Travel Notes

There are plenty of items of liturgical interest to be found roaming the Holy Land for a summer, but this one stands out. 

When planning trips to all sorts of holy sites, a friend mentioned how nice it would be to have a priest along, because it is liturgically permitted to say special Votive Masses for many of these sites. Ie, you can have Christmas Mass almost any day of the year (any free day) at the Grotto of the Nativity (as I celebrated three times last week.)

I had heard all of this, but on a recent trip to the Shepherd's Fields outside Bethlehem, I saw the proof:

Available in quite a few languages:

Ergo, when you are HERE:

You get to celebrate THIS:

Of Corpus Christi

As you may know, the Thursday after Trinity Sunday has, for about seven and a half centuries, been observed as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ - aka - Corpus Christi. In recent years, that solemnity has been transferred to the following Sunday and so in most places June 14th will be the observance of Corpus Christi.

However, still there are places that keep the traditional observance, most particularly in Rome where earlier the Holy Father lead celebration of the Holy Mass and Eucharistic Procession with Benediction.

It is a sadness that Corpus Christi has been transferred in so many places. In the first place, we loose the spiritual sense of Thursdays. There is pious tradition that gives a certain spiritual focus to particular days of the week, i.e., Friday is the Passion of the Lord, Saturday is for Mary.

Thursdays are traditionally dedicated to focusing on the mystery of the Blessed Sacrament. This hearkens back to the institution of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday, and the commemoration of this at the Mass of the Lord's Supper. We profit ourselves very much by meditation on the Eucharist every Thursday of the year. Some special devotions can be made. For example, the singing of a Eucharistic hymn like the Adoro te devote can be done on Thursdays as a special focus on this great gift from the Lord.

The focus has been a bit lost with the transferrence of Corpus Christi to Sunday. However, we can still celebrate this day with great joy and with particular focus. We will hear in the prayers of the Mass any number of petitions and praises to the Holy Trinity regarding the tremendous blessing of the Holy Eucharist.

So keep this coming Sunday with great joy in your heart and make very clear and specific meditation on the tremedous miracle of the Holy Mass.