Thursday, June 23, 2011

The Movable Feast

Lying down on the sofa, an watching a movie on TCM, it suddenly flashed my mind that today is a holiday. Why? I asked myself. Corpus Christi, I uttered to myself. I should write something about this I continued mumbling to myself. It is now 1:30 am.
The Feast Of Corpus Christi or Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (as it is often called today), goes back to the 13th Century, but celebrates something far older:
the institution of the Sacrament of Holy Communion at the Last Supper. While Holy Thursday is also a celebration of this mystery, the solemn nature of Holy Week, and the focus of Christ's Passion on Good Friday, overshadows that aspect of Holy Thursday.
Corpus Christi (latin for Boby of Christ) is a western Catholic Solemnity. It is also celebrated in some Anglican,Lutheran Churches and some liberal Catholic Churches. It does not commemorate a particular event in Jesus' life, but celebrates the Body of Christ in the mass. It is held the Thursday after Trinity Sunday or, in some places on the following Sunday
The appearance of Corpus Christi as a feast in the Christian Calender was primarily due to the petitions of the 13th Century Augustinian nun Juliana of Leige. From her early childhood youth, Juliana had a veneration for the Bless
ed Sacrament, and always longed for a special event in its honour.
I remember early in my youthful days, in the Choiseul Village, the feast was celebrated with a eucharistic procession, which the Sacred Heart was carried throughout the village, accompanied by hymns and litanies. The faithful would venerate the Body of Christ as the procession passed by. In recent years, this procession has almost disappeared though some parishes still hold a brief procession around the outside of the parish church.
Corpus Christi is observed after the fifty days of Easter are over. The Feast is a movable one.The date continousously changes.......this year it is celebrated on June 23rd. Next year it falls on June 7th and in the year 2013 it will be celebrated on May 30th. If you will be around in 2021 check it out on June 3rd.
Why the date continually changes? Big question?
I'd like to recommend http://www.therecord.com to find out more on this St. Juliana whom in my view is more or less the founder of Corpus Christi. Also check out http://www.faithclipart.com/guide/christian-holidays/feast to find out 'what is Corpus Christi?' That last site is very informative.

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