The Solemnity of Corpus Christi
On the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord, which is commonly known as Corpus Christi, we are, in a sense, transported back to Holy Thursday as the Church celebrates once again the solemn commemoration of the institution of the sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord.
“Why,” one might ask, “do we have a second feast observing the Lord giving us the Eucharist?” Fundamentally, it seems that the answer lies in the fact that what we commemorate on Holy Thursday is just too much for one day. In a sense, Holy Thursday overflows with grace and blessing too abundant for a single day of celebration. On Holy Thursday, in order of importance, the Church celebrates the giving of the Eucharist, the gift of priesthood, and then fraternal service in the washing of the feet. Consequently, the Church today celebrates another feast which focuses specifically on the gift of the Eucharist.
Also, this feast is so characterized by a focus on the Blessed Sacrament and the devotions that accompany it, for example, Eucharistic Exposition, that it has also appropriately been termed a feast of devotion. This devotion can be understood in a certain sense in what is called the composition of place. Other devotional practices throughout the liturgical year employ the composition of place: the Christmas Crib, for example, fosters our meditation on the Nativity of the Lord; the Stations of the Cross foster our meditation on the Lord’s Passion; but Eucharistic Exposition on Corpus Christi, in a sense, completes and goes beyond these. It sets before us not the Nativity and not the Passion, but the very Kingdom of God. With the Lord himself before us in the Blessed Sacrament, the composition of place is of the Kingdom where the Lord reigns triumphant and the People of God are joined in adoration. Quite properly, the gifts of the Three Kings are present as well: the gold for the King and the incense for our God, only the myrrh, which foreshadows the tomb, is missing because Christ is risen and dies no more.
Source: Rev. Kurt Belsole, OSB, Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, PA
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