Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi is one of the great feasts of the Church. Since it is too big for just one day, it once had a Privileged Octave of the 2^nd Order.  This meant that unless there was a 1^st class feast, this feast day Mass would be offered each day and a lesser feast commemorated.  Should a 1^st class feast occur, then Corpus Christi would be commemorated.  Imagine a whole week to focus solely on Our Lord’s gift of Himself in the Most Blessed Sacrament!

“Corpus Christi” literally means “Body of Christ.”   There is a separate traditional feast of the Most Precious Blood of Christ on July 1 which focuses on the Our Lord’s Passion and Death in which He shed every drop of His Precious Blood for us. 

When Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and asked for the institution of the feast of the Sacred Heart, He explicitly stated that it be on the Friday immediately after the Octave of Corpus Christi.  This gives us a whole week to meditate on the Real Presence and increase Eucharistic devotion, flowing into the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus the next day:  the Real Presence of Our Lord in our churches burning with love for us.  He could have ascended into heaven and left us alone.  Instead He gave us the Most Blessed Sacrament to show His immense love for us.  He is waiting for us in every parish church and chapel!

Another interesting fact is that St Thomas Aquinas wrote the Mass and Office for the Feast of Corpus Christi!  Our Benediction hymns O Salutaris Hostia and Tantum Ergo come from longer hymns written by him for this feast:  Verbum Supernum Prodiens for Lauds and Pange Lingua for Vespers.  He also wrote Panis Angelicus (from Sacris Solemniis chant for the procession) and O Sacrum Convivium (Antiphon for the Magnificat at Vespers).  The Angelic Doctor put the fruit of his meditations into these great Eucharistic hymns!

Ideas of how to celebrate the Octave of Corpus Christi:

Make a visit to Our Lord in a church each day

Pray a Holy Hour each day in church

Read The Liturgical Year #10 by Dom Gueranger for each day in the Octave

Attend a public Holy Hour

Spend a Holy Hour at an Adoration chapel

Organize a simple procession around your property

Ask your pastor to have a procession at church

Sing Eucharistic hymns

Learn a new Eucharistic hymn

Meditate on the hymns O Salutaris Hostia and Tantum Ergo in English

Sing or pray the Lauda Sion Sequence

Meditate on the Sequence

Read/pray/meditate on the Divine Office Hours for Corpus Christi

Learn one of the hymns that St Thomas Aquinas wrote for this feast

Pray a Novena to the Sacred Heart in preparation for the upcoming feast on June 12

 

Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

I. O my Jesus, Thou hast said: 'Truly I say to thee, ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you. ' Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace that. . . (the Visitation Sisters are open to the idea of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles buying their property.) 

Our Father. . .  Hail Mary . . .  Glory Be to the Father. . .

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in Thee.

 

II. O my Jesus, Thou hast said: 'Truly I say to thee, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to thee. ' Behold, in Thy name, I ask the Father for the grace that . . . (the Bishop is agreeable to the change and will provide the Sisters with priestly TLM coverage.there) 

Our Father. . .  Hail Mary . . .  Glory Be to the Father. . .

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in Thee.

 

III. O my Jesus, Thou hast said: 'Truly I say to thee, heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away. ' Encouraged by Thy infallible words I now ask for the grace that. . .( all that is needed will be supplied for this move, i.e. funds, Sisters, helpers, etc.) 

Our Father. . .  Hail Mary . . .  Glory Be to the Father. . .

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in Thee.

 

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of Thee, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Thy tender Mother and ours. 

Say the Hail, Holy Queen and add: St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us. 
-- St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Padre Pio recited this novena every day for all those who requested his prayers.

 

 

Pentecost

Pentecost is only one of three Octaves that remain on the 1962 Calendar.  The other two are Christmas and Easter.  Pentecost has a Privileged Octave of the 1st Order.  This means that nothing can outrank it.  Each day has its own set of reading too.  The Sequence Veni Creator Spiritus is sung every day and the Special Communicantes is said in the Canon.  For a week, every day is Pentecost; this is an amazing preparation for Trinity Sunday which is the Octave Day of Pentecost! 

 

Our Lady, Queen of Apostles

 

The feast of Our Lady, Queen of the Apostles is a lesser known feast and is celebrated on the Saturday after the Ascension.  It is a moveable date in the Easter season based on when the Ascension falls.  

This is the Patronal feast of the the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles in Gower, MO and her daughterhouses in Ava, MO; Evansville, IN and Colwich, England.

