Pope Benedict XVI Blog

The Feast of Corpus Christi, Enthroning the Lord

By Deacon Keith Fournier
6/13/2009
Catholic Online (http://www.catholic.org/)

The Eucharist is a mystery that is meant to plunge its roots deeply into every area of our lives. It is a gift to be received and lived.


After having received the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in Holy Communion, Catholic Christians proceed from the Sanctuary into the Streets of the world, pausing along the way for solemn worship, songs of adoration, and holding the Lord aloft, enthroned. The procession symbolizes the ongoing redemptive mission of Jesus Christ to the world as it is now lived out through his Church.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - This Sunday is the Feast of “Corpus Christi”, the Body and Blood of the Lord, in much of the Western Catholic Church. The Holy Father led the celebration on its traditional Thursday in Rome. His words were profound as he called the whole Church to a deeper devotion to the Eucharist by reminding us of the miracle which occurs at every Holy Mass: "With the Eucharist, heaven comes down to earth, God's tomorrow descends into the present moment and time is, as it were, embraced by divine eternity".

There was a custom practiced on this day in almost every parish for years in the Western Church. The faithful would process the consecrated Eucharist through the public Streets. The Priest, accompanied by a deacon or another priest, would lead this beautiful Procession, singing hymns and leading the faithful in prayer. Fortunately, this prophetic and powerful procession is undergoing a strong resurgence in many places as adoration of and devotion to the most Holy Eucharist experiences a wonderful renewal.

After having received the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in Holy Communion, Catholic Christians proceed from the Sanctuary into the Streets of the world, pausing along the way for solemn worship, songs of adoration, and holding the Lord aloft, enthroned. The procession symbolizes the ongoing redemptive mission of Jesus Christ to the world as it is now lived out through his Church. I have fond memories of this beautiful event which stretch back into my early childhood. This Feast is a landmark feast in my own life. It was on this day that I was ordained to the Diaconate in Christ. Since my ordination, it has also come to signify my call as a Catholic Deacon to go, as I so often say, “from the altar into the world.”

In this act of public procession we proclaim that God still loves the world so much that He still sends His Son, through His Church. This procession is a reminder of the baptismal vocation of every Christian to carry forward in time the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ until He returns. At an interior level, it also symbolizes the universal call to holiness, to continuing conversion in Christ. We who are baptized are called into a very real communion with the Trinitarian God. He comes to dwell within us and we are to live our lives now in Him, for the world.
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See also, "40 Hours Eucharistic Devotion."

posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 7:50 AM