Diocese to Celebrate Feast of Corpus Christi 

Bishop Bambera Presiding in Dickson City
 

The Catholic Church celebrates Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, 60 days after Easter to commemorate the institution of the Eucharist and to emphasize the recognition of Jesus Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist.

The Diocese of Scranton will celebrate the solemnity on Sunday, June 6 as various parishes conduct special services, processions and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Bishop Joseph C. Bambera will preside and give the homily at the 11 a.m. Mass at Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Dickson City. Bishop Bambera was pastor there from 2001-2005.

The liturgy will include an outdoor procession with the Blessed Sacrament carried under a canopy to three altars for veneration. Scripture readings and hymns, led by the St. Mary Parish Choir, will be offered at each altar.

Following Mass, a reception will be held in the LaSalle Academy Primary Campus school building.

Monsignor Patrick Pratico, pastor, and Fathers Joseph Rusin and Walter Skiba will concelebrate. Deacons Gerald Carpenter and Ed Kelly will assist.

Christ's Real Presence in the Eucharist

The faith of the Church concerning the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist under the appearances of bread and wine is traced back to the words of Jesus himself.

In the gospel of St. John, for example, in the Eucharistic discourse after the multiplication of the loaves our Lord contrasted ordinary bread with a bread that is not of this world but which contains eternal life for those who eat it. He said: “I am the bread of life . . . I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh” (Jn. 6.48, 51).

Our belief in the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist also has its foundation in the Last Supper accounts of the three Synoptic Gospels and the writings of St. Paul.

What Jesus offers us is his continuing, enduring presence every time we celebrate the Eucharist. The bread and wine become his body and his blood. “This is my body . . . this is the cup of my blood.”

The way in which Jesus is present in the Eucharist cannot be explained in physical terms because it transcends the ordinary necessities of space and measurement. It is a supernatural mystery that the person who becomes fully present at Mass is the same Risen Savior who is seated at the right hand of the Father.

In explaining this doctrine of the faith the Catechism quotes the Council of Trent as it summarized our Catholic belief. "Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood.”

Why the Eucharist Is Kept in the Tabernacle

The real presence endures after the celebration of the Eucharistic liturgy. It is for this reason that there is a tabernacle in church. Once communion has been distributed, the remaining hosts are placed in the tabernacle to provide viaticum for those who turn to the church in their final hour and also to provide a focal point for prayer and worship of Christ in his real presence.

Faith that Jesus is truly present in the sacrament inspires believers to worship Christ dwelling with us permanently in the sacrament. Wherever the sacrament is, there is Christ who is our Lord and our God; hence he is ever to be worshiped in this mystery. Such worship is expressed in many ways: in genuflections, in adoration of the Eucharist and in the many forms of Eucharistic devotion that faith has nourished.

The popularity of the feast of Corpus Christi (The Body and Blood of Christ), with its joyful hymns and public processions, encouraged further development of Eucharistic devotions. At times the Blessed Sacrament is removed from the tabernacle in which it is ordinarily kept and placed upon the altar for adoration. These periods of exposition are sometimes extended into holy hours.

The Corpus Christi observance originated in the 13th century when a Belgian Abbess, St. Juliana (1192-1258), prevailed upon the Bishop of Liege to institute a feast honoring the Blessed Sacrament. Pope Urban IV extended the feast to the Universal Church in 1264. The procession as an integral part of the Corpus Christi celebration first appeared in Cologne, Germany, in the 14th century.