                                                           Our Lady, Queen of Apostles  (White)                                                 

INTROIT Ps. 86:1-3 Fundamenta ejus in montibus sanctis;  diligit Dominus portas Sion super omnia tabernacula Jacob.  Gloriosa dicta sunt de te, civitas Dei!  PS.133:1  Ecce nunc benedicite Dominum, omnes servi Domini : qui statis in domo Domini, in atriis domus Dei nostri. Gloria Patri . . . COLLECT Deus, qui Apostolis tuis, cum Maria Matre Jesu unanimiter orantibus. Sanctum dedisti Spritiu: da nobis, ut eadem Matre nostra et Apostolorum Regina protegente, majestati tuae fideliter servire et nominis tui gloriam verbo et exemplo diffundere valeamus. Per eumdem Dominum nostrum.   EPISTLE  Acts 1:1-14   Primum quidem sermonem feci de omnibus, o Theophile, quae coepit Jesus facere, et docere usque in diem, qua praecipiens Apostolis per Spiritum Sanctum, quos elegit, assumptus est :  quibus et praebuit seipsum vivum post passionem suam in multis argumentis, per dies quadraginta apparens eis, et loquens de regno Dei.  Et convescens, praecepit eis ab Jerosolymis ne discederent, sed exspectarent promissionem Patris, quam audistis ( inquit) per os meum :  quia Joannes quidem baptizavit aqua, vos autem baptizabimini Spiritu Sancto non post multos hos dies.  Igitur qui convenerant, interrogabant eum, dicentes : Domine, si in tempore hoc restitues regnum Israel?  Dixit autem eis : Non est vestrum nosse tempora vel momenta, quae Pater posuit in sua potestate :  sed accipietis virtutem supervenientis Spiritus Sancti in vos, et eritis mihi testes in Jerusalem, et in omni Judaea, et Samaria, et usque ad ultimum terrae.  Et cum haec dixisset, videntibus illis, elevatus est : et nubes suscepit eum ab oculis eorum.  Cumque intuerentur in caelum euntem illum, ecce duo viri astiterunt juxta illos in vestibus albis, qui et dixerunt : Viri Galilaei, quid statis aspicientes in caelum? Hic Jesus, qui assumptus est a vobis in caelum, sic veniet quemadmodum vidistis eum euntem in caelum.  Tunc reversi sunt Jerosolymam a monte qui vocatur Oliveti, qui est juxta Jerusalem, sabbati habens iter.   Et cum introissent in coenaculum, ascenderunt ubi manebant Petrus, et Joannes, Jacobus, et Andreas, Philippus, et Thomas, Bartholomaeus, et Matthaeus, Jacobus Alphaei, et Simon Zelotes, et Judas Jacobi.  Hi omnes erant perseverantes unanimiter in oratione cum mulieribus, et Maria matre Jesu, et fratribus ejus.       PASCAL ALLELUIA  V. Num. 17:8; Judith 13:17-18   Alleluia, alleluia!  Sequenti die regressus invenit germinasse virgam Aaron in domo Levi : et turgentibus gemmis eruperant flores, qui, foliis dilatatis, in amygdalas deformati sunt.  Alleluia. Laudate Dominum Deum nostrum, qui non deseruit sperantes in se :  et in me ancilla sua adimplevit misericordiam suam, quam promisit domui Israel : et interfecit in manu mea hostem populi sui hac nocte.   GOSPEL  John 19:25-27   Stabant autem juxta crucem Jesu mater ejus, et soror matris ejus, Maria Cleophae, et Maria Magdalene. Cum vidisset ergo Jesus matrem, et discipulum stantem, quem diligebat, dicit matri suae : Mulier, ecce filius tuus.  Deinde dicit discipulo : Ecce mater tua. Et ex illa hora accepit eam discipulus in sua.      OFFERTORY  Judith 5:3, 7-8  Ego sum, ego sum quae Domino canam, psallam Domino Deo Israel.  Cessaverunt fortes in Israel, et quieverunt: donec surgeret mater in Israel.  Nova bella elegit Dominus et portas hostium ipse subvertit.   SECRET  Tua, Domine, propitiatione et beatae Mariae semper Virginis intercessione haec nostra obtineat oblatio: ut Ecclesia tua fidelium numero crescat et jugiter fulgeat varietate virtutuum.  Per Dominum nostrum.   COMMUNION   Beata Mater et intacta Virgo, gloriosa Regina mundi, intercee prop nobis ad Dominum tu eni gloria Jerusalem, tu Laetitia Israel, tu honorificentia populi nostri.   POSTCOMMUNION   Sumptis, Domine, salutis nostrae subsidiis:  da nobis quaesumus, beatae Mariae semper Virginis ac Reginae Apostolorum patrocinio, perserverantem in tua voluntate famularum: ut Ecclesia tua novis semper proficiat incrementis.  Per Dominum nostrum.

