The Feast Of Corpus Christi

The feast of Corpus Christi, one of the most solemn feasts of the Latin Church, can be traced to the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 and its resolution of disputes over the nature of the Eucharist. The feast was first celebrated in Liège in 1246, thanks largely to the efforts of a religious woman, Juliana of Mont Cornillon, who not only popularized the feast, but also wrote key elements of an original office. This volume presents for the first time a complete set of source materials germane to the study of the feast of Corpus Christi. In addition to the multiple versions of the original Latin liturgy, a set of poems in Old French, and their English translations, the book includes complete transcriptions of the music associated with the feast. An introductory essay lays out the historical context for understanding the initiation and reception of the feast.

Introduces young readers to Catholic beliefs as expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Analysis of how a religious festival dramatized the subaltern status of indigenous converts and how these converts used this to construct positive colonial identities.

A paperback edition of Miri Rubin's highly successful study of the meaning of the eucharist, c. 1150-1500.

The feast of Corpus Christi, one of the most solemn feasts of the Latin Church, can be traced to the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 and its resolution of disputes over the nature of the Eucharist. The feast was first celebrated in Liège in 1246, thanks largely to the efforts of a religious woman, Juliana of Mont Cornillon, who not only popularized the feast, but also wrote key elements of an original office. This volume presents for the first time a complete set of source materials germane to the study of the feast of Corpus Christi. In addition to the multiple versions of the original Latin liturgy, a set of poems in Old French, and their English translations, the book includes complete transcriptions of the music associated with the feast. An introductory essay lays out the historical context for understanding the initiation and reception of the feast.

On the day of a royal wedding in a kingdom where everyone has grown careless in the practice of their Catholic faith, a poor widow helps reveal the true value of the Mass.

In “I’m Not Being Fed!” Discovering the Food that Satisfies the Soul, Jeff Cavins explores the reasons why many Catholics do not seem to understand and appreciate the Holy Eucharist—and why some have even left the Church, saying that they simply weren’t being “fed” and that they longed for a more personal, “spiritually nourishing” relationship with Jesus. In these pages, you will learn: ● What Catholics who have left the Church mean when they say they weren’t “being fed” ● How to respond to common objections to the Catholic faith ● Why Jesus invites us into a more personal, intimate relationship with him ● Why some Catholics don’t feel spiritually satisfied, even if they attend Mass ● How to help those who have left the Church embark on their journey home Focusing on the clear biblical evidence for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, Cavins points out that it is impossible to read the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel literally without recognizing that the Eucharist is more than just a “symbol” of God’s love. Rather, it is the very heart of Christianity, the only food that truly satisfies our souls. "Here Jeff Cavins succeeds in his quest to help readers understand how the Catholic Church truly feeds people with the Word of God and with the very body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus in the Eucharist. Whether they firmly believe the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist or have serious doubts, Cavins helps Catholics grow in their knowledge and love of the Eucharist and savor the feast Christ Himself sets before them at every Mass." Fr. Terence Henry, TOR President, Franciscan University of Steubenville "By weaving the personal with the historical, Cavins is at his best in describing the spiritual meaning of the Eucharist and in demonstrating the Truth that inheres in Catholicism." William A. Donohue, Ph.D. President, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

The feast of Corpus Christi, celebrated annually on Thursday after Trinity Sunday, was devoted to the Eucharist, and the normal practice was to have solemn processions through the city with the Host, the consecrated wafer that was believed to have been transformed into the true body and blood of Jesus. In this way the "cultus Dei" thus celebrated allowed the people to venerate the Eucharistic bread in order that they might be stimulated to devotion and brought symbolically, even mystically into a relationship with the central moments of salvation history. Perhaps it is logical, therefore, that pageants and plays were introduced in order to access yet another way of visualizing and participating in those events. Thus the "invisible things" of the divine order "from the creation of the world" might be displayed. The York Corpus Christi Plays, contained in London, British Library, MS. Add. 35290 and comprising more than thirteen thousand lines of verse, actually represent a unique survival of medieval theater. They form the only complete play cycle verifiably associated with the feast of Corpus Christi that is extant and was performed at a specific location in England.

