Event Brings Christ to Streets of Rome, Hearts of Participants
As we lead up to the second phase of the Synod on the Family, taking place in the Vatican this October, ZENIT decided to take a look at Thursday evening's Corpus Christi celebration through the eyes of three families present for the celebration: one from the Pope's native Argentina, another from Dublin, and another from the United States.
Upon completion of the Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in the courtyard of the papal archbasilica of St. John Lateran last night, thousands of faithful participated in the traditional Eucharistic Procession. They walked along Via Merulana to the Marian basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The Pope, like last year, did not walk the procession, but instead traveled by covered car to the Piazza of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he closed the procession by giving Benediction.
Mother, daughter
Susana Garcia and her daughter Julia Sterpetti from Buenos Aires have been traveling around Europe and found themselves at the Corpus Christi celebration.
"We went to see the Pope at the Vatican the other day. We met someone who explained to us that the Pope was going to be here, so we decided to come," Susana said.
They noted they were close to Santa Maria Maggiore and when they realized they could see Pope Francis, couldn't give up the opportunity.
"The Pope is Argentinian. So it’s a very emotional and exciting moment. Something like this is truly a once in a lifetime experience," she said. "It’s so important."
The daughter interjects, chuckling, "She’s about to cry. She will, I can tell."
"It’s the first time we are in Rome," Julieta said, "so it’s magical. It’s been perfect and unexpected."
Father, son
Andrew Moore, a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma, studying abroad in Arezzo, Italy, noted how exciting it was to be present in the Pope’s presence.
“I am not Catholic, but I think what Francis is doing is really incredible,” Andrew said. With the impact Francis has had on him, he noted he recently, during his time in Rome, stood in the Vatican to watch the jumbotron as a Mass was going on in St. Peter's Basilica.
His father, Kenneth Moore, who is Christian, but works in the Catholic Saint Francis Health System in Tulsa and is married to a Catholic, said “I don’t remember a Pope ever creating this type of buzz.”
“Way back in Tulsa, people can’t stop talking about him. They love him.”
"I am convinced that is because of his humility and because he understands the fundamental needs of the people, because of his background," he added.
Family with 1st Communion girl
Another family, parents Ronan and Deborah MacDemott, of Rathcoole, County, Dublin, with their children Ciaran, Cormac, and Dervla, spoke to ZENIT.
On how they found themselves at the event, Deborah explained, “We met a lovely Franciscan man, who told us we were meant to be here.”
“We actually thought there was a car accident because all the roads were blocked off,” she said.
"The Franciscan told us there was a procession and that this was really special. There were lots of children we saw dressed up in white for their Holy Communion, she noted. Dervla had made her [first] Communion three weeks ago, and he said, ‘It’s not a coincidence that you are here."’
"There was a man in his 20s and he was crying. I was crying. It was really, really special. We weren’t expecting to do this."
GOSPEL COMMENTARY MK 14:12-16, 22-26
Corpus Christi
FR. JACK PETERSON, YA
The extraordinary gift of the Eucharist fits a pattern of beautifully humble acts that marked the life of Christ during His earthly sojourn. He revealed Himself first to the world as an infant, born in a lowly stable and resting in a manger. Our Savior chose to live in the modest home of a carpenter and likely practiced that simple trade as a young man. He submitted to the baptism of John and dove into the waters as a sign of diving into the fullness of our human condition. Finally, Our Lord surrendered His life to the Father and died on a wooden cross between two criminals. Today, we celebrate the profound reality that Jesus chose to offer us the supreme gift of His self under the disguise of simple bread and wine. The humility of Jesus is a marvel to ponder.
Jesus’ gift of the Eucharist is an invitation for us to respond to Him in kind with humility. We do so by accepting in faith that the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus; by coming to the table on a regular basis with our brothers and sisters in Christ to share in the meal of all meals prepared for us by our Heavenly Father; by rejoicing at the sacrifice that He made of Himself for our salvation; and by embracing our need for the spiritual nourishment that we receive at the table of His word and of His Body and Blood.
Perhaps the most appropriate response to the Eucharist is good old-fashioned wonder and awe. Every parent is most pleased when a child’s heart is filled with gratitude and an awareness of the immensity of a gift that is given out of love and with great sacrifice. We need to beg God for a deeper faith in Christ and to see with believing eyes the wonders that the Father has done in Christ Jesus. The Eucharist is one of God’s greatest works of art; it is His greatest gift of love, because it is the gift of His Son.
St. Francis of Assisi had a profound devotion to the Eucharist. He made heroic efforts to attend Mass on a daily basis. He spoke often to his friars about the precious gift that Jesus gave us on the night before He suffered and died. Francis sought and received special permission from the church to have Mass said while he and his brothers went on retreat in the mountains in preparation for their preaching adventures.
In St. Francis’ “Letter to All the Friars,” he said in reference to the Mass: “Let humanity fear, let the entire universe tremble, and the heavens exult, when on the altar, in the hands of the priest, is Christ, Son of the living God … O admirable rapture and amazing designation. O sublime humility. O humble sublimity, that the Lord of the universe, God and Son of God, so humbles Himself as to hide under the small appearance of bread.”
My brothers and sisters in Christ, let us implore the Holy Spirit to stir into flame the gifts of faith and love in Jesus so that we may truly marvel at Jesus’ gift of the Eucharist. May our humble, loving response befit the humble, loving gift that has been given.
Fr. Peterson is assistant chaplain at Marymount University in Arlington and director of the Youth Apostles Institute in McLean.