Her foundation is upon the holy mountain. The Lord loves the gates of Sion more than any of the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God. Alleluia, alleluia! Ps. 133:1. Behold, now bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, you who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. V. Glory be . . .   O God, You sent Your Holy Spirit upon the Apostles as they were united in prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus. May the Queen of Apostles, the same Mother of us all, help us serve Your majesty faithfully, and to spread the glory of Your name by word and example. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord . . . in the unity of the same Holy Spirit.   The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, of all things which Jesus began to do and to teach, Until the day on which, giving commandments by the Holy Ghost to the apostles whom he had chosen, he was taken up. To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion, by many proofs, for forty days appearing to them, and speaking of the kingdom of God. And eating together with them, he commanded them, that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but should wait for the promise of the Father, "which you have heard" (saith he) "by my mouth. For John indeed baptized with water: but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence." They therefore who were come together, asked him, saying: "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel?" But he said to them: "It is not for you to know the time or moments, which the Father hath put in his own power: But you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth." And when he had said these things, while they looked on, he was raised up: and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they were beholding him going up to heaven, behold two men stood by them in white garments. Who also said: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come as you have seen him going into heaven." Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount that is called Olivet, which is nigh Jerusalem, within a sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James of Alpheus and Simon Zelotes and Jude the brother of James. All these were persevering with one mind in prayer with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.       Alleluia, alleluia!  The rod of Jesse has blossomed. A Virgin has brought forth the God-man. God has restored peace to us, reconciling in Himself the lowness of earth and the highness of heaven. Alleluia! V. Praise the Lord our God, who has not forsaken those who hope in Him, and who by me, His handmaid, has fulfilled His mercy which He promised to the house of Israel; He has killed the enemy of His people by my hand. Alleluia!   At that time, there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: "Woman, behold thy son." After that, he saith to the disciple: "Behold thy mother." And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own. It is I, it is I who will sing to the Lord. I will sing to the Lord, the God of Israel. The valiant men ceased and rested in Israel, until a mother arose in Israel. The Lord chose new wars, and He Himself overthrew the gates of the enemies. Alleluia! May our offering, O Lord, hasten the growth of Your Church and add to the splendor of the virtues of her members through Your mercy and the intercession of the blessed ever-Virgin Mary. Through Our Lord . . .   Blessed Mother and spotless Virgin, glorious Queen of the world, intercede for us with the Lord, for you are the glory of Israel, the honor of our people. Alleluia!   O Lord, the Sacrament we have received will help us towards salvation. May we persevere in doing Your holy Will so that Your Church may always increase under the protection of the blessed ever-Virgin Mary, the Queen of Apostles. Through Our Lord . . .

The Season of Octaves

Octaves in the Liturgical Calendar 2026

In older times, this great feast of the Ascension had a Privileged Octave of the 3rd Class.  This meant that it is offered on feria days and commemorated on any day that has a feast, but the Octave day can only be outranked by a Double of the 1st or 2nd Class feast.  We forget what an incredible feast this truly is.  Not only did it get stripped of its Octave in 1956, but now it is no longer a Holy Day of Obligation and is moved to the Sunday.  

The Octave coincides with the Novena to the Holy Ghost which begins today and ends on the Vigil of Pentecost!  I have attached two different Novenas.  

The feast of the Ascension ushers in a period of Octaves in the next month.  There are many great feasts coming up and Holy Mother Church highlights them with Octaves of varying degrees:  Pentecost, Corpus Christi, Sacred Heart, Nativity of St John the Baptist and Sts. Peter and Paul!  

From the chart below, you can have a visual of this blessed time.  

Ascension Thursday

 

The Ascension occurs exactly 40 days after Easter.  This puts it on a Thursday.  

During the Mass, a very special Liturgical action takes place.  After the Gospel is read, the Pascal Candle is extinguished.  This symbolizes that Our Lord in his glorified Body has left us and gone to Heaven.  Of course we still have Him sacramentally present in the Blessed Sacrament, but He is physically gone. 

 

Rogation Days

 

There is a special Procession and Mass for the Rogation Days.  Before Mass begins the Litany of Saints is chanted during an outdoor procession around the church grounds and prayers of supplication offered to appease the wrath of God and avert the scourges of His justice.  The three days preceding Ascension Thursday are these special Rogation Days (Lesser Litanies).  The word "litany" means "supplication" and "rogare" means "to ask". 

Dom Gueranger talks about the Rogation Days in The Liturgical Year, Vol 8 on pp. 350-353.  In it he says: "After all, we are sinners, with much to regret and much to fear; we have to avert those scourges which are due to the crimes of mankind; we have, by humbling ourselves and invoking the intercession of the Mother of God and the Saints, to obtain the health of our bodies and the preservation of the fruits of the earth; we have to offer atonement to divine justice for our own and the world's pride, sinful indulgences and insubordination  Let us enter into ourselves, and humbly confess that our own share in exciting God's indignation is great; and our poor prayers, united with those of our holy Mother the Church, will obtain mercy for the guilty, and for ourselves who are of the number." 

The Apparition of St. Michael the Archangel

 

Today is the feast of the Apparition of St. Michael the Archangel on Mt. Gargano in 490.  It is an unofficial tradition that St. Michael was the Guardian Angel of St. Joseph, the head of the Holy Family.  He is also the special defender of the Pope.

St. Michael, pray for us!