The Solemnity Of
The Most Holy Body And Blood Of Christ
Optional Sequence; special prefaces
Themes: The Body and Blood of Christ
Deuteronomy: The manna
1
Corinthians: The Eucharistic Sacrifice
John: The
Living Breed
Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a - God’s Care for His People
Moses reminds the
Israelites of the Manna
“He therefore let you be afflicted
with hunger, and then fed you with manna,
a food
unknown to you and your fathers,
in order
to show you that not by bread alone does one live,
but by every
word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 10:16-17 - unity with Christ through the Eucharist and idolatry
The Real Presence
“The Cup of blessing that we bless,
is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ?
The Bread that we break, is it not
a participation in the body of Christ? “
Unity in Communion
“Because the loaf of bread is one,
we, though
many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.”
SEQUENCE - Lauda Sion (Shortened)
The
Latin
“Ecce, Panis angelorum factus cibus viatorum! Vere panis filiorum, non mittendus canibus.
In figures praesignatur: Cum Isaac immolator; agnus Paschae deputatur; datum manna patribus.
Bone Pastor, Panis vere, Jesu, nostri miserere.
Tu nos bona fac videre, in terra viventium.
Tu - Qui cuncta scis et vales, Qui nos pascis hic mortales, - Tuos ibi commensales, coheredes et sodales, fac sanctorum civium.”
Personal (and
free) translation of the poem
What wonder: the Bread of angels is now food for us, passing through this world.
It is the true food for God’s children, and for them alone.
It was prefigured in the sacrifice of Isaac, in the choosing of the Pascal lamb, and in the manna given to our fathers.
O Good Shepherd, truly Bread, Jesus, have mercy on us.
Grant that we see what is good in the Land of the Living.
You - Who knows all things, and can do all things, Who shepherds us mortals here - grant to those, who dine with You on earth, that they be inheritors and companions with those who dwell in heaven.
John
Claim
"I am the living bread that
came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread
that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
Objection
"How can this man give us his
flesh to eat?"
Response
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you do not have
life within you.
Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My
Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
For My Flesh is true food, and My
Blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks My
Blood remains in Me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent Me
and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on Me will
have life because of Me.
This is the Bread that came down
from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and
still died, whoever eats This Bread will live forever."
Questions
Deuteronomy: What happened in the desert during those forty years? What did it show? When did Our Lord quote this passage?
1 Corinthians: What is the “Cup of Blessing”? What is “the Bread”? What is the main point of Saint Paul?
John: What was the occasion for our Lord talking about His Body and Blood ? Was He speaking literally or just rhetorically to emphasize His importance? What does our Catholic Faith say about His statement? (Catechism: numbers 1322 and following). What bread did their ancestors eat? Compare the manna with the Eucharist?
Petitions
Deuteronomy: That we always realize that it is God Who sustains us, we pray to the Lord.
1 Corinthians: That in though, word, and deed, we never do what is offensive to our unity with Christ, we pray to the Lord.
John: That we, and every living person on earth, live not just for a time in this world, but may have eternal life hereafter, we pray to the Lord.
The Solemnity Of
The Most Holy Body And Blood Of Christ
Genesis 14:18-20 - Melchizedek
“In those days, Melchizedek, king
of
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 - the words of Consecration
“I received from the Lord what I
also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my
body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way also the cup,
after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in
remembrance of me."
For as often as you eat this
bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.”
Luke 9:11b-17 - Jesus feeds the 5,000
“Then taking the five loaves and
the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke
them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
They all ate and were satisfied.
and when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker
baskets.”