TWENTY-NINTH LESSON
Corpus Christi.
"My delights are to be with the children of men."—Proverbs 7:31.
You remember, no doubt, my children, that on the eve of our Saviour's death, during the last supper He took with His Apostles, He instituted the holy sacrament of Eucharist, that holy sacrament by which God really dwells with man, and condescends to humble himself in giving His own divine Body and Blood as food to His guilty creatures. Every year on Maundy Thursday the Church celebrates the remembrance of that blessed day on which Jesus Christ gave us this proof of His love; but then the Church is so sadly engrossed by the sufferings and the Passion of our Lord, that she cannot give herself up as much as she desires, to rejoice for such a great boon conferred on mankind; she has therefore established a special feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. This feast is one of the greatest and most affecting of all religious feasts: it is the feast of God's love for us and of our gratitude towards God. My dear children, it is the custom, on this day, both in towns and in the country, to go in solemn procession outside the church, and to bear in triumph the Blessed Sacrament. At early morn, the bells have already begun to ring out their most joyful peals; the inhabitants eagerly strew flowers and boughs or leaves of trees over the streets by which the procession is about to pass, and prepare the altars at which the procession will rest awhile. In towns, the wealthy lend tapestries and splendid curtains, in the country white linen looped up with flowers, are the only hangings which the poor peasants of the village have at their disposal; but no one doubts that all these offerings, be they of more or less value, are equally acceptable in the eyes of Jesus. Is He not the God of the poor and of the rich, the Master of heaven and of earth? What He asks for especially is the free offering of the heart.
The procession comes out of the church and winds along, amidst the singing of hymns; the Priests are clothed in their handsomest vestments, the acolytes mingle with the smoke of incense showers of rose leaves, which they carry in pretty baskets. We may compare the scene, to the triumphal march of some mighty sovereign whose devoted subjects throng around him, or to one of those happy family meetings where children and relations eagerly surround a beloved parent on his birthday.
God is never more ready to lavish His graces on us than on this holy day, when He comes out of His tabernacle to be amongst us; all throng to greet Him on His passage, and thrice happy is he before whose dwelling the holy Sacrament has passed; the husbandman hopes to reap a plentiful harvest from the fields blessed by the presence of Jesus Christ; the poor invalids, if they can rise from their beds of suffering, draw near the windows, await there God's blessing, which often cures them, and certainly consoles them. Mothers with their infants in their arms, kneel on the altar steps, where our Lord condescends to stop and bless them; and whilst He rests on the innocent heads of these little angels, it seems as if He said to His ministers, as He did formerly to His disciples: Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
My dear children, nearly all of you have received in your early years this blessing of Jesus Christ; then you could not understand your happiness; but now that you begin to know the value of the holy Eucharist, be pious and fervent during this beautiful feast; thank God a thousand times for showing you such great love, and love him yourselves with all your heart.
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