I did not realize, until opening up the Divine Office this morning, that today is Solemnity of Corpus Christi. I thought it was Sunday- my guess is it’s been “transferred” to that day so more can celebrate this great Feast. So it’s wonderful to get to do it twice now learning today is actual day. This is a beautiful sermon from St. Thomas Aquinas on the Eucharist. Thought it nice to share. With all that we are facing in world and in our families, it’s a great consolation to read these words and know how much Our Lord loves us! And very blessed that Thursday night at Marian Shrine near me is Adoration on “Thankful Thursday”. Will bring your intentions with me tonight. "On the feast of Corpus Christi", by St Thomas Aquinas O precious and wonderful banquet! Since it was the will of God’s only-begotten Son that men should share in his divinity, he assumed our nature in order that by becoming man he might make men gods. Moreover, when he took our flesh he dedicated the whole of its substance to our salvation. He offered his body to God the Father on the altar of the cross as a sacrifice for our reconciliation. He shed his blood for our ransom and purification, so that we might be redeemed from our wretched state of bondage and cleansed from all sin. But to ensure that the memory of so great a gift would abide with us for ever, he left his body as food and his blood as drink for the faithful to consume in the form of bread and wine. O precious and wonderful banquet, that brings us salvation and contains all sweetness! Could anything be of more intrinsic value? Under the old law it was the flesh of calves and goats that was offered, but here Christ himself, the true God, is set before us as our food. What could be more wonderful than this? No other sacrament has greater healing power; through it sins are purged away, virtues are increased, and the soul is enriched with an abundance of every spiritual gift. It is offered in the Church for the living and the dead, so that what was instituted for the salvation of all may be for the benefit of all. Yet, in the end, no one can fully express the sweetness of this sacrament, in which spiritual delight is tasted at its very source, and in which we renew the memory of that surpassing love for us which Christ revealed in his passion. It was to impress the vastness of this love more firmly upon the hearts of the faithful that our Lord instituted this sacrament at the Last Supper. As he was on the point of leaving the world to go to the Father, after celebrating the Passover with his disciples, he left it as a perpetual memorial of his passion. It was the fulfilment of ancient figures and the greatest of all his miracles, while for those who were to experience the sorrow of his departure, it was destined to be a unique and abiding consolation. Responsory ℟. See in this bread the body of Christ which hung upon the cross, and in this cup the blood which flowed from his side.* Take his body, then, and eat it; take his blood and drink it, and you will become his members. ℣. The body of Christ is the bond which unites you to him: eat it, or you will have no part in him. The blood is the price he paid for your redemption: drink it, lest you despair of your sinfulness.* Take his body, then, and eat it; take his blood and drink it, and you will become his members
You are so right, miker. I personally am torn, it also being Father's Day, because I want to preach on both. Recently I came across the following that speaks to a truth: a Dad's faithfulness to the Lord and to the Church, especially attendance on Sundays at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass has a far greater impact on his children than that of the mother, in regard to children continuing in the practice of the Faith! A study done in Switzerland in the 1990s indicates it is so! The underlying premise is that children see their father as the primary connection to outside-the-home and Sunday Holy Mass is so perceived. https://romancatholicman.com/wp/dad-takes-faith-god-seriously-will-children/ So I want to preach on the importance of both of the above with a stress on: Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Deut 6: 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life; and that your days may be prolonged...6 And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; 7 and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. I could go on for hours, but who would put up with me?
I love this passage but as a husband I also in a sense “fear” it because it is really not easy - in fact, I would say impossible other than to turn to Christ asking for the grace. To love as Christ loved means to the death. Now, it might not be literal death- but a death that means sacrifice, perhaps being quiet and not arguing , going out if the way to help, support, anticipate what is needed. To give without expecting anything in return. I believe this is what Christ asks if husbands and dads. This simply can’t be done through my effort- only comes when spirit of Christ is part of me. And the Eucharist is a very real way that this spirit becomes part of me.
...I've come to the conclusion that I've bitten off more than I can chew; I'm always tempted in the direction of too much cerebral activity. I'm going to focus on the Eucharistic Miracle that took place in Seefeld, Austria in 1384. Kids, especially boys, like stories about knights. O Salutaris Hostia!
I came across a quote from Pope Benedict recently. He said that without the Eucharist the Church would not exist. Something to think about..
On Corpus Christi Morning, Painted by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (1793-1865), Painted in 1857, Oil on wood Reflection on the painting Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller is considered one of the most influential painters of the Biedermeier style in 19th-century Vienna. Our painting titled On Corpus Christi Morning, depicts children of contrasting social classes. At the centre of our painting we see rich girls dressed in bright white dresses with circlets of flowers on their heads. They are being greeted by an old peasant woman. The children smile at her, while ignoring the other poorer children in the foreground. A poor girl on the left turns away from them, wiping a tear from her eye, visibly upset because she isn’t part of the group of immaculately dressed girls. A rich boy seems to taunt a poor girl who offers him flowers. While this painting, which is somewhat ambiguous, may not literally portray a Marxian notion of class conflict, it is does leave the viewer with a slightly uncomfortable feeling. The most striking feature in this painting is the use of light. The sunlight is coming from the top right corner, illuminating the backs of the figures and casting long shadows. It is exquisitely painted. The children are all preparing joyfully for the Corpus Christi procession. Today we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, also called Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, in honour of the real presence of the body (corpus) of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. The feast of Corpus Christi was proposed by Thomas Aquinas to Pope Urban IV, in order to create a feast focused solely on the Holy Eucharist, emphasising the joy of the Eucharist being the Body and Blood, soul and divinity of Christ. Processions soon started talking place where the Blessed Sacrament was carried through towns and villages. Our painting shows the children preparing for such a procession. Happy feast day everyone! by Patrick van der Vorst
and this account which describes one of the first documented Eucharistic miracles. https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/the-miracle-of-lanciano.html
I’m blessed to be participating in Eucharistic procession later today at the beautiful Marian Shrine nearby. Can’t wait. As the CCC says- the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. What a privilege and grace to be a Catholic Christian - ti be able to adore and even more so receive into my human body with all its weaknesses, this very source of life. The Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of God. Think about that for a moment. Quite mind boggling! I can’t think of a better way / gift to spend this Fathers Day ! Happy Fathers Day to all the dads and men who fill the role. And God have mercy on all our dads who have passed. May they now be fed at the everlasting heavenly banquet.
What a marvelous feast day! To speak of such miracles deepens our faith, and to receive in humility such a gift deepens God's Love within our souls! Who am I, apart from You my dear Savior? I'm now speechless (a miracle in itself!)
Wonderful day to adore the Eucharistic Christ! Peace! https://share.icloud.com/photos/0090UjBbe8_4LzB-9OTqEVsTA
