Corpus Christi

As we prepare to celebrate the mystery of God’s love,
revealed in Word and Sacrament,
let us call to mind our sins.

A brief pause for silence follows.

Have mercy on us, Lord.
For we have sinned against you.

Show us, O Lord, your mercy.
And grant us your salvation.

May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Let us pray.

O God, who in this wonderful Sacrament
has left us a memorial of your Passion,
grant us, we pray,
so to revere the sacred mysteries of your Body and Blood
that we may always experience in ourselves
the fruits of your redemption.
Who lives and reigns with God the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

℟. To God the LORD raise hymns of praise,
and with your lips proclaim his name.

I will love the LORD, who heard my prayer,
Who inclined his ear to my supplication:
For he delivered my soul from the grave,
And wiped away my tears. ℟.

The LORD preserves the meek of heart;
I was brought low, but he saved me.
Return to your rest O my soul,
For the LORD has blest you with his grace. ℟.

A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians.

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

For the word of the Lord,

Thanks be to God.

Ecce! Panis Angelorum

Lo! The Angels’ food is given
to the pilgrim who hath striven;
see the children’s bread from heaven,
which to dogs may not be cast;
Truth the ancient types fulfilling,
Isaac bound, a victim willing,
paschal lamb, its life-blood spilling,
manna sent in ages past.

Bone Pastor, Panis vere

Very Bread, good Shepherd, tend us,
Jesu, of thy love befriend us,
thou refresh us, thou defend us,
thine eternal goodness send us
in the land of life to see;
Thou who all things canst and knowest,
who on earth such food bestowest,
grant us with thy Saints, though lowest,
where the heavenly feast thou showest,
fellow-heirs and guests to be. Amen. Alleluia.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus said to the Jews: ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This I the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever.’

For the Gospel of the Lord,

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord, listen to the prayers of your people, those who gather at your table in body, mind or spirit, who all yearn for the bread of life and the cup of everlasting salvation.

When we celebrate how Christ gave us his body to be our spiritual food, listen as we pray for his body the Church, spread throughout the world.

When we recognise the presence of Christ, who takes away the sin of the world, listen as we pray for that world and for its peoples for whom Christ’s blood was shed.

When we remember the night of Christ’s agony and trial, listen as we pray for all who share his sufferings through fear or pain or distress of many kinds.

When we join our praises with the whole company of heaven, listen as we pray for all who have trusted Christ’s promise to raise up on the last day those who eat the bread of life and drink the cup of everlasting salvation.

Lord, satisfy our hunger with the food that lasts, the bread of God which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Grant your Church, O Lord, we pray,
the gifts of unity and peace,
whose signs are to be seen in mystery
in the offerings we here present.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is truly right and our greatest joy
to give you thanks and praise,
O Lord our God, creator and ruler of the universe.

In your wisdom, you made all things
and sustain them by your power.
You formed us in your image,
setting us in this world to love and to serve you,
and to live in peace with your whole creation.
When we rebelled against you
refusing to trust and obey you,
you did not reject us,
but still claimed us as your own.
You sent prophets to call us back to your way.
Then in the fullness of time,
out of your great love for the world,
you sent your only Son to be one of us,
to redeem us and heal our brokenness.

And now we give you thanks
because he is the true and everliving priest
who established this eternal sacrifice,
and who offered himself as victim for our deliverance
and taught us to do this in remembrance of him,
so that by eating the bread of life in a holy meal,
we might proclaim his death until he comes.

Therefore we praise you,
joining our voices with choirs of angels,
with prophets, apostles, and martyrs,
and with all the faithful of every time and place,
who forever sing to the glory of your name:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

You are holy, O God of majesty,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.

In Jesus, born of Mary, your Word became flesh
and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.
He lived as one of us, knowing joy and sorrow.
He healed the sick,
fed the hungry,
opened blind eyes,
broke bread with outcasts and sinners,
and proclaimed the good news of your kingdom to the poor and needy.
Dying on the cross,
he gave himself for the life of the world.
Rising from the grave,
he won for us victory over death.
Seated at your right hand,
he leads us to eternal life.
We praise you that Christ now reigns with you in glory,
and will come again to make all things new.

We give you thanks that the Lord Jesus,
on the night before he died, took bread,
and after giving thanks to you,
he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take, eat.
This is my body, given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.

In the same way he took the cup, saying:
This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood,
shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
do this in remembrance of me.

Remembering your gracious acts in Jesus Christ,
we take from your creation this bread and this wine
and joyfully celebrate his dying and rising,
as we await the day of his coming.
With thanksgiving, we offer our very selves to you
to be a living and holy sacrifice,
dedicated to your service.
Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:

Christ has died;
Christ is risen;
Christ will come again.

Gracious God,
pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon these your gifts of bread and wine,
that the bread we break
and the cup we bless
may be the communion of the body and blood of Christ.

By your Spirit make us one with Christ,
that we may be one with all who share this feast,
united in ministry in every place.
As this bread is Christ’s body for us,
send us out to be the body of Christ in the world
Keep us faithful in your service
until Christ comes in final victory,
and we shall feast with all your saints
in the joy of your eternal realm.
Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honour are yours, almighty Father,
now and forever. Amen.

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.
We who are many are one body,

for we all share in the one bread.

While the bread is broken Agnus Dei is sung –

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

Behold the Lamb of God,
behold him who takes away the sins of the world.
Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.

Lord, I am not worthy to receive you,
but only say the word, and I shall be healed.

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.

May your healing work, O Lord,
free us, we pray, from doing evil
and lead us to what is right.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Priest blesses all present with the Eucharist.

Afterwards, having replaced the Eucharist on the altar, the Priest comes back in front of the altar and kneels, and leads everyone in the Divine Praises.

Blessed be God.
Blessed be his holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus.
Blessed be his most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be his most Precious Blood.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be Saint Joseph, her spouse most chaste.
Blessed be God in his Angels and in his Saints.

Ant. Let us adore for ever * the most holy sacrament.

O praise the Lord, all ye heathen:
Praise him, all ye nations.
For his merciful kindness is ever more and more towards us:
And the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise the Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost:
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be:
World without end.  Amen.

Ant. Let us adore for ever the most holy sacrament.