Mount Calvary Church
Eutaw Street and Madison Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland
The Roman Catholic Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter
Rev. Albert Scharbach, Pastor
Corpus Christi
8:00 AM Said Mass
10:00 AM Sung Mass
Eucharistic Procession to Mother Anne Seton House
Parish Picnic
Anthems
The text of the Corpus Christi Carol (music by Benjamin Britten) was discovered in 1504. One theory about the meaning of the carol is that it is concerned with the legend of the Holy Grail. In Arthurian traditions of the Grail story, the Fisher King is the knight who is the Grail’s protector, and whose legs are perpetually wounded.[1]When he is wounded his kingdom suffers and becomes a wasteland. This would explain the reference to “an orchard brown”.
The text may be an allegory in which the crucified is described as a wounded knight. The bleeding knight could be Christ who bleeds for the sins of humanity endlessly. Christ is most probably represented as a knight as he is battling sin and evil by his continual pain. The “orchard brown” to which the knight was conveyed becomes, in this reading, the “orchard” of wooden crosses that covered the hill of Golgotha/Calvary where Christ – along with many others – was Crucified, while the “hall… hanged with purpill and pall” could be a representation of the tomb in which Christ was placed after Crucifixion. The maiden who is by the knight’s side could be Mary. The colours in the carol are also significant. The purple and gold are signs of wealth, although these were also colours that referred to the Church due to its wealth. The pall (black velvet) probably refers to death.
Panis angelicus, set by Cesar Franck, (Latin for “Bread of Angels” or “Angelic Bread”) is the penultimate strophe of the hymn “Sacris solemniis” written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the feast of Corpus Christi.
Hymns
Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendor (BRYN CALFARIA) is a communion hymn by the Rev. George Hugh Bourne (1840-1925). The tune is by the Welsh musician William Owen (1813-1893).
O food to pilgrims given (O WEWLT ICH MUSS DICH LASSEN) is a translation of O esca viatorum, an anonymous Latin hymn first published in 1647. In the first verse, we express the desire to unite with Christ by means of His body, the manna from heaven; in the second, by means of His blood, the fountain of living water that gives us eternal life. In the third verse, we desire the vision of Christ’s face unveiled, whose hidden presence we adore in the eucharistic species.
O saving victim (MARTYR DEI) is a translation of O salutaris hostia by Thomas Aquinas.
Thee Father, we thank thee (RENDEZ A DIEU) is a translation by the Rev. Francis Bland Tucker (1896—1984; UVA 1914) of a portion of the Didache (c. 110 AD) that describes the manner of celebrating the Eucharist: “concerning the broken bread. We thank thee, our Father, for the life and knowledge which thou hast made known unto us through Jesus thy Son; to thee be the glory forever. As this broken bread was once scattered on the mountains, and after it had been brought together became one, so may thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth unto thy kingdom.”
Hymns in procession
Now, my tongue, the mystery telling is a translation of the Pange lingua by Thomas Aquinas.
Holy God we praise Thy name is a translation of a German paraphrase of the Te Deum.