[Officium]
Feria Secunda infra Octavam Corporis Christi

[Officium] (rubrica 196 aut rubrica 1955)
Feria II infra Hebdomadam II post Octavam Pentecostes

[Lectio1]
Lesson from the first book of Samuel
!1 Sam 5:1-5
1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and carried it from the Stone of help into Azotus.
2 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the temple of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
3 And when the Azotians arose early the next day, behold Dagon lay upon his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord: and they took Dagon, and set him again in his place.
4 And the next day again, when they rose in the morning, they found Dagon lying upon his face on the earth before the ark of the Lord: and the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold:
5 And only the stump of Dagon remained in its place.

[Lectio2]
!1 Sam 5:6-8
6 And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Azotians, and he destroyed them, and afflicted Azotus and the coasts thereof with emerods. And in the villages and fields in the midst of that country, there came forth a multitude of mice, and there was the confusion of a great mortality in the city.
7 And the men of Azotus seeing this kind of plague, said: The ark of the God of Israel shall not stay with us: for his hand is heavy upon us, and upon Dagon our god.
8 And sending, they gathered together all the lords of the Philistines to them, and said: What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And the Gethrites answered: Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about.

[Lectio3]
!1 Sam 5:8-12
8 And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about.
9 And while they were carrying it about, the hand of the Lord came upon every city with an exceeding great slaughter: and he smote the men of every city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts. And the Gethrites consulted together, and made themselves seats of skins.
10 Therefore they sent the ark of God into Accaron. And when the ark of God was come into Accaron, the Accaronites cried out, saying: They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people.
11 They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines: and they said: Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return into its own place, and not kill us and our people.
12 For there was the fear of death in every city, and the hand of God was exceeding heavy.

[Lectio4]
From the Sermons of St. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople
!Continuation of the 60th Homily
In this mysterious Sacrament Christ doth mingle Himself with all and each of His faithful ones. They are His children, and He nurseth them Himself, and giveth them not over unto another, herein again assuring us that the Flesh He hath taken unto Himself is ours. We then, who have been deemed meet to be treated with such love and such honour, let us be wakeful See ye not how eagerly the sucklings seize on the breasts, how readily they fix their mouths on the paps Let us, with like eagerness, draw nigh to that Table, and suck at that spiritual Cup. Yea, let us prize that gracious Food as the suckling doth its mother's breast, and hold it the great woe of life to be cut off from that Banquet. Here there are set before us no works of man's power He That worked at that Last Supper, the Same worketh the same here still. As for us Priests, we hold the place of His ministers, but He Which halloweth and changeth is He. Hither let there draw nigh no Judas, nor covetous one this is no Table for him. But he which is Christ's disciple, let him come for the Lord saith “I will keep the Passover with My disciples,” (Matth. xxvi. 18.) This is that Passover Table, and it is all Christ's what is wrought there is not some of it Christ's work, and some of it man's work, but it is all His work and not another's.

[Lectio5]
Wither let there draw nigh none brutal, none cruel, none merciless in good sooth, none unclean. I speak to all that take that Holy Communion, and to you also, O ye that do administer the same To you now I turn my speech, to warn you with how great care that Gift is to be given. No slight vengeance is that which awaiteth you if ye admit for a partaker at the Lord's Table the sinner whose guiltiness ye know. At your hands will his blood be required. If a man be a General, a Governor, a crowned Monarch, yet if he come there unworthily, forbid him thou hast greater power than he. To this end hath God exalted you to the honour ye hold, that ye may judge in such matters. This office is your dignity, this is your strength, this is all your crown, this, and not the going about in white robes and glittering vestments. And thou, O layman when thou seest the Priest making the oblation, think not that He Which is then the real Worker is such a Priest as thou seest, but know of a surety that it is Christ's Hand Which is stretched out, albeit unseen by thee.

[Lectio6]
Let us hear, all of us, both Priests and laymen, let us hear What Food it is whereof we are made worthy let us hear, I say, and let us quake. The Lord satisfieth us with His Own holy Flesh, setting Himself slain before us. What excuse therefore shall we have, if, being so fed as we are, we sin as we do If, eating of the Lamb, we are still wolves If, pastured as the sheep of the flock, we raven like lions This mysterious Sacrament forbiddeth unto us not outrage only, but any the least enmity it is the Mystery of peace. Upon the Jews God laid it to make year by year by solemn festivals a yearly commemoration of His mercies unto them, but upon thee to do this in remembrance of His love to thee, day by day. To this Table then let there draw nigh no Judas Iscariot, no Simon Magus. These men fell through covetousness let us fly that bottomless pit.

[Lectio7]
From the Holy Gospel according to John 
!John 6:56-59
At that time, Jesus said unto the multitudes of the Jews: My Flesh is meat indeed, and My Blood is drink indeed. And so on.
_
Homily by St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.
!26th Tract on John.
“This is the bread which cometh down from heaven,” (v. 50.) By “this bread” the Lord here signifieth both the manna, and That Which we receive at the Altar of God. Both these are, as it were, Sacramental signs, differing indeed somewhat in their outward and visible part, but pointing to the Same Thing signified. Hear what the Apostle saith: “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat the same spiritual meat.” (1 Cor. x. 1-3.) This meat was the same spiritually but not really they ate manna we eat Something else. Spiritually they ate What we eat but our fathers not their fathers; unto whom we are like not unto whom they are like. And it is added “And did all drink the same Spiritual drink.” They drank one thing, and we drank Another, the difference being in the outer show, the sameness in that the Same Thing is pointed to by both. And what was that Same Drink? “They drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” Him did bread and rock alike signify. The Rock was a figure, but by the Word and in the Flesh there is the very Christ Himself. And how came they to drink of that rock “Moses lift up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice, and the water came out abundantly.” (Num. xx. 11.) These two strokes of the rod upon the rock are a figure of the two beams whereof the Cross was made.

[Lectio8]
Christ's faithful ones discern the Lord's Body while they remain watchful members of His Body. They remain members of His Body as long as they will to live according to His Spirit. The Spirit of Christ giveth life to nothing but the body of Christ. Now, my brethren, understand what I am going to say. Thou art a man, and hast a body and a spirit. By spirit I mean the soul, which causeth thee to be a man at all. Thou art a man, made up of soul and body. thy spirit is unseen, thy body seen. Tell me, which of them is it which giveth animation to the other Doth thy spirit derive animation from thy body, or thy body from thy spirit Every one who liveth will answer for if any one cannot answer this, I know not if he be alive. What will whosoever hath life answer: “Verily, it is my spirit which doth animate my body.” Wilt thou then live by the Spirit of Christ? Be of the Body of Christ.

[Lectio9]
Is it not my spirit which doth animate my body My spirit doth animate my body, and thy spirit doth animate thy body. The Body of Christ liveth not save by the Spirit of Christ. Hence it is that the Apostle Paul saith, touching this Bread: “We, being many, are one bread, and one body, for we are all partakers of that one Bread.” (1 Cor. x. 17.) O what a Sacrament of love O what a seal of union O what a bond of charity He that willeth to live hath here where to live, and whence to live. Let him come near, let him believe, let him enter into that Body, that he may be quickened. Let him not sever himself from the fit joining-together of all the members let him not be as a mortifying limb, that must needs be cut off, nor a mis-shapen limb, a cause to blush. Let him be goodly, and useful, and healthy. Let him cleave unto the body let him live by God to God let him labour now on earth, that he may reign hereafter in heaven.
&teDeum
