Body and Blood

Sunday is the Solemnity of Corpus Christi -- or, in grand English, the Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

In a sense, every Sunday is a celebration of the body and blood of Christ -- as is every weekday mass and every Eucharistic adoration. But on this special celebration, we as a church make a special focus on Christ's presence among us in the Eucharist.

Several years ago, two infamous polls from the Gallup organization showed that only a minority of American Catholics believed that Christ is present "body, blood, soul, and divinity" in the host and the wine. Many have argued that the polls were worded badly and that things are not as bad as they seemed, but even one Catholic who doesn't understand or believe this crucial part of our faith is one too many!

Fortunately, we've got 2000 years of theology to help us out. If you're a little rusty on transubstantiation, exactly what "real presence" means, or how Christ's presence is the Eucharist is different from his presence in the Word or in the assembly or in the other sacraments, you don't have to look far to find the answers.

Nearly everything anyone could want to know about the Real Presence is a click away at this site run by the Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration Association. You'll find audio files and text pages, most of them written by the indefatigable Fr. John Hardon, SJ,
including a handy collection of quotes from Scripture and the Church Fathers that show their belief in the Real Presence. Another collection of pages from the Catholic Pages includes audio and text from many sources, including favorites Fr. Benedict Groeschel FFR and apologist Karl Keating.

If you're looking for something more concise, the USCCB has a great little document you can read at one (long) sitting. For something more in-depth, try Fr. Robert Barron's inexpensive Eucharist (Catholic Spirituality for Adults) -- you can also hear his podcasts on the Eucharist here -- or Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict's more challenging God is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life.

But what about the holiday? Eucharistic processions have been associated with it since the fourteenth century. The songs Lauda Sion and Pange Lingua are traditionally sung on this day and there's a slight chance that you might hear them Sunday. For lots more on the holiday, click here.

And if live near Cincinnati and you'd like to attend a real procession, the procession that was such a big part of Price Hill's life was revived 12 years ago. St. William and St. Theresa of Avila parishes invite everyone to the 2 pm prayer service at St. Theresa, followed by a 1-mile procession down side streets to St. William -- where Benediction will be followed by cookies and punch. For more information, call St. William at (513) 921-0247.