The Feast of Corpus Christi

Today is the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. This is the second of the three great feasts we celebrate immediately after we end the Easter season with Pentecost. The first was last Sunday’s Feast of the Trinity. Today (or this past Thursday in some locations) we celebrate Corpus Christi. This coming Friday we celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

From Pope Benedict's homily today on the Feast of Corpus Christi (Via CNA):

“Corpus Domini is a manifestation of God, proof that God is love,” the Holy Father explained, using the Latin for “Body of the Lord.”

“In a unique and peculiar way, this feast speaks to us of divine love, what it is and what it does.”

“It tells us for example that it is regenerated in the giving of oneself to another, that in giving we receive, it is never lacking, it never runs out. As the hymn of St Thomas Aquinas intones: ‘nec sumptus consumitur.’”

Pope Benedict was alluding to the Angelic Doctor’s hymn “Lauda Sion.” The line he quoted roughly translates to “Not even being consumed is it used up.”

“Love,” the Holy Father continued, “transforms all things, and therefore it is understood that at the very heart of today’s feast of Corpus Domini there is the mystery of transubstantiation, the sign of Christ --Caritas that transforms the world. Looking at Him and adoring Him we say: yes love exists, and because it exists things can change for the better and we can hope.”

“It is the hope that comes from the Christ’s love that gives us the strength to live and to face difficulties. This is why we sing as we carry the Blessed Sacrament in procession, we sing and we praise God who revealed himself to us by hiding himself in the symbol of broken bread.”

The Pontiff concluded, “We all need this bread, because the path to freedom, justice and peace is long and tiring.”


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