The Catholic "thing" - the concrete historical reality of Catholicism as a presence in human history - is the richest cultural tradition in the world. It values both faith and reason, and therefore has a great deal to say about politics and economics, war and peace, manners and morals, children and families, careers and vocations, and many other perennial and contemporary questions. In addition, it has inspired some of the greatest art, music, and architecture, while offering unparalleled human solidarity to tens of millions through hospitals, soup kitchens, schools, universities, and relief services. This volume brings together some of the very best commentary on a wide range of recent events and controversies by some of the very best Catholic writers in the English language: Ralph McInerny, Michael Novak, Fr. James V. Schall, Hadley Arkes, Robert Royal, Anthony Esolen, Brad Miner, George Marlin, David Warren, Austin Ruse, Francis Beckwith, and many others. Their contributions cover large Catholic subjects such as philosophy and theology, liturgy and Church dogma, postmodern culture, the Church and modern politics, literature, and music. But they also look into specific contemporary problems such as religious liberty, the role of Catholic officials in public life, growing moral hazards in bio-medical advances, and such like. The Catholic Thing is a virtual encyclopedia of Catholic thought about modern life.

216 pages. Excerpt: The object of this little book is, then, to make Jesus, in the Blessed Eucharist, more generally known and better loved. Our Divine Saviour is ready to bestow innumerable graces through this Sacrament, which are lost in consequence of the ignorance and indifference of men. When the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is not revered and loved, scandals will abound, faith will languish and the Church will mourn. On the other hand, if this Sacrament be worthily frequented, peace will reign in Christian hearts, the devil will lose power, and souls will be sanctified. "As many as received Him to them He gave power to be made the sons of God." (John 1:12) It has seemed to me that a work explanatory of the prominent points of this mystery, written in a simple and familiar style, would greatly contribute to remove the obstacles to a right appreciation of this wonderful Sacrament of Divine love; and with this conviction I have ventured to lay the following pages before the public, trusting, with the blessing of God, they may prove useful to many souls. As Almighty God in His goodness imparts His favors to His faithful followers in divers ways-----sometimes by enlightening their minds in a supernatural manner, and even conversing with them familiarly, as it were-----and as the nature of this work is intended to be practical, not controversial, I have thought it expedient for the edification of pious souls to introduce into it, after the manner of the Holy Fathers, both some revelations made to certain Saints and several miraculous facts concerning this mystery. I know there are some persons who, boasting of being free from prejudices, take great credit to themselves for believing no miracles but those recorded in the Holy Scriptures, esteeming all others as tales and fables for foolish women. But it will be well to remember here a remark of the learned St. Alphonsus, who says, "that the bad are as ready to deride miracles as the good are to believe them; adding that as it is a weakness to give credit to all things, so on the other hand, to reject miracles which come to us attested by grave and pious men, either savors of infidelity, which supposes them impossible to God, or of presumption, which refuses belief to such a class of authors. We give credit to a Tacitus, a Suetonius, and can we deny it without presumption to Christian authors of learning and probity. There is less risk in believing and receiving what is related with some probability by honest persons and not rejected by the learned, and which serves for the edification of our neighbor, than in rejecting it with a disdainful and presumptuous spirit?" (Glories of Mary) Hence Pope Benedict XIV (De Canoni. Sanct.) says: "Though an assent of Catholic faith be not due to them, they deserve a human assent according to the rules of prudence by which they are probable and piously credible." Now should the Reverend Clergy deem this publication ever so little calculated to promote devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the compiler will believe himself amply rewarded for his labor if they encourage its circulation. Michael Müller, C.S.S.R. St. Alphonsus', Baltimore, Maryland December 8, 1867