After Mass this morning, it being the feast of Corpus Christi, the congregation processed outside to four altars in different places on the property, singing hymn and hearing Fr. read from the Bible and prayers. I don't know which other Catholic church in the area does this, but I don't think they do it outdoors. Our church is on a busy intersection, which makes it a very interesting thing for motorists, I don't doubt. Father T. was reading something when a motorcycle went roaring by - he just stopped, and waited for the sounds to die down.
I haven't picked up Eamon Duffy's The Stripping of the Altars for a while, but I remember a mention of this day in the book. In the Middle Ages it was a spectacularly celebrated holiday, from 1318 onward, until, "in 1535 the Crown abolished most of the local and national festa ferianda occurring in ...the busy summer months, on the grounds that the excessive numbers of holidays were impoverishing the people by hindering agriculture." This apparently caused widespread resentment and "subsequent anti-reform feeling." (Sounds familiar.)
"In his discourse at the synagogue at Capernaum, Jesus says, I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. ...In many places in the Old Testament, the eating of an animal's flesh with blood in it is strictly forbidden. How much more, therefore, would the eating of the flesh of a man be appalling to them.
Given every opportunity to soften his speech, to explain that he is speaking only metaphorically, as he was when he told Nicodemus that one must be born again, Jesus instead intensifies his rhetoric, insisting on the literalness of his meaning. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. It is telling that the Greek term used for "eat" here is not the customary phagein, which describes the manner in which human beings eat, but rather trogein, which carried the sense of "gnaw" or "chew" in the manner of an animal. Once his listeners took in his meaning, the Gospel writer tells us, many returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.
The doctrine... has always been a standing or falling point for followers of Jesus. If the Eucharist is but a symbol of Jesus, who cares? But if it is the flesh and blood of the Master, nothing could possibly be more important."
- Bishop Robert Barron
For the life of the world. Glory to Jesus Christ!
ReplyDeleteSuch an interesting post, Lisa. My mother's Church of England church celebrates Corpus Christi but the C of E church that Richard and I go to doesn't. Mum's church is 'high Anglican' and its services are so similar to Roman Catholic services that it is sometimes difficult to tell them apart. I was brought up in this tradition. Mum's current priest doesn't lead quite as many processions as the former priest did but that may be because most of the congregation are now quite elderly. I remember going to Corpus Christi evening services in June with Mum and Dad and processing round the church and the church yard and then across the road to the priest's garden. So beautiful in the soft evening light with the birds singing! I will have to read Eamon Duffy's book. Sorry not to have visited your blog for a while but we have been away from home for two weeks in Slovenia. That is such a wonderful country. xoxo
ReplyDeleteOh, an evening procession in England sounds heavenly. It made an impression on you! I want to hear all about Slovenia!
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