June 10, 2007

     A number of years ago, about 15 or so, a song came out by the name of “From a Distance”.  The timing of the song was perfect since it coincided with the Gulf War.  One point that was debated by Christian Scholars was the idea that the song stated that God was watching us from a distance.  It worked well poetically and sentimentally but theologically, the notion was incorrect.  It is not true that God watches us only from a distance.  As Catholic Christians we believe that God became incarnate and lives among his people, not light years away. 

    The feast that we celebrate this weekend speaks to the premise that God is always among his people. The feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ was initially known as the feast of Corpus Christi or The Body of Christ.  Just a few years ago the name was changed to include the Body and Blood of Christ.

    The feast is important to us because it is the solemn and public feast of the Eucharist.  And, as we know, the Eucharist is the most precious “treasure” of our faith.  One important fact that we often forget is that The Eucharist does not have limits.  Pope Benedict XVI tells us that Christ gave himself for the life of the world, Catholic or otherwise.  The purpose of the Eucharist is for Christ to meet human beings where they are and to bring them the life of God.  Benedict also tells us that the Eucharist has a cosmic property.  This means that the transformation of the bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood is in fact the principle of the divinization of creation itself.  When we think about that, it is quite exciting.

    Our parish does not have a traditional procession simply because it is out in the country so there are not many streets to cover.  However, there are many parishes in the larger cities where there is a procession carrying the Blessed Sacrament. This procession is often  misunder- stood or  misinterpreted.  Many people simply think that the Blessed Sacrament is being carried around in order to “do something special” on this day.  Others think that the procession serves the purpose of proving our devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.  This is not the underlying purpose of the procession however.

    The purpose of the procession is to follow through with the fact that Christ comes to meet human beings where they are and to bring them the life of God.  As the Blessed Sacrament is carried in procession, the Body of Christ is literally coming to the people where they live.  The Eucharist, or the Body of Christ, is taken to the people and fills the streets with God’s life.  Our Pope tells us that “by carrying the Eucharist through the streets and squares, we desire to immerse the Bread come down from heaven in our daily lives.  We want Jesus to walk where we walk, to live where we live.  Our world, our existence, must become his temple.”

    The feast we celebrate this weekend has many implications but we must not forget that we are all a part of the Body of Christ.  We too walk the streets, shop in malls, visit the hospitals, drive the roadways, etc.  We must not forget that we are the presence of God among his/her people.  Have a great and holy week.
                            Lorette P. Nault