June 14, 2009: Solemnity of Corpus Christi (Body and Blood of the Lord)

(A photo of Corpus Christi procession in South Korea, 1955)

Has anyone participated in any kind of religious procession through the streets? Here in Independence on the feast day of St. Joseph, a group of men carry a carriage on which is mounted a statue of St. Joseph. Walking behind the statue are parishioners praying the rosary. In front of the procession is a police car where the priest leads the rosary over the megaphone; while the priest is not sweating sitting in a cool air-conditioned car, the men carrying the statue and those trailing them are definitely sweating. They stop at houses where parishioners approach the statue and pin money to the drapery attached to the statue. The whole scene is quite impressive. Along the route, you have homes of both Catholics and non-Catholics. Any non-Catholics watching all this spectacle, they have to be impressed. Here are Catholics, proudly professing their faith throughout the streets.

Last week I mentioned during homily that our small gesture of making the Sign of the Cross is a powerful profession of our faith in the public. As we make the sign, we praise the Father who created us out of love, we praise the Son who sacrificed his very life to redeem us, and we praise the Holy Spirit who sanctified us, worthy to be called sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father. But we know how difficult is it for us sometimes to even make this small gesture in the public. If you have lived a long time here in Independence (I mean long time!), you'll remember that in the 'old days,' people used to do Corpus Christi procession every year. On my homily website, I put some photos of people in various countries (including Korea) having Corpus Christi procession. In the front of the procession typically you have altar servers leading the procession with incense, cross, and candles. Behind are lots of kids dressed up in white. Trailing behind them several people carry a canopy. And underneath the canopy you have a priest carrying the monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament. This procession could go throughout the town. In Rome, the Pope leads this annual procession going from St. Peter's Basilica to St. Mary Major's Basilica. Some say that this tradition goes way back to the middle of 400's. The feast itself was accepted in universal Church in the year 1264. This feast is one time when Jesus in the Eucharist is exposed not just to faithful Catholics but to all the world. This is a time when Catholics can show their love for Jesus by honoring Him in a very public way. We hear of healing and conversions that come from Eucharistic Adoration. Can you imagine the kind of healing and conversion resulting from taking the Lord to the streets?

The Israelites in the Old Testament also did public processions similar to Corpus Christi. Can you guess on which occasion they did this? Those of you who heard my homily several weeks ago, I told you that when Israelites went into battle, they carried this thing in front...the Ark of the Covenant! And I said what three things were in the Ark? The Ten Commandment tablets, rod of Aaron, and manna. And the Israelites did this because they knew that victory was theirs knowing that God was marching with them. I said those three items inside the Ark were analogous to whom in the New Testament? Jesus who is the Word of God, Eternal Priest, and the Bread of Life come down from Heaven. And the Ark of the New Covenant is...Blessed Mother.

Let's go a little deeper. In our First Reading, we see Moses at the foot of the Mount Sinai doing something very similar to what we do at Sunday mass. Listen to these details: Moses erected an altar, erected twelve pillars for twelve tribes of Israel, sacrificed a bull, set aside flesh and blood, and sprinkled blood on the altar and the people. All these action was performed to ratify a covenant between God and Israelites. A covenant is a family bond, entered into freely, binding perpetually, and sealed in blood. God promised to be the God of Israel; Israel promised to keep all the commands of the Lord. In today's Gospel, look at what Jesus does. He has an altar there with twelve disciples. He offered up Himself in unbloody sacrifice of unleavened bread and wine. Notice how striking the similarity between the words of Moses and Jesus.

"Then [Moses] took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words of his." (Exod 24:8)

"[Jesus] said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many." (Mk 14:23)





So what is it mean for us Catholics when we extend our hands out to receive the Holy Communion when the priest says "Body of Christ" and we say "Amen"? Jesus is saying to us, "I'm making a covenant with you through my own blood. Will you be faithful to your end of the covenant?" And we reply, "Yes, Lord." So each time we receive communion, we are ratifying our covenant with Him. That's pretty serious.  Non-Catholics often ask why they cannot receive communion at Catholic weddings and funerals. If we understood whose body and blood we are receiving and to what we are actually saying "Amen" or "Yes Lord" to, we cannot casually get up in the communion line just because everyone is doing it. 

Likewise, when we participate in a Corpus Christi procession, we are doing much more than going through the streets saying visibly that Jesus is marching with us, just as Israelites proclaimed that God was marching with them when they carried the Ark into a battle. A covenant means family bond sealed with blood. When we are processing with the Body and Blood of Christ through the streets, we proclaim out loud that our lives have been purchased at a great price by the Blood of Christ. We in turn proclaim that we belong completely to Him in this New Covenant.