Dare all thou canst, thou hast no song worthy his praises to prolong

This morning, when "I will raaaiiiiiisssse him u-up on the la-aast day" wasn't quite the meditation I was hoping for*, my beloved Francesca came to the rescue with the words of the Corpus Christi Sequence from her North American College Manual of Prayers.**

Sing forth, O Sion, sweetly sing

The praises of thy Shepherd-King,

In hymns and canticles divine;

Dare all thou canst, thou hast no song

Worthy his praises to prolong,

So far surpassing powers like thine.

Today no theme of common praise

Forms the sweet burden of thy lays-

The living, life-dispensing food-

That food which at the sacred board

Unto the brethren twelve of our Lord

His parting legacy bestowed.

Then be the anthem clear and strong,

Thy fullest note, thy sweet song,

The very music of the breast:

For now shines forth the day sublime

That brings remembrance of the time

When Jesus first his table blessed.

Within our new King's banquet-hall

They meet to keep the festival

That closed the ancient paschal rite:

The old is by the new replaced;

The substance hath the shadow chased;

And rising day dispels the night.

Christ willed what he himself had done

Should be renewed while time should run,

In memory of his parting hour:

Thus, tutored in his school divine,

We consecrate the bread and wine;

And lo - a Host of saving power.

This faith to Christian men is given -

Bread is made flesh by words from heaven:

Into his blood the wine is turned:

What though it baffles nature's powers

Of sense and sight? This faith of ours

Proves more than nature's discerned.

Concealed beneath the twofold sign,

Meet symbols of the gifts divine,

There lie the mysteries adored:

The living body is our food;

Our drink the ever-precious blood

In each, one undivided Lord.

Not he that eateth it divides

The sacred food, which whole abides

Unbroken still, nor knows decay;

Be one, or be a thousand fed,

They eat alike that living bread

Which, still received, ne'er wastes away.

The good, the guilty share therein,

With sure increase of grace or sin,

The ghostly life, or ghostly death:

Death to the guilty; to the good

Immortal life. See how one food

Man's joy or woe accomplisheth.

We break the Sacrament; but bold

And firm thy faith shall keep its hold;

Deem not the whole doth more enfold

Than in the fractured part resides.

Deem not that Christ doth broken lie;

'Tis but the sight that meets the eye;

The hidden deep reality

In all its fullness still abides.

Behold the Bread of angels, sent

For pilgrims in their banishment,

The bread for God's true children meant,

That may not unto dogs be given;

Oft in the olden types foreshadowed;

In Isaac on the altar bowed,

And in the ancient paschal food,

And in the manna sent from heaven.

Come, then, good Shepherd, bread divine,

Still show to us thy mercy sign;

Oh, feed us still, still keep us thine;

So we may see thy glories shine

In field of immortality.

O thou, the wisest, mightiest, best,

Our present food, our future rest,

Come, make us each thy chosen guest,

Co-heirs of thine, and comrades blest,

With saints whose dwelling is with thee.

Amen. Alleluia.

*I realize this is Scripture, and as such the text is infinitely valuable. I just don't find this particular song promotes meditation. It could just be me though.

**It's very likely you can get a copy of this wonderful prayer book from your local Catholic book store, but it's also available online from a variety of sources. The Church Ladies highly recommend it!

You can hear the Corpus Christi Sequence chanted here.

Image credit: Eucharist in Fruit Wreath by Jan Davidszoon de Heem