Today is the Feast of Corpus Christi ("the Body of Christ"), on which we remember how our Lord Jesus pours out his love for us, to be the Bread of life who feeds the deepest hunger of our hearts; his gift to us of Holy Communion, in which we feed on him by faith in our hearts with thanksgiving; and his summons to us, his Church, to share (and BE) bread for others, as we live as his Body in the world. Our Liturgy has these themes throughout.
Speaking of our Liturgy, for many years, we’ve seen it as most appropriate to on this day have an Instructed Eucharist, looking together at the meaning of the different parts of the Eucharistic Liturgy. The pandemic interrupted this custom, but we’re resuming it this year.
Norman is leading us through the Service, assisted by Fergus. We’re blessed to have our Virtual Choir leading us in our Congregational Hymns and an Offertory Anthem. Doreen is on video leading our First Reading. Murray is in person to lead the Prayers of the People.
These prayers begin with a Corpus Christi Litany. They then continue with a Prayer in Response to COVID-19 from the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches USA. And they conclude with a Prayer in Response to the Residential Schools’ Abuse, on which the discovery this past week of a mass grave for 215 children has shone the light of truth. With tears of remorse, pain, and rage, we join in the Prayers shared by St. Paul’s Cathedral in Kamloops.
Our Service is a Holy Eucharist, and so we have the opportunity to receive the Body of Christ broken, and his blood outpoured, in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving, as we partake of Communion, physically as well as spiritually, using Reserved Sacrament from the previous Sunday’s Service. This Reserved Sacrament is available for pick up just inside the main doors every Saturday, from 2 to 2:45, and other times by appointment. The wafers are in individual paper cups, and placed in a sealed baggie, to ensure their safety.
After Communion, we have a special surprise: a wonderful GOOD NEWS announcement for our whole Parish family! Make sure you don’t miss it!
When our Liturgy ends, the service begins: we go in peace to love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit, and by the power of the Spirit, bearing witness to Jesus and his way of justice, peace, and love to our broken world in all we say and do.
Today’s Service of Holy Eucharist will be livestreamed on our main Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/stpaulscalgary) at 9:30 am. Following the service, the video will be posted on our YouTube Channel, and a link to the service will be added here. To watch this service in full screen mode, please click on the “Watch on YouTube” button in the lower left-hand corner of the video. Please download the Order of Service if you would like to follow along.
Permission to reprint, podcast, and/or stream the music in this service obtained from:
(a) ONE LICENSE with license # A-713985, and/or
(b) CCLI with Streaming License # 20351479.
All rights reserved.