Eucharistic Saints

Saint Alphonsus Liguori

by Gary Penkala

As we continue with the National Eucharistic Revival, it would be profitable to recall those saints who had a special devotion to the Blessed Eucharist. Over the next few articles we'll study these saints, their lives, their devotion to the Blessed Eucharist, and music connected to them.

Life

Alphonsus Mary Antony John Cosmas Damian Michael Gaspard de' Liguori was a brilliant Italian youth. At the age of 16 he was awarded doctorates in both civil law and canon law by the University of Naples. He had learned to play harpsichord expertly and was a lover of opera.

After ordination to the priesthood in 1726, he spent much time offering popular parish missions. In 1732 he founded the Redemptorist Congregation, also dedicated to parish missions, mainly in rural areas. A talented composer, he wrote many hymns for use at parish missions, including the popular Italian carol, Tu scendi dalle stelle. At age 66, he was consecrated bishop of the Diocese of Sant'Agata dei Goti and immediately began reforming inadequacies there.

His days ended with great difficulties, sickness and sorrow: "deaf, blind, and laden with so many infirmities, that he has no longer even the appearance of a man." He retired as bishop and lived the last 12 years of his life with the Redemptorist community in Pagani, Italy, dying August 1, 1787.

Devotion to the Eucharist

The saint was author to a Way of the Cross booklet, still in popular use today. One of the most important of his many theological tomes was his book on The Holy Eucharist:

Our holy faith teaches us, and we are bound to believe, that in the consecrated Host, Jesus Christ is really present under the species of bread. But we must also understand that He is thus present on our altars as on a throne of love and mercy, to dispense graces and there to show us the love which He bears us, by being pleased to dwell night and day hidden in the midst of us.

There it was that Saint Francis Xavier found refreshment in the midst of his many labors in India; for he employed his days in toiling for souls, and his nights in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Saint John Francis Regis did the same thing; and sometimes finding the church closed, he endeavored to satisfy his longings by remaining on his knees, outside the door exposed to the rain and cold so that at least at a distance he might attend upon his Comforter concealed under the sacramental species. Saint Francis of Assisi used to go to communicate all his labors and undertakings to Jesus in the most Holy Sacrament.

Related Music

1. Psalm for Communion: Taste and See (David O'Donnell) —
   Here's a piece that, because of its simplicity and variety, will make any parish musical ensemble sound terrific. The composer has arranged perhaps the most iconic Eucharistic psalm (34: Taste and see the goodness of the Lord) as a Communion piece. Here's a perfect way to sidestep the problem of what to sing at Communion so people don't need a hymnal in line.

   David O'Donnell arranged Psalm for Communion: Taste and See when he was Choirmaster at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Wheeling WV for the 2015 Diaconate Ordinations. It begins with a simple refrain, "Taste and see… " sung by cantor and congregation. Five verses of Psalm 34 are set, concluding with the Doxology:

   1. I will bless the Lord at all times …
   2. Glorify the Lord with me …
   3. Look toward him and be radiant …
   4. The angel of the Lord is encamped …
   5. The Lord is close to the broken-hearted …
   6. Glory be to the Father …

   The odd verses use Gregorian psalm tone, mode 1, sung in unison with organ accompaniment, the first half of the verse by men, the second half by women. The even verses (and Doxology) are sung in SATB harmony to an Anglican chant, optionally doubled by organ.

   This piece mirrors the noble simplicity of the Roman Rite and offers a perfect complement for Communion time.

2. Communion Psalms for the Liturgical Seasons (Gary D. Penkala) —
   The CNP collection of Communion Psalms for the Liturgical Seasons promotes the ideal, as stated in the Roman Missal, of a congregational antiphon repeated between verses of a psalm sung by cantor or choir during the Communion Procession. Each season (Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter) has its own antiphon drawn from Scripture. The antiphons are set to an easily-sung melody, accompanied by organ, with Christmas and Easter antiphons also employing a few handbells. Psalm texts from the New American Standard Bible are pointed to be sung to original psalm tone formulas. A single communion antiphon helps the people delineate a season, while the selected psalm for each Sunday allows for a variety of themes to be explored. Each psalm concludes with the Doxology and the number of verses used may be adapted to suit the time of Communion.

   This collection is a wholly appropriate way to reinstitute the early Christian tradition of chanting psalms during liturgical processions. While it is not a vehicle for singing the exact Communion antiphon for every Sunday, it does provide a first step in using these Propers, by offering seasonal antiphons and by familiarizing the musicians and congregation with the traditional pattern of the Propers.

3. Prelude on Pange lingua (Donna N. Robertson) —
   The familiar melody to the great Eucharistic hymn by Saint Thomas Aquinas, Pange lingua gloriosi, is the basis for this prelude. The melody is played once through in half notes on a 4-foot pedal stop. The manuals add a chordal accompaniment moving in half and quarter notes.

   The music makes smooth transitions among several time signatures, preserving well the feel of the original chant.

   Easy to play, this prelude would make an appropriate Communion meditation for any Sunday, and would be particularly useful during Holy Week.

Article written 13 June 2023