Feast of Corpus Christi

Bishop Sheridan processes with the Blessed Sacrament past St. Mary's Cathedral's new columbarium on the Feast of Corpus Christi June 18. (Herald photo by Bill Howard)

How was your Feast of Corpus Christi? Please post your experiences from Sunday. I am going to relay mine from notes scribbled in my little notepad. Please let me know if something is unclear.

I attended a nice Feast of Corpus Christi Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral. Bishop Sheridan celebrated the Mass and gave an excellent homily that basically reminded us of the basic teachings of the Church on the Eucharist. He talked about the consecration of the Eucharist as the "supreme moment of Mass" and reminisced a little about the old days when bells would ring three times to signify when the Holy Spirit would come down upon the bread and wine, transubstantiating them into the Body and Blood of Christ.

He continued with a brief reflection on the role the Real Presence played in the Protestant Reformation, and the developments of claims that the Eucharist is not Jesus truly present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. From those developments came an effort within the Catholic Church to remind its flock "that Christ is sacramentally present whenever we offer the Mass," he said.

He lamented that, today, "a good deal of that drama and awe is gone." He talked about the simple gesture of genuflecting anytime you pass in front of the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. "It would be a shame to think our faith is shifting away from the authentic faith of the Church," Bishop Sheridan said. "It's frightening the amount of Catholics who do not understand or do not believe in the Real Presence."

"Yes, Jesus is really and truly present, but our Liturgy tells us why he is present," he said. "Jesus has remained present to us in the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist.

"It is our spiritual nourishment. The Eucharist is a meal (but) it's not simply a fellowship meal. It's not simply a gathering of people. It's a sacrificial meal."

Bishop Sheridan reminded the faithful that key to our understanding of the Eucharist is our embrace of the "sacrifice of Calvary." He reminded us that that act happened once with Christ and that we do not repeat it. Rather, we "re-enter into that moment . . . and experience again the redemption of Christ, who died for us. It is a new bond, a new union."

"Without the Eucharist, there would be no Church. It is constantly building up the Church of Christ," he concluded. "May we always show the greatest reverence, love and adoration for Jesus Christ, present in the most holy Eucharist."

After Communion, Bishop Sheridan led a procession of the Eucharist around the cathedral grounds. He first brought the Blessed Sacrament out to the little balcony in front of the cathedral (where the main entrance used to be). From there, he led the procession around the cathedral grounds, into the plaza and to the Queen of Angels Queen of Saints Columbarium, which he blessed. The procession had only about half of the people there because, after Bishop Sheridan took the Blessed Sacrament from the balcony, somebody started to usher people to the columbarium rather than wait for the bishop to come outside and lead everyone there.

The columbarium blessing, which included a touching prayer from Father Don Dunn, was very nice, and, after the Blessed Sacrament was reposed and Mass officially ended, there was a nice reception in the plaza.