Upon that night, A Communion Hymn

I. Upon that night, He took up bread:

“This is my body,” so he said;

“Remember me and take and eat;

Behold, my flesh, indeed, is meat.”

II. Likewise, He held the chalice then,

And when He’d given thanks again:

“My blood I offer for thy soul;

Drink thou of Me and be made whole.”

III. So, humbly we beseech Thee, Lord:

Bless thou this bread and wine outpour’d,

And, by thy Spirit, lift us up

That Faith on Christ’s own flesh may sup.

IV. And now we pray as Christ hast taught:

O God, by whom the heav’ns were wrought,

Forgive us, as we have forgiv’n,

That we may taste the Bread of Heav’n.

V. Before Thy Table now I bend,

For Thou hast call’d me as a friend,

Though, of Thy servants, I am least,

Not worthy on Thy crumbs to feast.

VI. I kneel, O Lord, and Thee entreat;

I hear Thy word; I take and eat.

I drink and I remember Thee,

Remember Thee upon the Tree.

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This Communion Hymn in Long Meter sets the text of the Prayer of Consecration from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The shape of the prayer suggests to me stairs ascending to the Holy Table. The Words of Institution, the Invocation, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Prayer of Humble Access, each form a step drawing the communicant nearer the climax of the ritual, accipite et manducate, take and eat; as, likewise, her soul, by faith, ascends Jacob’s Ladder to the heavenly Altar, where she feasts on Christ himself. Two tunes have been written for this hymn, one by Suzanne Daniel and the other by Daniel Garrick, both of which are available upon request.