Corpus Christi
May 26, 2016
A DESCRIPTION OF the traditional pageantry and devotion still observed in some places on the Feast of Corpus Christi, which is today and which honors the institution of the Blessed Sacrament:
“Very early in the fourteenth century the custom developed of carrying the Blessed Sacrament in a splendid procession through the town after the Mass on on the Feast of Corpus Christi. This was encouraged by the popes, some of whom granted special indulgences to all participants. The Council of Trent (1545-1563) solemnly approved and recommended the procession on Corpus Christi as a public profession of the Catholic faith in the real presence of Christ in the Holy Sacrament.
During the later Middle Ages these processions developed into splendid pageants of devotion and honour to the Blessed Sacrament. They are still publicly held, and often with the ancient splendour, in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, in the Catholic sections of Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Canada, Hungary, in the Slavic countries and in South America. Sovereigns and princes, presidents and ministers of the state, magistrates, members of trade and craft guilds, and honour guards of the armed forces and the police accompany the liturgical procession while the church bells peal, bands play sacred hymns, and the faithful kneel in front of their homes to adore the Eucharistic Lord.” (Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs, by Francis X. Weiser).
This version of the ancient chant is sung by the Choir of the Monks of Glenstal Abbey in County Limerick, Ireland, and by the Senior’s Boy’s Schola there (http://www.glenstal.org/).
Ave verum corpus, natum de Maria Virgine,
vere passum, immolatum in cruce pro homine,
cuius latus perforatum fluxit aqua et sanguine:
esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.
O Iesu dulcis, O Iesu pie, O Iesu, fili Mariae.
Miserere mei. Amen.
Hail, true Body, born of the Virgin Mary,
who having truly suffered, was sacrificed
on the cross for mankind,
whose pierced side flowed with water and blood:
May it be for us a foretaste of the Heavenly banquet
in the trial of death.
Oh dear Jesus, Oh merciful Jesus, Oh Jesus, son of Mary,
have mercy on me. Amen.
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‘Ave Verum Corpus’ is a short Eucharistic hymn that has been set to music by various composers. It dates from the 14th century and has been attributed to Pope Innocent VI.
During the Middle Ages it was sung at the elevation of the host during the consecration. It was also used frequently during Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
The hymn’s title means “Hail, true body”, and is based on a poem deriving from a 14th-century manuscript from the Abbey of Reichenau, Lake Constance. The poem is a meditation on the Catholic belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
