Posted on 06/08/2007 1:26:17 PM PDT by NYer
Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) celebrated Mass on the plaza in front of the basilica of St. John Lateran on Thursday evening, June 7, for the feast of Corpus Christi.
Although the feast is now observed on Sunday in most parts of the Catholic world, thousands of worshippers gathered on a beautiful Roman evening to join in the Mass, followed by the traditional Eucharistic procession across Rome to the basilica of St. Mary Major. There the Holy Father concluded the evening's events with Benediction and the singing of the Salve Regina.
Pope Benedict led the procession in an open vehicle, kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament displayed in a monstrance. Behind him thousands of people joined in prayers and hymns as they walked. Various fraternities and parish groups carried banners as they marched, and buildings along the route were decorated with Eucharistic banners, added to the colorful procession.
In his homily the Pope recalled that the feast of Corpus Christi was instituted as a testimony to the faith of Catholics "in Jesus Christ, living and truly present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist." This mystery, he said, is "beyond our understanding, and we should not be surprised if even today many people struggle" with the Catholic dogma.
Nevertheless, the Pope continued, the feast bears witness to the central event of Christian history. The gift of the Eucharist, he said, "is openly proclaimed and exposed, so that everyone has the chance to meet Jesus as He passes by."
For believing Christians, the Holy Father continued, the Eucharist is "the indispensable nourishment that sustains them as they cross the desert of this world, made barren by ideological and economic systems that fail to promote life ... a world dominated by the logic of power and possession rather than by the logic of service and of love; a world in which the culture of violence and death often triumph." In the evening's procession, Pope Benedict said, the Church would "symbolically carry the Lord Jesus along the streets and through the neighborhoods of Rome." In that way, he said, the faithful bring Christ into their everyday lives, knowing that He sustains them each day.
He truly looks the Vicar of Christ!!!
God bless and keep the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI
BTTT!
“For every Christian generation, the Eucharist is the indispensable nourishment that sustains them as they cross the desert of this world.”
- Pope Benedict XVI
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.