Corpus Christi (The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ)
admin June 12th, 2009
This Sunday, June 14th, we will have our EUCHARISTIC PROCESSION around the church compound immediately after the 12:00 noon Holy Mass.
The feast of Corpus Christi is one time when our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is exposed not just to faithful Catholics but to all the world. This is a time when Catholics can show their love for Christ in the Real Presence by honoring Him in a very public way.
Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Corpus Christi
The Feast of Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ, occurs 60 days after Easter and thus falls in early summer, in June or July. The Feast was formally established in 1215, when the Church asserted that what occurred during the mass was the miracle of transubstantiation; that is, that the wafer of consecrated bread did not simply represent the body of Christ but actually became it.
The most important ritual of Corpus Christi is that of the PROCESSION. For this event, the entire village, parish or town assembles in finest dress. The Procession is comprised of clergy, special guilds or groups, and families. Often children in First Communion dress precede the Blessed Sacrament dropping rose or other flower petals to create a carpet for the approaching Eucharist. Altar boys, clergy, prominent citizens with guild and society banners of silk, and others process. The Holy Eucharist is itself transported in a processional Monstrance, carried by the priest or bishop. The Monstrance is further protected by an embroidered silk canopy held by four posts, borne by parishioners or altar servers. Publicly proclaiming and reaffirming their devotion to the Holy Eucharist, the entire congregation walks around the church and its grounds to the sound of bells and voices singing sacred hymns. The procession then walks and sings its way to the first of the altars. There the Blessed Sacrament rests while the assembled faithful kneel to pray and sing in adoration of the Holy Eucharist.
