Liturgist admits to love one parade above all others
I love a parade, the tramping of feet,
I love every beat I hear of a drum.
I love a parade, when I hear a band
I just want to stand and cheer as they come.
As the once-popular song suggests, parades are great occasions, filled with
emotion and providing the opportunity to celebrate. Veterans Day parades,
ticker-tape parades to honor extraordinary celebrity or achievement, the Macy
’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Tournament of Roses Parade which greets the new
year and ushers in the
“high holy days” of collegiate football — all of these parades, and the many more like them, great and small, are times
of celebration and pride.
The church has its share of “parades” as well. We call them processions. These “parades” commemorate some of the great events in the life of our Lord, and we prepare
and participate in them with careful attention.
But perhaps the most solemn and oftentimes festive parade in the church’s retinue of public expression is the procession that takes place on the
solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ
— Corpus Christi — the church’s late-spring feast which commemorates the mystery of the Eucharist.
In Europe, and still in a number of places in the United States, the Corpus
Christi procession is a most popular expression of eucharistic devotion. The
first Corpus Christi processions were organized locally after the institution
of the feast in 1264 by Pope Urban IV. They became increasingly popular,
especially after the Council of Trent, and in small towns throughout Europe
grew ever more festive and central to the local community
’s identity.
The custom of the Corpus Christi procession eventually spread to other countries
and cultures as well, especially in Latin America, and in many places they
retain their cultural and religious significance. The number of these
processions celebrated by parishes and dioceses is, after a decline over the
last few decades, on the rise, as this devotion has regained part of its
original popularity.
In a few weeks, Archbishop Joseph Naumann will join Bishop Robert Finn of the
Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph as our two dioceses participate in a Corpus
Christi procession on June 10. The Eucharist will be solemnly exposed for
adoration beginning at 1 p.m. at St. Thomas More Church, 11822 Holmes Road,
Kansas City, Mo. The sacrament of reconciliation will also be available at that
time. At 2 p.m., the Blessed Sacrament will be carried in solemn procession
from St. Thomas More to nearby Avila College. At Avila, there will be
Benediction and afterwards, refreshments and a social time.
What could bring us more pride than that greatest gift with which Jesus endowed
his church
— the Eucharist, the very gift of his body and blood? What event could compel us
to rise to our feet and take to the streets more than his incarnation, made
sacramentally present under the appearance of bread and wine? What greater
parade could there ever be than that which boasts the mystery God
’s love for us?
Michael Podrebarac is the archdiocesan consultant for the liturgy office.
