June 2 — Corpus Christi
The Feast of Corpus Christi (Latin for ‘Body of Christ’) is a Catholic liturgical solemnity celebrating the real presence of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the elements of the Eucharist — known as transubstantiation. Two months earlier, the Eucharist is observed on Maundy Thursday in a sombre atmosphere leading to Good Friday. The liturgy on that day also commemorates Christ’s washing of the disciples’ feet, the institution of the priesthood and the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. The feast of Corpus Christi was established to create a feast focused solely on the Holy Eucharist, emphasizing the joy of the Eucharist being the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
The feast is liturgically celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday or, “where the Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is not a holy day of obligation, it is assigned to the Sunday after the Most Holy Trinity as its proper day”. In the liturgical reforms of 1969, under Pope Paul VI, the bishops of each nation have the option to transfer it to the following Sunday.
At the end of Holy Mass, there is often a procession of the Blessed Sacrament, generally displayed in a monstrance. The procession is followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. A notable Eucharistic procession is that presided over by the Pope each year in Rome, where it begins at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran and passes to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where it concludes with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
The celebration of the feast was suppressed in Protestant churches during the Reformation, because they do not hold to the teachings of transubstantiation. Depending on the denomination, Protestant churches instead believe in differing views concerning the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, or that Christ is symbolically or metaphorically part of the eucharist. Today, most Protestant denominations do not recognize the feast. The Church of England abolished it in 1548 as the English Reformation progressed, but later reintroduced it.
Exo 24:3-8
Heb 9:11-15
Mk 14:12-16,22-26
“…which is to be poured out for many.”
Lately, I have been engrossed with a new hobby of cross-stitching. For the uninformed, cross-stitching is a type of sewing where small crosses of uniform size are made on a piece of fabric to form a picture. I noticed something interesting as I was making the stitches. When they were separate from one another, the crosses merely looked like random marks on the fabric; but the moment that they joined up with their adjacent crosses to form a coherent image, they took on a different appearance altogether. They became an essential part of something quite beautiful, each tiny cross given new meaning.
I wonder if the process of completing a cross-stitch pattern could serve as an analogy (albeit a highly limited one) for how we form the body of Christ. When we partake in holy communion, each of us becomes united with Christ, becoming one with Him. “Because the bread is one, we, though many, are one body, all of us who partake of the one bread” (1 Cor 10:17). When we share in the body of the Lord in the breaking of the eucharistic bread, we are received into communion with one another.
Our unity as church may not be immediately apparent during mass, as mass attendance appears to be a very individual affair. Along the same lines, I would occasionally hear remarks from people that they do not seem to get much out of mass. To me, mass is not about emotional highs or answered prayers. The very act of participating in the mass brings us into union in prayer with the church, and cultivates a spiritual solidarity with one another. The grace that comes with the consumption of the body and blood of Christ transforms not just ourselves, but everyone else who is in communion with us. This means that as a church, we are capable of truly great things. Bound by Christ’s love, we ought to radiate His image to the world. Reflect today — What actions have you taken that have strengthened your solidarity with the one church?
(Today’s OXYGEN by Edith Koh)
Prayer: We pray that we may recognise the love of Christ in one another and strive for unity within the church.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks for the gift of the Church that provides us with a safe haven and serves as a beacon in trying times.
OXYGEN 
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