Archbishop Leonard P. Blair
If you’ve ever attended a big public fireworks display, you will know how it begins and ends with a bang, and is marked by many fiery bursts against the dark sky, to the oohs and ahs of the delighted spectators.
At this season, we are near the end of an annual spiritual fireworks display. It began at the Easter Vigil with Christ the Light bursting the shackles of sin and death, with a renewed blaze of glory at the Ascension and at Pentecost. And now, before we settle down into what the liturgical calendar calls “ordinary time,” there are still some oohs and ahs in store for those who have the eyes and ears of faith.
I am referring to three great Solemnities: The Most Holy Trinity on June 12, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) on June 19, and The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 24. All three were instituted to celebrate a particular mystery of faith in the wake of Easter joy.
Today, I would like to focus on one in particular: The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) on June 19. This Solemnity was celebrated for the first time at Liege in Belgium in the year 1247 at the prompting of a nun, Juliana of Mont-Cornillon. In a vision she received in 1208, the Lord gave her to understand the need for an annual feast to honor his Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. After some initial reserve and careful discernment on the part of the Church, the new feast was decreed and confirmed by several popes, beginning in the year 1264. No less than St. Thomas Aquinas composed the Latin texts for the Mass and Liturgy of the Hours.
The unbroken celebration of an annual feast for almost 800 years is pretty impressive, but the Church is much older than that. The sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist has been with the Church from the beginning in all its various aspects — as the sacrifice to be offered, as the sacred meal to be eaten, as Christ’s substantial presence to be adored. The Solemnity of Corpus Christi in particular highlights Christ’s “real presence.” Although already attested to in ancient times, our understanding, appreciation and adoration of this mystery have been constantly enriched by the Church’s authentic teaching in the face of new questions and challenges, and especially by the insights of the saints – all under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit “guiding us to all truth.”
The Second Vatican Council emphasized active participation by the congregation at Mass, and a more authentic Gospel life of charity, self-giving and service, but not at the expense of Eucharistic reverence, respect and adoration. Even though there have undoubtedly been spiritual benefits to the revised liturgy, it also has to be acknowledged that among many Catholics something has been lost when it comes to Eucharistic faith and reverence. The pandemic and livestreaming of Mass are also playing a part in conditioning some people to watch, but not partake of, the Eucharist in church.
This year, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi marks the beginning of a great effort at Eucharistic renewal in our country envisioned by the U.S. Bishops. The focus in 2022 is archdiocesan, and I will be initiating it with a public outdoor procession in Waterbury on June 19. The emphasis in 2023 will be centered on each parish, and 2024 will see the celebration of a great national “Eucharistic Congress” to be held in Indianapolis. May God bless us with a profound gratitude for the sacramental gift that Christ makes of himself in the Most Holy Eucharist. And may this year’s celebration of Corpus Christi lead us to greater appreciation of the Church’s tradition of faith, reverence and respect for the Blessed Sacrament.