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Here’s the detail concerning the aforesaid Eucharistic Miracle, where Jesus Christ manifested to all His real and physical presence in the Holy Eucharist. As promised, He is the Living Bread that comes down from heaven to feed us.
10 June 2012
Corpus Christi
This year, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Corpus Christi on 10 June.
The Feast of Corpus Christi (Latin for Body of Christ) is a Latin Rite liturgical solemnity celebrating the tradition and belief in the body and blood of Jesus Christ and his Real Presence in the Eucharist. It emphasizes the joy of the institution of the Eucharist, which was observed on Holy Thursday before Good Friday.
In the present Roman Missal, the feast is designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. It is also celebrated in all the Catholic Churches, some Anglican & Lutheran Churches who hold the factual beliefs regarding the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
The feast is liturgically celebrated either on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday or, "where the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is not a Holy Day of Obligation, it is assigned to the Sunday after the Most Holy Trinity as its proper day" (i.e. the 9th Sunday after Easter Sunday). At the end of Holy Mass, there is often a procession of the Blessed Sacrament, generally displayed in a monstrance. The procession is followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
A notable Eucharistic procession is that presided over by the Pope each year in Rome, where it begins at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran and makes its way to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where it concludes with Benediction.
History
The appearance of Corpus Christi as a feast in the Christian calendar was primarily due to the petitions of the thirteenth-century Augustinian nun Juliana of Liège. From her early youth, Juliana had a veneration for the Blessed Sacrament, and always longed for a special feast in its honour. This desire is said to have been increased by a vision of the Church under the appearance of the full moon having one dark spot, which signified the absence of such a solemnity.
In 1208 she reported her first vision of Christ in which she was instructed to plead for the institution of the feast of Corpus Christi. The vision was repeated for the next 20 years but she kept it a secret. When she eventually relayed it to her confessor, he relayed it to the bishop.
Juliana also petitioned the learned Dominican Hugh of St-Cher, Jacques Pantaléon (Archdeacon of Liège who later became Pope Urban IV) and Robert de Thorete, Bishop of Liège. At that time bishops could order feasts in their dioceses, so in 1246 Bishop Robert convened a synod and ordered a celebration of Corpus Christi to be held each year thereafter.
The celebration of Corpus Christi became widespread only after both St. Juliana and Bishop Robert de Thorete had died. In 1263 Pope Urban IV investigated claims of a Eucharistic miracle of a bleeding consecrated host at Bolsena. In 1264 he issued the papal bull Transiturus de hoc mundo in which Corpus Christi was made a feast throughout the entire Latin Rite. This was the very first papally sanctioned universal feast in the history of the Latin Rite.
While the institution of the Eucharist is celebrated on Holy (Maundy) Thursday, the liturgy on that day also commemorates Christ's New Commandment ("A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you." John 13:34), the washing of the disciples' feet, the institution of the priesthood and the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. For this reason, the Feast of Corpus Christi was established to create a feast focused solely on the Holy Eucharist.
A new liturgy for the feast was composed by St. Thomas Aquinas. This liturgy is used as a votive Mass of the Blessed Sacrament even on days of the liturgical year other than that of the solemnity. The hymn Aquinas composed for Vespers of Corpus Christi, Pange Lingua, is also used on Holy (Maundy) Thursday during the procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the altar of repose. The last two verses of Pange Lingua are also used as a separate hymn, Tantum Ergo, which is sung at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. O Salutaris Hostia, another hymn sung at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, comprises the last two verses of Verbum Supernum Prodiens, Aquinas' hymn for Lauds of Corpus Christi. Aquinas also composed the propers for the Mass of Corpus Christi, including the sequence Lauda Sion Salvatorem. The epistle reading for the Mass was taken from Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 11:23-29), and the Gospel reading was taken from the Gospel of John (John 6:56-59). |
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This is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you, containing all these rules -Extracted from the Book of Exodus, Chapter 24:3-8
Moses went and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. In answer, all the people said with one voice, ‘We will observe all the commands that the Lord has decreed.’
