Feast of Corpus Christi
by VP
Posted on Thursday June 20, 2019 at 12:00AM in Prayers
St. Thomas of Aquinas Hymn:
Praise, O Sion, thy Savior,
praise thy Leader and thy Shepherd
in hymns and canticles.
As much as thou canst, so much darest thou,
for He is above all praise,
nor art thou able to praise Him enough.
Today there is given us a special theme of praise,
the Bread both living and life-giving,
which, it is not to be doubted,
was given to the assembly of the brethren,
twelve in number, at the table of the holy Supper.
Let our praise be full and sounding;
let the jubilation of the soul
be joyous and becoming;
for that solemn day is now being celebrated,
on which is commemorated the
first institution of this table.
At this table of the new King,
the new Pasch of the New Law
puts an end to the ancient Pasch.
The new supplants the old,
truth puts to flight the shadow,
day banishes night.
What Christ did at that Supper,
the same He commanded
to be done in remembrance of Him.
Taught by His sacred precepts,
we consecrate bread and wine
into the Victim of salvation.
This is the dogma given to Christians,
thy at bread is changed into Flesh
and wine into Blood.
What thou dost not understand,
what thou dost not see, a lively faith confirms
in a supernatural manner.
Under different species in externals
signs only, and not in reality,
wondrous substances lie hidden.
Flesh is food, Blood is drink:
nevertheless Christ remains entire
under each species.
By the recipient the whole is received;
He is neither cut, broken, nor divided.
One receives Him; a thousand receive Him:
as much as the thousand receive,
so much does the one receive;
though eaten He is not diminished.
The good receive Him, the bad receive Him,
but with what unequal consequences
of life or death.
It is death to the unworthy, life to the worthy:
behold then of a like reception,
how unlike may be the result!
When the Sacrament is broken,
doubt not, but remember,
that there is just as much hidden in a fragment,
as there is in the whole.
There is no division of the substance,
only a breaking of the species takes place,
by which neither the state nor stature
of the substance signified is diminished.
Lo, the Bread of Angels
is made the food of earthly
pilgrims: truly it is the Bread of children,
let it not be cast to dogs.
It was prefigured in types,
—when Isaac was immolated,
when the Paschal Lamb was sacrificed,
when Manna was given to the fathers.
O Good Shepherd, True Bread,
O Jesus, have mercy
on us: feed us and protect us:
make us see good things in
the land of the living.
Thou who knowest all things
and canst do all things,
who here feedest us mortals,
make us there be Thy guests, the co-heirs,
and companions of the heavenly citizens.
Amen.
praise thy Leader and thy Shepherd
in hymns and canticles.
As much as thou canst, so much darest thou,
for He is above all praise,
nor art thou able to praise Him enough.
Today there is given us a special theme of praise,
the Bread both living and life-giving,
which, it is not to be doubted,
was given to the assembly of the brethren,
twelve in number, at the table of the holy Supper.
Let our praise be full and sounding;
let the jubilation of the soul
be joyous and becoming;
for that solemn day is now being celebrated,
on which is commemorated the
first institution of this table.
At this table of the new King,
the new Pasch of the New Law
puts an end to the ancient Pasch.
The new supplants the old,
truth puts to flight the shadow,
day banishes night.
What Christ did at that Supper,
the same He commanded
to be done in remembrance of Him.
Taught by His sacred precepts,
we consecrate bread and wine
into the Victim of salvation.
This is the dogma given to Christians,
thy at bread is changed into Flesh
and wine into Blood.
What thou dost not understand,
what thou dost not see, a lively faith confirms
in a supernatural manner.
Under different species in externals
signs only, and not in reality,
wondrous substances lie hidden.
Flesh is food, Blood is drink:
nevertheless Christ remains entire
under each species.
By the recipient the whole is received;
He is neither cut, broken, nor divided.
One receives Him; a thousand receive Him:
as much as the thousand receive,
so much does the one receive;
though eaten He is not diminished.
The good receive Him, the bad receive Him,
but with what unequal consequences
of life or death.
It is death to the unworthy, life to the worthy:
behold then of a like reception,
how unlike may be the result!
When the Sacrament is broken,
doubt not, but remember,
that there is just as much hidden in a fragment,
as there is in the whole.
There is no division of the substance,
only a breaking of the species takes place,
by which neither the state nor stature
of the substance signified is diminished.
Lo, the Bread of Angels
is made the food of earthly
pilgrims: truly it is the Bread of children,
let it not be cast to dogs.
It was prefigured in types,
—when Isaac was immolated,
when the Paschal Lamb was sacrificed,
when Manna was given to the fathers.
O Good Shepherd, True Bread,
O Jesus, have mercy
on us: feed us and protect us:
make us see good things in
the land of the living.
Thou who knowest all things
and canst do all things,
who here feedest us mortals,
make us there be Thy guests, the co-heirs,
and companions of the heavenly citizens.
Amen.
