Corpus Christi

Today, as you will all know by now, was the feast of Corpus Christi and whilst all feasts are joyful celebrations of the goodness of God this one is something extra special. Two weeks ago Eastertide came to a triumphant close with the solemnity of Pentecost and the birthday of the Church and we (after much celebration, of course) were plunged back into the so-called Ordinary Time. As I was reminded recently during a homily there is nothing "ordinary" about this time at all and this feast certainly tells us of that. After forty days of fasting followed by six weeks of feasting and celebrating the Lord's resurrection from the dead it could be easy to become...too relaxed...perhaps a tad complacent...to fall back into old habits and just go through the motions as always. But today we are not allowed to rest on our laurels, instead we are shown the beauty, the magnificence, the almighty power and love of God for his people, how he cares for and nourishes his Church each and every day. Today we celebrate, we adore and worship, the presence of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Under the guise of bread and wine he humbles himself again, brings his divinity and majesty down to earth and gives his very flesh and blood for us to eat and drink. During the Mass our offerings are united to Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, we immerse ourselves into his passion and, by the grace of God, are invited to share the fruits of his resurrection and ascension. And this is not a one off thing, this is what happens at every single Mass, every single day, all over the world. Our Lord loves us so much that he offers himself, the whole of himself, his very life, to us on a daily basis. He stretches out his arms towards us and all we have to do is turn back towards him (in particular through the sacrament of reconciliation) and humbly accept.

Today at St. John's we made a big point of rejoicing in the love our God has for us and that we have for him in return. We had a Eucharistic Procession (a practise Pope Benedict has been commending at St. Peter's today) around the church building, heralded with songs such as O Salutaris Hostia, Sweet Sacrament Divine, Tantum Ergo. It was fantabulous to walk as one Body, one Church in faith following behind the one who saved us from our sins. And it didn't rain! (Hooray!) Here's a few pics (and a poorly shot video...please excuse the singing from our end of the pew) taken from my iPhone.

Fr. Richard exposes the Blessed Sacrament

The procession entering the...car park...

As you can see, lots of people came out, singing praise to God
(and there were waaay more than pictured here)

Happy feast day everyone!