Thoughts for Corpus Christi

I may have done so before, but this week, I wanted to share some thoughts from my favorite feast (solemnity, really) of the liturgical year – Corpus Christi. 

In the United States, we’ll be celebrating it this Sunday, though it traditionally was commemorated on the Thursday 60 days after Easter (and still is in some countries). 

A few years ago, I gave a talk to our Catholic women’s group about the feast, and I will draw from that content here.

The origin of the Feast of Corpus Christi is quite remarkable. Before it was officially instituted, there was a Belgian nun, St. Juliana of Liège, who had a vision stressing the need for a universal feast honoring the Body of Christ. This was in the early 1200s. Her vision was supported by an archdeacon in Belgium who believed it to be authentic; that archdeacon later became Pope Urban IV.

In 1246, the feast was celebrated locally in Belgium. Then, in 1263, something extraordinary happened in Bolsena, Italy. A priest who was struggling with doubts about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist was celebrating Mass, when the consecrated host began to bleed. This miracle left bloodstains on the corporal and altar cloths. Pope Urban IV, who was nearby in Orvieto, was informed and had the miracle investigated.

The blood-stained corporal is still preserved in Orvieto’s cathedral today.

Inspired by both St. Juliana’s vision and this Eucharistic miracle, Pope Urban IV declared Corpus Christi a universal feast in 1264. However, he died the following year and the feast didn’t spread much immediately.

It wasn’t until Pope Clement V reaffirmed the decree in 1314 that the feast began to extend more widely throughout the Western Church. 

To support this new feast, the Pope commissioned none other than St. Thomas Aquinas to compose its liturgical texts. Aquinas wrote several hymns that we still use today in both the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours.

One of these is the Sequence for Corpus Christi.

This sequence is usually sung or recited after the second reading during the Mass for Corpus Christi.

St. Thomas Aquinas also wrote the Pange Lingua, which ends with the verses we know as the Tantum Ergo, often sung during Eucharistic Benediction. Here’s part of the English translation:

“Sing, my tongue, the Savior’s glory,
Of His flesh, the mystery sing;
Of the blood, all price exceeding,
Shed by our immortal King...

St. Thomas also composed O Salutaris Hostia for morning prayer. Interestingly, the Latin word hostia means “victim,” so the hymn begins: “O saving victim, opening wide the gate of heaven to man below.”

Another beloved hymn is Panis Angelicus, written for the Office of Readings:

“Bread of angels, made the bread of man;
The heavenly bread puts an end to symbols...
...Poor, humble servant, God becomes our food.”

Finally, there’s Adoro Te Devote, a deeply personal and reverent hymn. One moving image in it isthe pelican, based on a legend where a mother pelican feeds her young with herown blood to keep them alive. That image, so rich with sacrificial love, becamea symbol for Christ.

“I devoutly adoreyou, hidden deity,
Who are truly hidden beneath these appearances.
My whole heart submits to you...
...Jesus, good pelican, cleanse me, the unclean, with your blood,
One drop of which can heal the entire world of its sins.”

We now fast-forward almost 700 years to 2003, when Pope John Paul II wrote the beautiful encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia (“The Church from the Eucharist”), wherein he reflected on Christ’s promise: “Lo, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20); here, John Paul II also reminded us that these words are especially fulfilled in the Eucharist.

He wrote: “The Church draws her life from Christ in the Eucharist.  By Him she is fed and by Him she is enlightened. The Eucharist is not one gift among many—it is the gift par excellence: the gift of Christ Himself.”

Vatican II described the Eucharist as “the source and summit of the Christian life.” In the other sacraments, we receive God’s gifts—His grace, forgiveness, healing. But in the Eucharist, we receive God Himself.

The Mass makes present the one definitive sacrifice of Christ. As John Paul II reflected, at every celebration, we are spiritually brought back to the Last Supper, to Calvary, to the Resurrection. In this way, we participate in the mystery of salvation as if we had been there ourselves.

Although he lived centuries earlier, St. Ambrose made a statement which deeply resonates with the teaching articulated by St. John Paul II. He said, “Today Christ is yours. Each day He rises again for you.” Every time we receive the Eucharist, we encounter the Risen Lord. It's a glimpse of heaven on earth, and a foretaste of the eternal banquet.”

Our participation in the Eucharistic mystery also echoes the road to Emmaus, where the disciples recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread. The Mass, with its Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist, mirrors that very journey.

Worship of the Eucharist outside of Mass (Eucharistic Adoration) is also deeply valuable.

I can still pinpoint my first experience of Adoration in fifth grade, and can remember it quite well.  Our religion teacher took her class into the newly established adoration chapel.  Later, a visit to the Blessed Sacrament in that same chapel after my freshman year of college led me to follow the call to Religious Life. 

You might well remember key moments of encounters with Jesus at adoration, too. 

I encourage you—if you’re ever near a church and have a few minutes—stop in and say hello to Jesus. Even a simple gesture, like making the sign of the cross when passing a church, can be a beautiful act of love and acknowledgment of His presence.

In our adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (as in other aspects of life), we can look to Mary as our model. Can you imagine what it must have been like for her to receive the Eucharist from the apostles? Having carried Jesus in her womb, and then being able to receive Him again—hidden under the form of bread? 

Another great example of love and devotion for Jesus’ Eucharistic presence is St. Francis, who, so eloquently, had this to say about the Eucharist: “O wondrous loftiness and stupendous dignity! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! The Lord of the universe, God  and the Son of God, so humbles Himself that for our salvation He hides Himself under an ordinary piece of bread!  Brothers, look at the humility of God, and pour out your hearts before Him! Humble yourselves that you may be exalted by him!”

As we approach this wondrous feast, I would encourage you to ponder the words of the saints, considering what they had to say about Jesus’ Eucharistic presence.  The scripture readings for the Solemnity can also provide rich food for reflection. 

Have a blessed celebration of Corpus Christi!

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