THE feast of Corpus Christi (Body and Blood Of Christ) was traditionally marked with processions, including the streets and public spaces. Interestingly few would advocate this practice today. Something has changed in society. Indeed, we too have changed.
The public face of the Church is no longer confident about these practices and Catholics generally have become more absorbed into the society in which they live. Their sense of identity is less defined by being different and more by the values and lifestyles that identify them with their surroundings. In other words, a Church less bold and a people less distinct.
However, these developments are less important than the need to remain committed Christians. We turn back to the essentials. These are the gospels which guard the memory of Jesus from the inroads of secularization and the pervasiveness ‘sameness’ that characterizes modern life.
From the Gospel story, we don’t learn doctrine as much as Jesus’ way of being and acting, which should inspire and mould our life. That is why we must listen with the attitude of disciples who want to learn to think, feel, love and live as he did.
We remember Jesus’ saving action, listening with faith to his words, “This is my body. See me in this bread, handing myself over for you unto death. This is the chalice of my blood. I have shed it for the forgiveness of your sins. Thus you will always remember me. I have loved you until the end.”
In this moment we confess our faith in Jesus Christ, making a synthesis of the mystery of our salvation. “We announce your death, we proclaim your resurrection. Come, Lord Jesus.” We feel ourselves saved by Christ.
Before receiving communion, we pronounce the prayer that Jesus taught us. First we identify ourselves with the three great desires that he carried in his heart: the absolute respect for God, the coming of God’s reign of justice and the fulfilling of the Father’s will. Then with his four petitions to the Father: bread for everyone, forgiveness and mercy, overcoming temptation and liberation from all evil.
We draw near as the poor, with our hands extended; we take the bread of life, we receive communion making an act of faith, we welcome Jesus into our hearts and into our lives in silence: “Lord, I want to eat with you, follow your footsteps, live fully alive with your spirit, and work with you in your project of making a more human world.”
These expressions of life and faith are out of step with modernity and they do not appeal to many people today, especially, but not only, young people. However, today’s feast challenges our faith to be personal since it cannot be social.