Suggestions of hymns that are appropriate for the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) Year B.
For suggestions for Trinity Sunday Year B click here. Hymn suggestions for the 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B can be found here.
In Year B we are coming up to a series of Gospel readings that are taken from John chapter 6 and focus on the Eucharist, often called the ‘Bread of life discourse’. So many of the hymns suitable for today could well be used again in the near future. Maybe this is an opportunity to introduce something new.
Suggestions from the hymn books
| Title | Ref | CFE | Laudate |
| All who hunger gather gladly | 477 | ||
| Alleluia sing to Jesus | 37 | 644 | |
| An upper room | 42 | 248 | |
| At the lamb’s high feast | 58 | 269 | |
| Because the Lord is my shepherd | 77 | 948 | |
| Bread for the world a world of hunger | 92 | 625 | |
| Bread for the world broken | 93 | ||
| Bread of life hope of the world | 95 | 78 | |
| Bread of life truth eternal | 862 | 631 | |
| Bread of the world in mercy broken | 97 | ||
| Draw nigh and take | 150 | 628 | |
| Father Lord of earth and heaven | 314 | ||
| Gather us in | 253 | 475 | |
| Gather your people | 462 | ||
| I am the bread of life | 272 | 629 | |
| I received the living God | 280 | 636 | |
| In bread we bring you | 302 | 609 | |
| In Christ there is no East or West | 303 | 831 | |
| In the breaking of the bread | 624 | ||
| Let all mortal flesh | 355 | 607 | |
| Lift high the cross | 363 | 389 | |
| Lord enthroned in heavenly splendour | 379 | 769 | |
| Lord you give the great commission | 394 | 870 | |
| Love is his word | 399 | 803 | |
| Now in this banquet | 511 | 623 | |
| O praise our great and gracious God | 548 | 664 | |
| O thou who at thy Eucharist didst pray | 556 | 833 | |
| Of the glorious body telling | 563 | 246 | |
| One bread one body | 578 | 832 | |
| Our blessing cup (Hurd) | Ps | 987 | 55 |
| See us Lord about thine altar | 631 | 648 | |
| Seed scattered and sown | 632 | 637 | |
| Shepherd of souls | 641 | 665 | |
| Sion lift your voice and sing | Seq | 1008 | |
| Table of plenty | 866 | 632 | |
| Take our bread | 678 | 610 | |
| Taste and see | 682 | 617 | |
| The king of love | 699 | 804 | |
| This is my body | G | 730 | 627 |
| Those who were in the dark | 737 | ||
| Ubi caritas | 245 | ||
| Unless a grain | 754 | 748 | |
| We are many parts | 822 | ||
| We come as guests invited | 630 | ||
| We have gathered round your table | 639 | ||
| What is this place | 797 | 476 | |
| When in our music God is glorified | 802 | 729 | |
| Within the reign of God | 641 |
Suggestions from other sources
| Title | Ref | Composer | Publisher | Comments |
| As grains once gathered | Bob Hurd | OCP | A very useful Communion piece. | |
| As we gather at your table | Tony Alonso | GIA | While the piece references the angels and saints, this would be a communion song for any day. | |
| As we gather at your table | Carl Daw Sally Ann Morris | GIA | An arrangement for SATB voices of the text by Carl Daw. It can also be sung by the whole assembly. It would probably work best if you have a wind instrument to play the interludes between verses. | |
| As we gather at your table | Carl Daw | Hope | A straight hymn with suggested tune ‘Holy Communion’ which is the tune of ‘God of day and God of darkness’. It would work well as a gathering song. | |
| Blessing Cup (How can I repay the Lord) | Ps | Nick Baty | Concept music online | Written as the Holy Thursday psalm but may be used during the communion procession. The assembly sing the ostinato refrain while cantors have the psalm verses over the top. There is an optional instrument part and it can be used with guitar or keyboard. |
| Bread of life from heaven | Marty Haugen | GIA | The refrain is based on ‘Santo, santo, santo’ while the verses are original. There is a Spanish translation and also a bilingual version. The assembly box is given in two parts which presumably is compatible with the 4-part choir. Also in the collection ‘Gift of God’. | |
| Bread of life, cup of blessing | G | Dolores Dufner Michel Guimont | GIA | A simple verse refrain piece that is in unison. But useful for Communion on any day. |
| Come to me and drink | Bob Hurd | OCP | A verse/refrain piece with verses from various parts of scripture as well as a set of verses from psalm 42/43. This would work well at communion. Instrument parts are available. | |
| Come to the feast | Bob Hurd | OCP | A communion or gathering song that may be sung in English, Spanish or a mixture of the two. The octavo has choral harmonies and trumpet part. | |
| Eat this bread and never hunger | Daniel Charles Damon | Hope Publishing | Christ invites us to the table where the last becomes the first. | |
| Fraction rite: Agnus Dei | Michael Joncas | GIA | Originally for the fraction rite, now this would be better sung as a communion song as the words are not from the Missal. | |
| Gifts of finest wheat | Robert E Kreutz Omer Westendorf | GIA | An excellent piece for communion with a refrain for the assembly and verses that can be sung by choir in harmony or cantor. This has stood the test of time. It is in ‘Alleluia, Amen’ (a little brown book) published by the Irish Church Music association in 1978. | |
| Go be justice to the nations | Willet | GIA | Sung to ‘Nettleton’ which if easy to learn if you don’t know it. This would be an excellent sending out song, especially for Mass as it links what we have received in Communion with what we are called to do outside. ‘Break the bread of true communion, pour the cup of true concern’. | |
