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The feast of the Body and Blood of Christ—Corpus Christi in Latin—celebrates the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the sacrament of the holy Eucharist—the body and blood, soul and divinity of the Redeemer, who is the Son of God. Christ told his Apostles before his Ascension, “Behold, I am with you always…”
The feast of Corpus Christi traditionally is observed on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday, but in the United States, it is celebrated on the Sunday after Trinity Sunday. This year the date was June 26. Archbishop Dolan celebrated Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral; the same day, the cathedral began six days of Eucharistic adoration to prepare for the celebration of Pope Benedict XVI’s 60th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood on June 29, feast of SS. Peter and Paul.
The Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in lower Manhattan held a traditional Forty Hours Devotion June 24-26 in conjunction with the Redemptorists to commemorate the bicentennial of the birth of St. John Neumann, a Redemptorist priest and bishop who promoted the devotion. The weekend closed with the Corpus Christi celebration on Sunday.
Holy Cross parish in Manhattan’s Times Square neighborhood co-sponsored an outdoor Eucharistic procession in conjunction with LAMP Ministries June 25. The procession, followed by Benediction and Mass, celebrated LAMP’s 30th anniversary of evangelization and Christian witness and service in New York; a LAMP minister serves at Holy Cross.
Through prayers and processions, Catholics gave public witness to their belief in the words of Jesus, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament: “This is my body…This is my blood.”
