Corpus Christi - for the life of the world...

Solemnity of the 

Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

(Corpus Christi)

"This Solemnity does not only celebrate the Eucharist but solemnly

 bears it in procession, publicly proclaiming that the sacrifice 

of Christ is for the salvation of the whole world." 

 St John Paul II

 Jesu, of Your love befriend us,
You refresh us, You defend us,
Your eternal goodness, send us
In the land of life to see.
Sequence for Corpus Christi

"Hidden God, devoutly I adore Thee,
truly present beneath these veils:
all my heart subdues itself before Thee,
since all before Thee faints and fails." 

Adoro Te Devote, St Thomas Aquinas

"Be the apostle of the divine Eucharist, 

like a flame which enlightens and warms, 

like the Angel of His heart who will go to proclaim 

Him to those who don't know Him and will 

encourage those who love Him and are suffering."

St. Peter Julian Eymard

to Mme Antoinette de Grandville

July 4, 1859

"We have Him so near in the Blessed Sacrament,

where He is already glorified and

where we don't have to gaze upon Him as being

so tired and worn out, bleeding, wearied by His journeys,

persecuted by those for whom He did so much good,

and not believed in by the Apostles . . . .

Behold Him here without suffering,

full of glory ...

strengthening some, encouraging others,

our companion in the most Blessed Sacrament."

St. Teresa of Avila
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Three Teachings on Corpus Christi   (Msgr Charles Pope)

Jesus Wants to Feed You! Corpus Christi  (Msgr Charles Pope)

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A special plenary indulgence is available for Corpus Christi

Grant #7.1.3 - Eucharistic Adoration and Procession - Plenary indulgence

The faithful who piously participate in solemn Eucharistic procession, either inside or outside of a Church, especially on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, may receive a plenary indulgence.

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Novena to the Sacred Heart 

Day 5 - Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 June 3-11

Solemnity:  12 June 2025

St Norbert, defender of the Eucharist, pray for us...

  "You will never enjoy the sweetness of a quiet prayer unless you

shut your mind to all worldly desires and temporal affairs." - St Norbert

The Defenders of the Eucharist ~ Peter Paul Rubens (1625)

In the sixteenth century, the denial of the Real Presence occurred again, along with a repudiation of the Mass as making present the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus. The Church’s response through the Council of Trent strongly reaffirmed these Eucharistic truths and sponsored the revival of Eucharistic devotions initiated in the Middle Ages.

Perhaps the greatest Eucharistic artwork from this period is Peter Paul Rubens’s oil painting entitled The Defenders of the Eucharist, created in 1625. Rubens reached back to the golden age of the Church Fathers as well as to  outstanding saints of the Middle Ages and assembled seven of them in one scene, united in the one faith of the Church witnessing their unity through the centuries of faith in the Eucharistic presence of Christ.  Today that painting is on display in the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida.

Beginning on the right side of the canvass, Rubens pictures St. Jerome, dressed as a cardinal receiving Communion. Next to him stands St. Norbert, clothed in his white habit and carrying the Eucharist beneath his robes. St. Thomas Aquinas stands in the center holding a book and extending his other hand to heaven, a gesture proclaiming his defense of the Eucharist. Beside him is St. Clare of Assisi, holding a monstrance that displays the sacred Eucharistic host. To her left is St. Gregory the Great, the pope who wrote so many works contained in the Mass. Then comes St. Ambrose, who wrote about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Rubens finishes his gathering of defenders of the Eucharist with St. Augustine, who included his reflections on this sacrament in his famous treatise on the Holy Trinity.

Rubens produced this painting during the Church’s Counter-Reformation efforts to defend and reclaim the authentic teachings about the Eucharist and the devotions that assisted believers to deepen their commitment to this mystery of faith.

