Corpus Christi - the feast day.
Recognizing Jesus
The feast of “the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity” of Our Lord (that is how my parish priest spoke about it this evening) is celebrated throughout the United States this Sunday after Trinity Sunday. Some Churches and especially monasteries, keep the feast on its original designated day - the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. This accords with tradition and reminds us of the fact the Eucharist was instituted on Holy Thursday.
Since the Council, some theologians, as well as many liturgists, held that Holy Thursday was the preeminent feast of the Eucharist; therefore promoting a ’trend’ which replaced the emphasis for the feast of Corpus Christi upon the People of God as the Body of Christ. The notion works, but it was not the original intention for the feast. Today that idea is becoming less and less popular, and focus upon the Eucharist itself is once again emphasized.
The devotion originated from private revelation.
In the Book of Revelations we are instructed to hear what the Spirit speaks to the Churches, which is never anything new or added onto the Gospel. However, at various times, the Spirit enlivens the faith of the People of God with a renewed impetus of devotion towards a particular mystery or aspect of what has been already revealed in the deposit of faith. In this, the Holy Spirit, works for the edification, sanctification and renewal of the faithful in a special manner.
Thus, in 1246, Bishop Robert de Thorete of Liège, after the revelations to St. Juliana of Mont Cornillon concerning Our Lord’s desire for a feast to be established, gathered a synod and instituted the celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi. From Liège, devotion to the Blessed Sacrament in this liturgical expression gained popularity and the feast spread. In 1264, Pope Urban IV issued the papal bull “Transiturus,” which established the Feast of Corpus Christi as a universal feast of the Church, to be celebrated on the Thursday following the feast of the Most Holy Trinity.
So, like St. Maria Faustina, and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, who lived much later than St. Julianna, a feast honoring the person of Our Lord was established after Our Lord requested it - through a private revelation. This feast of Corpus Christi is enjoying a wonderful renewal in our day, throughout the world - with much thanks to Holy Father John Paul II who helped “resuscitate” the devotional life of the Church in modern times - when the world is once again growing cold.
June 9th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
I love the Corpus Christi sequence “Lauda Sion”. I wish we would read or sing it tomorrow at Mass, but we probably won’t, because it is long, and optional.
June 9th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Another beautiful post- I linked to it! Thanks, Terry!
June 9th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
You’ll be there, right?
1:55 at the St Thomas Law School, free parking on the street; we’ll pray for a bit in the school, then process (.7 mile) down Yale Place, through Loring Park, and up into the Basilica for Benediction and later, an ice cream social.
Cathy, Roamin’ Roman and I will be there for sure, a Carmelite or three, a bunch of seminarians and many religious, along with scads of Twin Cities Catholics desirous of celebrating the Body of Christ.
If you’re nice, and look like you’re responsible, I’ll even let you carry a walkie-talkie during the procession, which has got to be worth at least 85 days off in your accrued Purgatory time.
June 9th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Another wonderfully well written and researched entry. Love to talk to you.
June 9th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Terry:)
I also strongly believe in many Apparitions and wrote as much on a previous blog I owned. Here is the LINK if you wish to read of them:
http://faithofthefathersapparitions.blogspot.com/
God bless!
Marie
June 10th, 2007 at 5:24 am
Thank you Marie, I saw the post on Loiusa Jagues - Sr. Mary of the Trinity - she was such a Eucharistic soul.
June 10th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Congratulations on winning the first Catholic Blog award!
June 10th, 2007 at 9:07 am
Dear Fr. - Thank you very much! happy feast day.
Terry
June 11th, 2007 at 6:09 am
At the 6:30 p.m. Mass in the basilica, which I celebrated, four of us sang the entire Lauda Sion, preceded by the entire Gregorian Alleluia as given in the Graduale. It was exhilarating . . . all that 7th mode jubilation. After Mass, a pia donna (Italian version of the church lady), finding it all too long, came up to scold me, saying, “Don Marco, why didn’t you take the forma breve (short form) of that sequence?” “Because,” I replied, “Love knows no shortened forms.” She didn’t have an answer, but the lady next to her said, “Bravo! Don Marco! Ha raggione!”
June 11th, 2007 at 7:37 am
Don Marco,
La pia donna may have been in a hurry to get back home to her blog to write a critique of the Mass.
It sounds beautiful however.