Moses put all the commands of the Lord into writing, and early next morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve standing-stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he directed certain young Israelites to offer holocausts and to immolate bullocks to the Lord as communion sacrifices.
Half of the blood Moses took up and put into basins, the other half he cast on the altar. And taking the Book of the Covenant he read it to the listening people, and they said, ‘We will observe all that the Lord has decreed; we will obey.’ Then Moses took the blood and cast it towards the people. This’ he said ‘is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you, containing all these rules.’
The Blood of Christ is the perfect sacrifice to God -Extracted from the Sermon- the Hebrews, Chapter 9:11-15
Now Christ has come, as the high priest of all the blessings which were to come. He has passed through the greater, the more perfect tent, which is better than the one made by men’s hands because it is not of this created order; and he has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption for us. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer are sprinkled on those who have incurred defilement and they restore the holiness of their outward lives; how much more effectively the blood of Christ, who offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to God through the eternal Spirit, can purify our inner self from dead actions so that we do our service to the living God.
He brings a new covenant, as the mediator, only so that the people who were called to an eternal inheritance may actually receive what was promised: his death took place to cancel the sins that infringed the earlier covenant.
Jesus Christ gives himself as food and drink to feed us in Holy Mass – Extracted from Eucharistic Prayer II (The Roman Canon) cf. Mark 14:12-16, 22-26
At the time Jesus was betrayed and entered willingly into his Passion, he took bread and, giving thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying:
TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT, FOR THIS IS MY BODY, WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.
In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took the chalice and, once more giving thanks, he gave it to his disciples, saying:
TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK OF IT, FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT, WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.
DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME. ———————————————————————————————————————
You said, ‘I am a Christian, what the Catholic Church teaches concerning the Eucharist being the Body of Christ really bothers me. I have no intention to convert to become a Catholic, but can I visit a Catholic Church and experience the real presence of Christ that you talked about?’
Here’s the Answer for you based on accredited Church Teaching:
Of course, you are most welcome to visit our Catholic Churches and experience Jesus Christ being truly present in the Eucharist. He is present inside the Tabernacle (in the form of bread) near the Main Altar of each Catholic Church– we tell you His location so that you could go to Him yourself and tell Him your secrets, as we do not intend to bother you. 8-)
Please remember to genuflect in-front of the Tabernacle where He is present, as we need to pay the greatest homage to Him the Almighty God who is our Creator, and has given us life and everything that is good. However, if you are unable to genuflect (due to knee problems?), please bow in His presence.
He makes Himself present among us 24/7 by willingly let Himself be kept in the Church Tabernacle as the “prisoner of love”, waiting patiently for us to talk to Him. This is how he kept his promise when He told us: I am with you always; yes, to the end of time. (Matthew 28:20, Encouragements-73).
After saying hello to Him in your genuflection, just make yourself comfortable and sit before Him, talking to Him and let Him speaks to you. Remember always that He is our Great Teacher and Saviour, He would help us in all the difficulties of life. Just offer all of them to Him and do not worry, because He loves you and He knows what you need before you ask Him (cf. Matthew 6:8). 8-)
Before you leave, please remember to genuflect again, and you may want to tell Him when you are coming to visit Him again, as He is our loving God who accommodates us and makes Himself available whenever we need Him to be around. Don’t you see how great His love for all of us is? 8-)
You are also welcome to join us in our Eucharistic Celebration (Holy Mass). However, kindly be reminded that only Baptized Catholics could receive Holy Communion, but you could join the crowd by putting your arms cross at your breast, and the Priest will bless you instead.
We want to make a clear declaration that the Catholic Church is not a “grabber of members”. There are many of us throughout the world and we have no intention to put any pressure on anyone to join us, so you can just relax and join our celebrations anytime when you are available. 8-)
10 June 2012
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