Thomas Aquinas to compose the texts

of the Mass and the Divine Office for the new feast. The splendor, depth, and devotion of the prayers

and hymns that St. Thomas wrote have enriched the liturgy with one of its most beautiful rituals. They

are still in use today, and admired and appreciated by people of all faiths.

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The official title of the feast is in the Roman Church: Festum Sanctissimi Corporis Christi, (Feast

of the Most Holy Body of Christ). It is called: Tou Somatos Tou Kyriou Heorte, ( Feast of the Body

of the Lord) in Greek. The English Church calls it The Feast of the Commemoration of the Most

Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, Commonly Called Corpus Christi. This feast is

celebrated on the Thursday after the Second Sunday after Trinity Sunday, as mentioned,but in small

parishes, it is transferred to The First Sunday After Trinity ( which is the second Sunday after Trinity

Sunday)

Corpus Christi Processions

A Corpus Christi Procession - from a 15

th cent. Illuminated manuscript.

Very early in the fourteenth century the custom developed of carrying the Blessed Sacrament in a

splendid procession through the town after Mass on Corpus Christi Day. This was encouraged by the

popes, some of whom granted special indulgences and dispensations to all participants. The Council of

Trent ( 1545-1563) solemnly approved and recommended a profession of the Catholic faith in the real

presence of Christ in the Holy Sacrament.

These processions developed into splendid pageants of devotion and honor to the Blessed

Sacrament during the later Middle Ages. They are still publicly held, and often still in ancient splendor,

in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, and in the Catholic sections of Germany,

Holland, and Switzerland. Processions are extremely popular in South America, and in French Canada,

and parts of the USA. In England, such processions are usually confined to the parish level, specifically

in Anglo-Catholic parishes. In the Middle Ages, these processions were attended by sovereigns and

princes, ministers, knights in their finest armor, and members of trade and craft guilds with their

colorful banners flowing, and honor guards from the armed forces … all accompanying the liturgical

procession, while church bells peal, bands play sacred hymns, and the faithful kneel in front of their

homes to adore the Eucharistic Lord. This must have been such a moving sight!

The Day of Wreaths – Corpus Christi Day is called “The Day of Wreaths”in central Europe and also

in France. Huge bouquets of flowers are borne on the top of wooden poles during the processions.

Wreaths and bouquets of exquisite flowers in various colors are attached to flags and banners, to

houses, and arches of green boughs span the streets. The clergy and altar boys wear little wreaths on

their left arms in the procession and girls wear wreaths on their heads like crowns. Even the

monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament is adorned with a wreath of choice flowers on Corpus

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Christi Day in some places. The wreaths are all taken home and decorated inside and outside after the

festivities are over . . . some are put on fences and in gardens along with a prayer for the protection and

blessings upon the growing harvest.

Corpus Christi in America - The Feast of Corpus Christi came to the New World in the sixteenth and

seventeenth centuries, with the usual solemn observances by Catholic missionaries and their native

converts in Florida, California, Texas, and New Mexico. French missionaries did likewise in New

France (today Canada & the great Lakes region) in time, this feast, along with the Catholic faith would

spread south as French settlers began to immigrate to the Northeast section of what became the United

States. The Spanish Franciscans named a bay in the Gulf of Mexico “Corpus Christi Bay”. Later, the

little town that was founded on the shore of that bay was given the same name- Corpus Christi, Texas.

The little town grew into what is today one of the major seaports in the Gulf of Mexico. Our own

Father Prior, who as an officer in the Merchant Marine (many years ago), docked in that port more

times than he can count, tells us that it is one of the nicer places for a merchant ship to go...except when

a hurricane is headed that way!

The capital of the State of California, in a similar way, was named Sacramento after the river on

which it is situated, which also had been named by the missionaries in honor of the Holy Eucharist. We

must conclude,when we pause for a moment, and think about the conditions those missionaries faced in

their efforts to plant the Faith in the New World, that their spirits must have relied most heavily upon

the frequent reception of the Holy Eucharist to sustain them, by having Christ always so close to them.

