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“The procession of my God and King into the sanctuary” (Ps 68:24): Corpus Christi Procession Next Week Associate Pastor's Column Sunday, June 11, 2006, Trinity Sunday
The Catechism states, “Besides sacramental liturgy and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account ht forms of piety and popular devotions among the faithful… such as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrimages, processions,” etc. (CCC 1674). Therefore today’s bulletin article can be seen as a tiny catechesis about our upcoming procession. Processions are symbolic of the great pilgrimage of faith. One can associate it to the wanderings of Israel in the desert towards the Promised Land. Also, they are symbolic of our pilgrimage of faith, which is our procession towards the promise land of heaven. Moreover, they are symbolic of the effort and toil with which we make progress in our spiritual life. We will do a procession within the Church walls this year. Who knows whether in future years we could do it outside, or even make a public affair of it on the streets of Detroit. For a public event, we’d need the direction of our Bishop, as Church Law states, “When it can be done in the judgment of the diocesan bishop, a procession through the public streets is to be held as a public witness of veneration toward the Most Holy Eucharist, especially on the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ.” (CIC 994 §1) There were processions in the Bible. I think of two passages (2 Sam 6, 1 Kings 8) which describe the procession of the Ark of the Covenant. Furthermore, the greatest of all processions is perhaps the entry of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, much as a priest processes at the start of Mass. Procession, curiously enough, is a word we use to discuss how the Son comes forth from the Father, and how the Holy Spirit comes forth from both. Of course, in the Trinity, all three persons have existed from all eternity, and the Father did not create them. They proceed from the Father’s essence, they are not created. Every Mass begins with a procession, and in a way is itself symbolic of the Incarnation in Mary’s womb. This was a descent, a movement, of the Son of God from heaven to earth. Furthermore, the stations of the Cross are a sort of procession. We are not at all strangers to processions. This particular procession will be an act of adoration of the Eucharist. As a recent Pope stated, “The Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the sacrament of the Eucharist the cult of adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it, reserving the consecrated hosts with the utmost care, exposing them to the solemn adoration of the faithful, and carrying them in procession” (Paul VI, Encyclical Mysterium Fidei, n. 56). It is to our great joy, furthermore, that a plenary indulgence is offered for the act we will do next Sunday. “A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who… participate piously in a solemn Eucharistic procession, which is proper to the supreme occasion of the solemnity of Corpus Christi, either in the Church our outside of it.” (Handbook of Indulgences, 4th ed., 7, 1, 3). An indulgence removes the temporal punishment remaining for forgiven sins, either for oneself or a deceased person, but never for another living person. They can be partial or plenary, referring to whether they remove some or all of the temporal punishment. To earn a plenary indulgence, one must do the determine act, with the three following conditions: pray for the Pope (an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be), receive communion, and get to confession. One communion is enough for only one plenary indulgence, but one confession can cover multiple ones. The three conditions may be done many days (“pluribus diebus”) before or after the act. One must also not be willfully attached to any sin, venial or mortal. Let us prepare for our procession with the Eucharist with great joy and deep prayer, for our lives depend on the Eucharist, since the Eucharist is the body, blood, soul and divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Picture: Gentile Bellini, Procession in St. Mark’s Square (Venice,Italy), 1496 |
With great joy, we
prepare for the Feast of Corpus Christi next Sunday. I’m happy to announce that
we will have a small Corpus Christi procession within the Church walls,
an act profoundly rich in indulgence, symbolism and grace.