Other Commemorations

Throughout the history of the church, other observances have developed that focus on various dimensions of Christian piety. Not all Christians recognize these commemorations, the practice of which has tended to ebb and flow during Christianity's two thousand years. This article presents descriptions of liturgical resources for some of these days.

Corpus Christi Sunday This feast, which is celebrated on the Thursday or the Sunday after Trinity Sunday, is a memorial of the Eucharist, particularly the blood of Christ. Also called the Feast of the Precious Blood, it was established in Rome in the thirteenth century and became universal in the fourteenth century after Thomas Aquinas wrote a special liturgy for the feast. It was the custom on this day to elevate the host and hold a procession around the church. Consequently, all the people were able to see the host for their personal devotion. The extravagances related to this festival prevented it from being used in the Protestant world. Today, in the modern Roman Rite, the service is called Corpus et sanguis, the body and the blood, reflecting a concern to emphasize both elements celebrated in the Eucharist. While not observing this day, many Protestant traditions have emphasized the aspect of piety that this observance highlights. Think of the many Protestant (often revival) hymns focusing on the blood of Christ, such as "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood." Lectionary texts associated with this day include Genesis 14:18–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26; Luke 9:11–17; and Psalm 80. The following litany gives a flavor of this observance. A LITANY OF THE CROSS AND THE BLOOD OF CHRIST I have heard, O Lord, of the mystery of your ways and have contemplated your works. We praise your precious blood, O Christ. O three times blessed tree, The tree upon which Christ the King was stretched, The same tree through which Adam fell, You, O God, were nailed upon it. We praise your precious blood, O Christ. When Moses struck with his rod The Red Sea and caused it to part and striking again caused it to close on the enemy, He did symbolize the weapon of the cross. We praise your precious blood, O Christ. When Jonah in the belly of the whale stretched forth his hands in the form of a cross, He foreshadowed your passion, O Lord. And when he came out of the third day, he symbolized the Resurrection and illuminated the world. We praise your precious blood, O Christ. When the three youths were put in the belly of the consuming fire, They sang Blessed art thou, God of our Fathers, We praise, bless, and worship you, O Lord. O ye youths equal in number to the Trinity, Bless the Father, the God creator; Praise the word which turned the fire to a dewy breeze; and exalt more and more the all-holy Spirit, who giveth life to everyone. We hymn you and glorify you, O Christ. Let all the trees of the wood rejoice, For their nature has been sanctified by the stretching of Christ on the tree. We adore the elevated cross and magnify it, And we worship him who is lifted up. We magnify you and adore you forever and ever. Amen. (Adapted from Eastern Orthodox sources) Feast of the Sacred Heart In the Roman calendar, the Feast of the Sacred Heart is celebrated on the Friday of the week after Corpus Christi. The focus is on the symbol of the physical heart of Jesus and on the human and divine love that poured forth from his heart. While the themes of this service are found in the Scripture, the feast was developed in the medieval era, particularly in the subjective piety of that period. Although Protestants have not observed this feast, many strains of Protestant piety have emphasized similar themes, such as the heart of Jesus, the love that flows from it, and our devotion to him and to others resulting from his heart of love. Lectionary texts associated with this day include Ezekiel 34:11–16; Romans 5:5–11; and Luke 15:3–7. A traditional prayer used on this feast day is a prayer that the love of Christ's heart may touch the world with healing and peace:

Father, we honor the heart of your Son, broken by man's cruelty, yet a symbol of love's triumph, pledge of all that man is called to be. Teach us to see Christ in the lives we touch, to offer him living worship by love-filled service to our brothers and sisters. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Appropriate hymns for this day include "For Heart to Praise My God," "A Perfect Heart," "Come Ye Disconsolate," "Just as I Am," "Let Your Heart Be Broken," "My Jesus, I Love Thee," "Near to the Heart of God," "O For a Heart to Praise My God," "Rejoice Ye Pure in Heart," and "Since Jesus Came into My Heart." Triumph of the Cross The origin of the feast celebrating the triumph of the cross goes back to the fourth century and is observed on September 14th, the date when tradition holds the cross was discovered. It may be observed on the Sunday nearest this day. Nevertheless the feast did not appear in liturgical books until the middle of the seventh century. In the East, "the universal exaltation of the precious and live-giving cross" is nearly as important as Easter. The world exaltation, which means "to lift up," is taken from John 3:14. The liturgical formulas praise the cross as "both the sign of God's suffering and the trophy of his victory." Lectionary texts for this day include Numbers 21:4–9; Philippians 2:6–11; John 3:13–17; and Psalm 20. Appropriate hymns include "At the Cross," "Beneath the Cross of Jesus," "In the Cross of Christ I Glory," "Lift High the Cross," "Near the Cross," and "The Old Rugged Cross." Holy Cross Day This day focuses on the cross of Christ and is observed on September 14, the day on which the cross of Christ was supposed to have been discovered. Suggested texts include Numbers 21:4b–9; Psalm 98:1–5 or 78:1–2, 34–38; 1 Corinthians 1:18–24; and John 3:13–17. An appropriate prayer is as follows:

Almighty God, your Son Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the cross so that he might draw the whole world to himself. Grant that we who glory in his death for our salvation may also glory in his call to take up our cross and follow him; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

This is an appropriate day to recall the passion of Christ. This can be an important part of the Christian journey through the year, highlighting the central reality of Christ's cross at a point in the year that is almost the farthest from Holy Week. Appropriate hymns include almost any Good Friday hymn, such as "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross." Feast of Dedication This ancient feast is rooted in the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, or Dedication (John 10:22), which remembers the rebuilding and reconsecration of the temple after the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrians in a.d. 165. The church, adopting this Jewish feast to its own buildings, turned it into a feast of the church. On this Sunday, the church may celebrate its own existence. Today the celebration is not so much that of a material building, but of the spiritual building of the church itself. This feast may be celebrated on the first Sunday in October. Lectionary texts include 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 1 Peter 2:5.