Ave Verum Corpus ! Hail the True Body !

And now, dear friends a photo from: 'Br. Chip's Trip!

During his trip away from the Priory last week to give a university commencement address, Br. Chip stepped off

campus for a quick romp and a coffee. When he returned he wasn't expecting this . . . !

Don't worry, Kitty was friendly . . . she just wasn't expecting a visit from a “ ninja chipmonk ” !

- photo courtesy of Br. Raymond

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The Meditation is produced by the Benedictine Community of

Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Priory

4 Shaw Road

Raymond, Maine 04071

This is a free on-line ministry of our community to anyone who wishes to receive it. Please feel free to

copy and pass on this meditation to anyone you feel might benefit from it. To be placed on our weekly

mailing list, please contact Father Prior Kevin at : klamarre@ourladyofsevensorrows.org

Visit our Website for previous editions of The Meditation at: www.ourladyofsevensorrows.org

SUNDAY Public MASS with the Office of TERCE: 9:00 a.m.

(The Chapel is located on the second floor of the garage building. Please enter by left side door and

go up the stairs. Please keep silence upon entering the building. )

Also, Please Note: There are no Public Rest Room facilities at the Priory, please plan accordingly.

PRIORY KALENDAR

A.D. 2014 Week of June 22

nd to June 29

th

Sunday, June 22nd

- First Sunday After Trinity - Comm. St. Alban, Myr. -( 4th

cent.) In Oct. of C.C.

Monday, June 23rd

. . St. Etheldreda, V. ( 7th cent.) Northumbria, England . . . In the Octave of C.C.

Tuesday, June 24th

. . .The Nativity of St. John the Baptist . . . In the Octave.

Wednesday, June 25th

. . . St. William, Ab. O.S.B. Mont. Virgine, Italy ( 11th cent.) . . . In the Octave.

Thursday, June 26th

. . . Octave Day of C.C.

Friday, June 27th

. . . THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS . . .Comm. St. John Fisher ( Note 1.

) Saturday, June 28

th . . . St. Irenaeus, Bp. & Myr. - ( 3

rd cent.)

Sunday, June 29th

. . Sts. Peter & Paul, Apostles& Myr. -( 1st cent.) -Comm. Second Sunday After Trinity

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KALENDAR KEY: Ab. = Abbot, Abs. = Abbess, Ap = Apostle, Bp. = Bishop, C. or Conf. =

Confessor, Comm. = Commemorate. Dcn. = Deacon, Doct. = Doctor of the Church, Ev. =

Evangelist, K = King, M. = Monk, Myr. = Martyr, N. = Nun, P= Priest Po. = Pope, Q. = Queen,

Vir. = Virgin, O.S.B. = Order of St. Benedict. O.C.O. = Order of the Cistercian Observance

(Trappists), A = Abstinence, F = Fast, F & A = Fast and Abstinence

NOTES

Note 1. The feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is always held on the the Friday after the Second

Sunday After Pentecost. This feast is the culmination of devotions that began in 17th

century France and

spread throughout Christendom in honor of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. From this feast,

came “First Friday Devotions” in which the first Friday of each month ( providing that it was not a

special feast-day) was dedicated to the Sacred Heart and votive Masses and special prayers offered in

parish churches and homes of the faithful. Many Roman Catholic Parishes have been named in honor

of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is also a very popular devotion in Anglo-Catholic parishes.

St. John Fisher - Cardinal-Priest & theologian ( d.1535), along with St. Thomas More; lawyer,

philosopher, & statesman ( d. 1532), are honored on this day. Fisher was executed by order of Henry

VIII of England for upholding Papal Supremacy and his refusal to accept Henry as Supreme head of

the Church of England, as was Thomas More. It was said that Henry was very reluctant to have

executed two such able and otherwise loyal servants, but was urged by his henchman, Thomas

Cromwell to do so.

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