Sunday Meditation: Corpus Christi

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ otherwise known as the Feast of Corpus Christi.  It’s interesting to read that this most holy feast goes back to the 12^th century and is technically supposed to be celebrated on a Thursday, replicating the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday.  It gets transferred to Sunday for convenience.  And so, meditate on this reading from today’s Gospel.

 

“While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.”  Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.  Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

       -Mark 14:22-25

This year at my church, St. Rita in Staten Island, we started the ancient practice of processing with the Blessed Sacrament through the neighborhood after Mass.  We did this after the Saturday vigil Mass yesterday.  I took some pictures of the procession. 

Here we are coming out of the church.  There would be a canopy for Blessed Sacrament.

We went around the block, two by two, either praying out loud or signing some hymns.  Our musical director brought in a trumpet player to accompany the hymns at Mass, and he followed with his trumpet too.  The kid there in the grey shirt is Matthew.

That’s the procession from behind me.  I was about a third from the front.  In front is our pastor Fr. Eugene with the altar servers carrying a crucifix. 

Our Assistant Pastor, Fr. Anthony, carried the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament the whole way.  Apparently tradition is that the Blessed Sacrament goes in the rear of the procession under the canopy.

Finally we turned the corner and headed back into the church. 

But from here the angle I had was focused to the center of the canopy.  I had not wanted to go directly up to the Blessed Sacrament to take a picture.  It felt so irreverent.  But from here I could capture it and zoom in.  Here.

There!  There is Jesus, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.  It is that which gives us everlasting life.

Edit:  I must add this in.  I just came across the most brilliant homily by Bishop Robert Barron explaining this feast.  It's almost 14 minutes long, but it's worth every second.