The seven saints represented in this painting summarize our belief in the Eucharist. It is a sacrifice, the sacrifice of Jesus made present in a sacramental way. It is a sacrament of the abiding presence of Christ in the transformed bread and wine become his Body and Blood. It is a sacramental meal begun on Holy Thursday and available to us in Holy Communion. This sacrament is available to members of the Catholic Church who are in the state of grace. It is a transforming sacrament. The term “transubstantiation” means that the substance of bread and wine is changed into the substance of Christ’s Body and Blood. In receiving Communion, we too undergo a gradual transformation into Christ and are called to spread His love given to us throughout the world.  

Excerpt of Text from article: The Saints and Eucharistic Devotion

by Norbertine priest - Fr. Alfred McBride

St Norbert

Germany ~ 1080 - 1134

Bishop, Founder of the Norbertine Order*

Zealous preacher

Unswerving loyalty to the Church

Wholly devoted to Holy Eucharist,

tirelessly defended sanctity of Blessed Sacrament

Known as "Apostle of the Blessed Sacrament"

Incorrupt

Feast Day - June 6

On the occasion of his ordination to the priesthood, Norbert said,

"O Priest! You are not of yourself because you 

are the servant and minister of Christ. 

You are not your own because you 

are the spouse of the Church. 

You are not yourself because you 

are the mediator between God and man. 

You are not from yourself because you are nothing.

What then are you? Nothing and everything. O Priest! 

Take care lest what was  said to Christ on the cross be said to you: 

'He saved others, himself he cannot save!'"
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Click here: St. Norbert, Bishop, Apostle of the Blessed Sacrament (2 mins)
Click here: Vignette of Norbertine Life at St. Michael's Abbey - YouTube (5mins)
Click here: Norbertine Sisters in Americas - YouTube (25 mins)

St Norbert, pray for us!

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Novena to the Sacred Heart 

Day 4 - Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 June 3-11

Solemnity:  12 June 2025

God's strengthening aids...

  For My flesh is real food and 

My blood is real drink. - John 6:55

"Let us stand fast in what is right,

and prepare our souls for trial.

Let us wait upon God's strengthening aid
and say to Him:  O Lord, you have been 

our refuge in all generations."

St Boniface

Benedictine monk, Bishop, Martyr

675 - 754

nee England ~ Missionary to Germany

Known as  Apostle of Germany
Patron:  Germany, brewers, World Youth Day

Feast Day - June 5

“In her voyage across the ocean of this world, 

the Church is like a great ship being pounded 

by the waves of life's different stresses. 

Our duty is not to abandon ship 

but to keep her on her course.” - St Boniface

Click here: St. Boniface - YouTube (2 mins)

Click here: St Boniface - YouTube (Fr Wagner)

St Boniface, pray for us!

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Novena to the Sacred Heart 

Day 3 - Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 June 3-11

Solemnity:  12 June 2025

Winning way...

   Commit your way to the LORD; 

trust in him...Wait for the LORD and 

keep his way. - Psalm 37: 5, 34a

 

 

"What does it matter where we go? 

Wherever we go, won't we be serving God there? 

And wherever we go, won't we have Our Lord

in the Blessed Sacrament with us? 

Isn't that enough to make us happy?"

Bl. Solanus Casey

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Novena to the Sacred Heart 

Day 2 - Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 June 3-11

Solemnity:  12 June 2025

Courage and strength in us, not of us...

"This Bread of the Strong gives me all the strength 

I need to carry on my mission and the courage to 

do whatever the Lord asks of me.  The courage

 and strength that are in me are not of me, 

but of Him who lives in me - it is the Eucharist."

St Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament

"Sooner or later all creatures fail us...

He alone never deceives; 

He alone is faithful; 

He alone is the strength, 

the support, the unique Friend.  

Redouble your Eucharistic fervor!"

Fr Mateo Crawley-Boevey

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Remembering today: 

St Charles Lwanga and Companions

Martyrs of Uganda

1885-1887

https://cforc.com/2025/06/st-charles-lwanga-and-companions-martyrs-of-uganda/

St Charles Lwanga and Companions, 

pray for us!

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Novena to the Sacred Heart 

Day 1 - Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 June 3-11

Solemnity:  12 June 2025