12 October, Votive Mass of the Most Holy Eucharist

O God, Who under a wonderful Sacrament, hast left unto us whereby to show forth Thy Suffering Death, grant unto us, we beseech Thee, so reverently to handle the Sacred Mysteries of Thy Body and Thy Blood that we may always feel within ourselves the fruit of Thy Redeeming Work. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. (Translation of the Collect of Corpus Christi by the Marquess of Bute)

Already in the mystical invasion of 17th century France, Catherine de Bar (Mère Mechthilde du Saint–Sacrement, 1614–1698), foundress of the Benedictines of the Most Holy Sacrament, initiated a weekly rememoration of both Maundy Thursday and the festival of Corpus Christi. Whenever the rubrics allowed, Thursdays were marked by a Votive Mass and Office of the Most Holy Eucharist and by adoration of the Blessed Sacrament exposed in the monstrance, a rare privilege at the time. The Cistercians too marked Thursdays in the same way; Cistercian liturgical books contain a Votive Office of the Blessed Sacrament.

During the Year of the Eucharist, I proposed a weekly Votive Mass of the Most Holy Eucharist whenever a free Thursday occurred in the calendar. It is a practice that I am continuing now that the Year of the Eucharist has come and gone, a way of recalling the Gift and Mystery of the Cenacle, and of stirring up that eucharistic amazement that Pope John Paul II so desired to revive in the Church.

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
MR
The Lord opened the gates of heaven
and rained down manna for them to eat;
he gave them bread from heaven
and man ate the bread of angels (Ps 77:23-25).

ACT OF PENITENCE
Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins,
that we may be ready to celebrate the sacred mysteries.

You are the living Bread, the food and feast of our souls.
Kyrie, eleison.
You are the Bread of Angels, the food of pilgrims on the way.
Christe, eleison.
Yours is the Blood of the new and everlasting covenant.
Kyrie, eleison.

May Almighty God have mercy on us,
and lead us, with our sins forgiven,
into eternal life.

COLLECT
O God who in this wonderful sacrament
have left us a memorial of your passion,
grant us, we beseech you,
so to worship the sacred mysteries of your Body and Blood
that we may constantly experience in our lives
the fruit of your redemption.
Who live and reign with God the Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

GENERAL INTERCESSIONS
For the Church throughout the world;
that illumined by the sacred mysteries
of the Body and Blood of Christ,
she may announce to all men and women
the promise of the divine Wayfarer to be with us always,
to the end of the age” (cf. Mt 28:20),
to the Lord we pray: Christ, hear us. R. CHRIST, GRACIOUSLY HEAR US.

For Christians serving in the government;
that in the Eucharist, they may experience
the presence of the Prince of Peace,
forming them in the light of His Gospel and of His Sacrifice,
to the Lord we pray: Christ, hear us. R. CHRIST, GRACIOUSLY HEAR US.

For the elderly suffering loneliness;
for immigrants and refugees in their struggles;
and for the sick and dying;
that they may find healing, comfort, and hope
in the Sacred Body and Precious Blood of Christ,
to the Lord we pray: Christ, hear us. R. CHRIST, GRACIOUSLY HEAR US.

For ourselves;
that, formed by the Word of God
and sustained by the intercession of the Virgin Mary,
we may celebrate, contemplate, and adore
the Most Holy Eucharist,
to the Lord we pray: Christ, hear us. R. CHRIST, GRACIOUSLY HEAR US.

COLLECT AT THE GENERAL INTERCESSIONS
Almighty and ever-living God,
who give to those who ask
the grace of a lively faith in the mystery of the Eucharist,
fill us with the deepest possible reverence
for this most holy Sacrament,
and by this celebration of your holy and life–giving Mysteries,
imbue us with a holy amazement,
that lost, all lost in wonder, we may praise you here below
and come at length to the heavenly supper of the Lamb.
Through Christ our Lord.

Or:
Enkindle in our hearts, O God, the desire for heaven
and give a burning thirst for eternal life
to us who, with profound adoration,
confess the mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ.
Who lives and reigns forever and ever.

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Lord, be gracious to your Church,
we entreat you,
and grant her the gifts of unity and peace
which are mystically represented
by our sacrificial gifts.
Through Christ our Lord.

PREFACE
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and merciful God
through Christ our Lord.
He is the true and everlasting priest
who established for us the form of the eternal sacrifice;
he offered himself to you as a victim for our salvation
and taught us to offer that same sacrifice as his memorial.
When we eat the Body sacrificed for us
we are made strong
and when we drink the Blood poured out for us
we are washed clean.
And so, with angels and archangels
and with all the powers of heaven,
we glorify your holy Name,
in this, their ceaseless hymn of praise:

PREFACE
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always, here and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.
As he ate with his apostles at the Last Supper,
Christ offered himself to you as the Lamb without blemish,
the acceptable sacrifice of perfect praise.
He willed to continue throughout the ages
the memorial of his saving cross.
In this holy sacrament
you feed and sanctify your people,
so that the human race that shares one earth
may be enlightened by one faith
and joined together in one bond of love.
And so, we draw near to your table
and to so wonderful a sacrament,
to be flooded by the sweetness of your grace
and pass over into the likeness of heaven.
And therefore, with all the choirs of angels,
we praise your glory, now and forever,
as with one voice, we sing:

PREFACE
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always, here and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.
This is the sacrifice begun by Abel the righteous,
and revealed in the Passover Lamb;
the sacrifice made by Abraham
and shown forth by Melchisedek the priest;
the sacrifice brought to perfect fullness
by Christ, true Lamb and eternal Priest.
And so, with angels and archangels,
and with all the powers of heaven,
we glorify your holy Name
in this, their ceaseless hymn of praise:

COMMUNION ANTIPHON
MR
I am the living bread
which came down from heaven, says the Lord;
if any one eats of this bread, he will live forever;
and the bread which I shall give
is my flesh for the life of the world (Jn 6:51).

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Fill us, we beseech you, Lord,
through all eternity
with the enjoyment of your divinity
which is foreshadowed in this life
by our partaking of your precious Body and Blood.
Who live and reign forever and ever.