Happy Feast of Corpus Christi!
By Fr. Isaiah Schick
Happy Feast of Corpus Christi, which is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ! Today, instead of me rambling on as I tend to do so often, I just want to share with you something from the treasure trove of the Church’s liturgy, which is the sequence proper to today. A sequence is a liturgical poem or song which is usually sung at Mass before the Gospel on certain special days of the year (like Easter, Pentecost, Our Lady of Sorrows, etc.). Today’s sequence is called “Lauda Sion”, which was written by St. Thomas Aquinas in about 1264 at the request of the pope. The English translation of “Lauda Sion” (“Praise, O Zion”) that I have here was composed by St. Robert Southwell, a Jesuit priest who was martyred in England in 1595 when being a Catholic priest there was illegal. Enjoy!
Praise, O Sion! praise thy Savior,
Praise thy captain and thy pastor,
With hymns and solemn harmony.
What power affords perform indeed;
His worths all praises far exceed,
No praise can reach His dignity.
A special theme of praise is read,
A living and life-giving bread,
Is on this day exhibited;
Which in the supper of our Lord,
To twelve disciples at His board
None doubts was delivered.
Let our praise be loud and free,
Full of joy and decent glee,
With minds’ and voices’ melody;
For now solemnize we that day,
Which doth with joy to us display
The prince of this mystery.
At this board of our new ruler,
Of new law, new paschal order
The ancient rite abolisheth;
Old decrees be new annullèd,
Shadows are in truths fulfillèd,
Day former darkness finisheth.
That at supper Christ performèd,
To be done He straitly chargèd
For His eternal memory
Guided by His sacred orders,
Bread and wine upon our altars
To saving host we sanctify
Christians are by faith assurèd
That to flesh the bread is changèd,
The wine to blood most precious:
That no wit nor sense conceiveth,
Firm and grounded faith believeth,
In strange effects not curious.
Under kinds two in appearance,
Two in show but one in substance,
Lie things beyond comparison;
Flesh is meat, blood drink most heavenly,
Yet is Christ in each kind wholly,
Most free from all division.
None that consumeth doth rend Him,
None that takes Him doth divide Him,
Received He whole persevereth.
Be there one or thousands hosted,
One as much as all receivèd
He by no eating perisheth.
Both the good and bad receive Him,
But effects are diverse in them,
True life or true destruction.
Life to the good, death to the wicked,
Mark how both alike receivèd
With far unlike conclusion.
When the priest the host divideth,
Know that in each part abideth
All that the whole host covered.
Form of bread, not Christ is broken,
Not of Christ, but of His token,
Is state or stature altered.
Angels’ bread made pilgrims’ feeding
Truly bread for children’s eating,
To dogs not to be offerèd.
Signed by Isaac on the altar,
By the lamb and paschal supper,
And in the manna figurèd.
Jesu, food and feeder of us,
Here with mercy feed and friend us,
Then grant in heaven felicity!
Lord of all, whom here Thou feedest,
Fellows, heirs, guests with Thy dearest,
Make us in heavenly company!
AMEN. ALLELUIA.