Today we honor the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. In today's Preface, we pray to God, “Nourishing your faithful by this sacred mystery [receiving the Eucharist], you make them holy [set apart for God], so that the human race, bounded by one world [so that we who live together on this earth], may be enlightened by one faith and united by one bond of charity [in order to unite us as your people with a common goal, that of acting out of love for one another].” The parenthesis are my additions. It goes on to say that “we approach the table” in order to experience a foreshadowing of the banquet in heaven.
The belief that Jesus is present in the consecrated Bread and Wine is central to our faith. St Paul in 1 Cor 10:16-17 tells us that we are “participating” in the Body and Blood of Christ, and that we are united when we receive the Eucharist. If we are one Body in Christ, how can we hold hatred, grudges, feelings of superiority, envy, greed, or a host of other selfish views toward other members of this Body? If we “put on Christ,” our mindset and actions follow Christ. We receive Christ’s Body broken for us and Christ’s Blood poured out for us; we are broken and poured out for one another.
For Reflection: How do we imitate Christ in relationships with family, neighbors, Catholics, other Christians, non-Christians, and non-believers.
A little history: The celebration of Corpus et Sanguis Christi, Latin for the Body and Blood of Christ, is usually shortened to Corpus Christi. It began in the 13th century in Liege, Belgium in response to a vision of St. Juliana of Mont Carvillon. Pope Urban IV made it a feast for the whole Church in 1264. Texts for the feast are thought to have been written by St Thomas Aquinas, including an optional Sequence for the day, Lauda, Sion, Salvatorem or Zion, Praise your Savior. If you have a chance, look up that Sequence online and pray it before or after the Mass.
A popular custom on this day is an outdoor procession. In a Corpus Christi procession, the Eucharist is solemnly carried in a monstrance along a designated route. People in the procession reverently sing and pray. They are expressing their Eucharistic devotion to the community at large. The procession honors the presence of Christ in the Eucharist in a public way.
The Church offers a number of possible ways to express our love of the Eucharist including devotional practices such as processions, Eucharistic Adoration or Exposition, and Benediction. Whether we do or don’t participate in these devotions, we understand that the reception of Communion at Mass (under both forms, it is to be hoped) is the central activity in our faith.