| I am the true and living bread | G | Martin Barry | A Communion song that works well because the assembly can sing the refrain without having the words in front of them while a cantor/choir sings the verses. Refrain and verses 4 and 5 are arranged for SATB. | |
| In Christ we died in Christ we live | G | Norman Goreham | Jubilate | A straight hymn that includes the words ‘The grain of wheat into the ground must fall alone and die, before it can attain new life’. The tune given is rather nice and it includes SATB as well as a descant, but it will fit to other CM tunes. |
| Jesus you are the bread we long for | G | Bernadette Farrell | This was in the little book called ‘Cantate’ – unfortunately now out of print. Appears to be out of print at OCP too. The link leads to the MP3. Also in the collection ‘Restless is the heart’. | |
| Let the hungry come to me | G | Dolores Dufner | GIA | This Communion hymn is set to the tune ‘Adoro te devote’ so will be familiar to most people. |
| Not by bread alone | G,C | Bob Hurd | OCP | This refrain/verse song makes a good communion song for today but would also be useful at any time. The refrain has 4-part harmony for a choir while the verses are set for SAB. Accompany with keyboard or guitar. |
| One love released | Kevin Keil Bob Frenzel | OCP | This hymn, set to ‘O waly waly’ could be used any time at Communion. Set for two-part choir, assembly and descant, it includes instrument parts. | |
| Our blessing cup | Ps | Michael Joncas | GIA | A setting of psalm 116. Refrain in SATB while the verses are unison. Note that the verse does go up to a top F. Instrument parts are available separately. In the collection ‘We come to your feast’. |
| Our blessing cup | Ps | Bob Hurd | OCP | Arranged for SATB, this is a gentle setting of psalm 116. It includes a fraction rite so it could be used throughout Communion time. It can be sung as verse/response or as an ostinato with the verses over the top so it is very flexible. |
| Our blessing cup | Ps | Marty Haugen | GIA | A simple enough setting of Psalm 116/7 that the assembly will be able to sing it straight after the cantor. The verse is set for SATB and there is a single harmony line for the verses. Also in ‘Psalms for the church’s year’ volume 2. |
| Our Blessing Cup | Ps | Laura Kutscher | WLP/GIA | A fairly straightforward setting of psalm 116 in its basic form. However, it has instrumental and vocal parts for use if desired. It also includes verses that are not part of the psalm as used on Holy Thursday, thus making it very useful addition to the communion repertoire. The words of the soprano descant to the refrain is ‘pange lingua gloriosi’. |
| Priestly people | Lucien Deiss | WLP/GIA | Try ‘Alleluia, Amen’ if you still have a copy. Would work well at communion as it is a refrain with many verses. | |
| Take and eat | Michael Joncas | GIA | Words by James Quinn SJ | |
| Take and eat this bread | G | Francis Patrick O’Brien | GIA | In its simplest form this could be sung with a cantor and all singing the verses in unison. It can be embellished with choir parts under the refrain but make sure the assembly are secure on the melody first. Guitar chords and solo instrument parts are included. As an added bonus, this piece include verses based on the O Antiphons for Advent and further verses for Christmas. |
| The bread I will give | Bob Hurd | OCP | A good piece for communion – refrain and verses. Parts for SAB choir and instruments. Verse 1 is most relevant for today. | |
| The bread that we break | Stephen Dean | OCP | This unison piece, which is useful for communion time as well as Holy Thursday, can be found in the ‘Resurrexit’ book from Decani Music. | |
| The Lord Jesus | Gregory Norbet | OCP | This song would also be suitable for the washing of feet on Holy Thursday. Very simple verse and refrain. Unison, though the guitar version has a harmony line for the verses. | |
| This is the body of Christ | G | John Bell | GIA/Iona | A simple ostinato set for SATB. Also in Resurrexit. |
| Unless a grain | G | Bob Hurd | OCP | Verse/refrain based on John 12 and George Herbert’s ‘Love bade me welcome’. It can be sung in unison but there is harmony available and also a solo instrument part. |
| Unless a grain | G | Marty Haugen | GIA | The refrain of this piece is scored for SAB. The verses, which could still be done in unison, have 3 parts for the words while there is a wordless 3-part accompaniment underneath. Separate instrument parts are available. |
| Unless the grain falls in the ground | G | David Mowbray | Jubilate | A straight hymn that has meter 8888. Try ‘Tallis’ canon’ or ‘Conditor alme siderum’ but there are many tunes that can be used. |
| We come to your feast | Michael Joncas | GIA | From the collection of the same name. | |
| We remember | Marty Haugen | GIA | ‘We celebrate, we believe’. Scored for choir and assembly with the refrain being memorable for people to sing without words after a few repetitions. In the collection ‘With Open hands’. | |
| You are our living bread | Michael Joncas | OCP | A simple verse/refrain piece which could be used with keyboard or guitar. A solo instrument (flute) part is available. | |
| You are the living bread | Nick Baty | Concept | A communion song for cantor and assembly. Also in the collection ‘We come to your table’. |
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