Sunday, June 13
A Prayer for the Day
Let joy abound with us on every side,
The sacred feast proclaiming far and wide;
Come, let our souls, renewed in love, arise,
In thought, word, action, purged and purified.
We celebrate the Supper of that night,
When Christ Himself, the Lord of love and light,
Lamb and unleavened bread, gave to the Twelve
His body, and fulfilled the ancient rite.
Our souls in joy receive His solemn word--
The Lamb of God, the Bread of Life, the Lord,
His Body broke and gave to each and all--
God's Flesh by God's hand given at the Board.
Thus breaking to the sorrowing ones the bread,
He took and blessed the chalice, and He said:
"Take ye the cup and drink; this is My Blood,
That unto man's redemption shall be shed."
So did the Christ the sacrifice ordain,
And gave His priests the duty to maintain
The rite; 'tis theirs alone to take and give
That love that ever shall with man remain.
The bread of angels is to man restored;
All figures end in heaven's sublime reward;
O wondrous thought! The poor, the weak, the low
Feast on the Body of the living Lord.
Thou triune Deity, to Thee we pray,
Honored upon the altar day by day,
Visit our souls, and by Thy holy light
Lead us to heaven, and be Thy paths our way.
--St. Thomas Aquinas, Morning Hymn for the feast of Corpus Christi
![[SMMMHDH]](http://www.mgilleland.com/music/smmmhdh.png){kind=small}
