A Sunday Thought About Corpus Christi to Start the Week Off Right
Depending on your diocese, Corpus Christi was either celebrated this past Thursday - our venerable traditional Catholic observation - or moved to today, Sunday. Either way, this year this special feast comes with a mixture of emotions for me.
First, there's tremendous gratitude that Our Lord gave us the Eucharist. His glorified Body may have ascended into Heaven, but His institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper allows Him to be both spiritually and physically present to us, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity until the end of time. Not only is he present, but Holy Communion allows us the privilege of literally uniting our body and soul with His.
If you haven't meditated on this lately, today's a good time to do just that. Whenever I do I almost can't believe it. I'm just filled to the brim with gratitude. I have much to be thankful for in my life, but I don't think anything comes close to this.
With this COVID-19 mess, many of us can't actually receive Holy Communion. And it's been more than two months since we could. There's a touch of sadness in that. Since I returned to active attendance at Mass after some years away, I have never missed Sunday Mass, attended Mass at times during the week, and received Communion regularly. It's been many years. Over time, the meaning and importance of Mass and the Eucharist increased.
As the C-virus World mess unfolded, we were told we could not receive Communion on the tongue, only in the hand. I decided not to receive. That lasted almost two weeks before Mass was eliminated in our diocese. Now we're being told that when (?) Mass is again offered, it may again be the case that we will not be able to receive on the tongue. So it may continue to be a while before I receive Communion again, even after I return to Mass.
But it's not been all sadness that came with the absence of Mass and Holy Communion. As the weeks rolled by, I came to be at peace with a situation over which I had no control. And a recent Sunday post outlines some benefits that have accrued during this Mass lockdown. When I began to realize the benefits that emerged, I was at first surprised. But then I remembered that rarely is an event all good or all bad. When something bad happens, there's frequently a silver lining to the dark cloud overhead - and vice versa.
You can see the mixed emotions that have played out since the mess began. What about the future?
Well, at some point Mass will return and Holy Communion will be offered. As already noted, it may be that it will only be offered in the hand. And that leaves me out. Why? I sincerely believe that Communion in the hand was an abuse introduced by some Bishops. (We could list the reasons why they would do this, but let's leave it be for now.) The end result has been a general lessening of reverence for Our Lord's Body and Blood. Some Catholics, even some Bishops, do not think the host is the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, amongst us. But even those who espouse a belief in the Real Presence betray a lack of real reverence when they "manhandle" the Host themselves. They may not mean to do this, but effectively that's how it looks (and feels) to me.
Why not take some time on this Feast of Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) to think about this. Consider how you've received Our Lord (hand? tongue?) and whether your reception has always been appropriately reverent. You know my thoughts about receiving in the hand, but even if you've received on the tongue, have you always treasured this privilege in a manner consistent with its awesome reality?
Not sure? Perhaps we can defer to St. Thomas Aquinas who wrote the liturgy for Corpus Christi in 1264 when Pope Urban IV first added the Feast to the Liturgical Calendar. In writing that liturgy, St. Thomas also wrote the beautiful and profound hymn Pange Lingua Gloriosi. You can find basic information about this hymn HERE along with the Latin and English words. If you listen and read along, you will deepen your understanding, appreciation, and love of Holy Communion.
With that understanding and love, you'll be in a better position to assess how you should receive Our Lord's Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.
First, there's tremendous gratitude that Our Lord gave us the Eucharist. His glorified Body may have ascended into Heaven, but His institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper allows Him to be both spiritually and physically present to us, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity until the end of time. Not only is he present, but Holy Communion allows us the privilege of literally uniting our body and soul with His.
If you haven't meditated on this lately, today's a good time to do just that. Whenever I do I almost can't believe it. I'm just filled to the brim with gratitude. I have much to be thankful for in my life, but I don't think anything comes close to this.
With this COVID-19 mess, many of us can't actually receive Holy Communion. And it's been more than two months since we could. There's a touch of sadness in that. Since I returned to active attendance at Mass after some years away, I have never missed Sunday Mass, attended Mass at times during the week, and received Communion regularly. It's been many years. Over time, the meaning and importance of Mass and the Eucharist increased.
As the C-virus World mess unfolded, we were told we could not receive Communion on the tongue, only in the hand. I decided not to receive. That lasted almost two weeks before Mass was eliminated in our diocese. Now we're being told that when (?) Mass is again offered, it may again be the case that we will not be able to receive on the tongue. So it may continue to be a while before I receive Communion again, even after I return to Mass.
But it's not been all sadness that came with the absence of Mass and Holy Communion. As the weeks rolled by, I came to be at peace with a situation over which I had no control. And a recent Sunday post outlines some benefits that have accrued during this Mass lockdown. When I began to realize the benefits that emerged, I was at first surprised. But then I remembered that rarely is an event all good or all bad. When something bad happens, there's frequently a silver lining to the dark cloud overhead - and vice versa.
You can see the mixed emotions that have played out since the mess began. What about the future?
Well, at some point Mass will return and Holy Communion will be offered. As already noted, it may be that it will only be offered in the hand. And that leaves me out. Why? I sincerely believe that Communion in the hand was an abuse introduced by some Bishops. (We could list the reasons why they would do this, but let's leave it be for now.) The end result has been a general lessening of reverence for Our Lord's Body and Blood. Some Catholics, even some Bishops, do not think the host is the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, amongst us. But even those who espouse a belief in the Real Presence betray a lack of real reverence when they "manhandle" the Host themselves. They may not mean to do this, but effectively that's how it looks (and feels) to me.
Why not take some time on this Feast of Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) to think about this. Consider how you've received Our Lord (hand? tongue?) and whether your reception has always been appropriately reverent. You know my thoughts about receiving in the hand, but even if you've received on the tongue, have you always treasured this privilege in a manner consistent with its awesome reality?
Not sure? Perhaps we can defer to St. Thomas Aquinas who wrote the liturgy for Corpus Christi in 1264 when Pope Urban IV first added the Feast to the Liturgical Calendar. In writing that liturgy, St. Thomas also wrote the beautiful and profound hymn Pange Lingua Gloriosi. You can find basic information about this hymn HERE along with the Latin and English words. If you listen and read along, you will deepen your understanding, appreciation, and love of Holy Communion.
With that understanding and love, you'll be in a better position to assess how you should receive Our Lord's Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.
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