Thursday, May 30, 2024
The Thursday after Trinity Sunday — celebrating the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Corpus Christi (Latin for 'Body of Christ') celebrates the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist — the doctrine that the bread and wine of the Eucharist truly become the body and blood of Christ. The feast is observed on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday (in many places transferred to the following Sunday). It was established by Pope Urban IV in 1264 after the alleged Eucharistic miracle at Bolsena, where a doubting priest saw blood drip from a consecrated host onto a corporal cloth. St. Thomas Aquinas composed the feast's liturgy, including some of Catholicism's most beloved Eucharistic hymns: Pange Lingua, Tantum Ergo, Adoro Te Devote, and Sacris Solemniis. Corpus Christi is the doctrinal counterpart of Maundy Thursday: Maundy Thursday commemorates the institution of the Eucharist within Holy Week's somber mood; Corpus Christi celebrates the same gift in festal joy, without the weight of the impending crucifixion. The feast is famous for elaborate processions in which the consecrated host is carried through streets adorned with flowers and altars.
Corpus Christi observance traditionally includes: white vestments, the singing of Thomas Aquinas's Eucharistic hymns (Pange Lingua, Tantum Ergo, Adoro Te Devote), the public procession of the consecrated host through streets and town squares (suspended during the Reformation in Protestant areas), elaborate floral decorations, the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and special meditations on the Eucharist. In some cities (Toledo, Spain; Cusco, Peru; Coatepec, Mexico) the Corpus Christi procession is one of the year's major civic events.
The traditional Bible readings for Corpus Christi include:
Corpus Christi (Latin for 'Body of Christ') is the feast celebrating the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. It was established by Pope Urban IV in 1264 after the Eucharistic miracle at Bolsena. St. Thomas Aquinas composed the feast's liturgy, including the hymns Pange Lingua, Tantum Ergo, and Adoro Te Devote.
The traditional date is the Thursday after Trinity Sunday — about 60 days after Easter. In many places, the celebration is transferred to the following Sunday (the Second Sunday after Pentecost) for pastoral reasons.
The Corpus Christi procession is a public liturgical event in which the consecrated host (the body of Christ) is carried through streets and town squares in a monstrance, accompanied by Eucharistic hymns, incense, and worshipers. The streets are decorated with flowers, banners, and temporary altars. The procession publicly proclaims faith in the Real Presence and recalls the Israelites' journey with the Ark of the Covenant.
Generally no — most Protestant traditions reject the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation (that the bread and wine become the substance of Christ's body and blood) and so do not observe the feast. Some Lutherans and Anglicans observe a related feast as 'the Day of Thanksgiving for Holy Communion' or 'the Feast of the Holy Eucharist' without affirming transubstantiation specifically.