A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
This was the photo from today's options that had the most "Carpe Diem" spirit about it, although I had hoped to post a video or photo of a Corpus Christi procession, one of my favorite traditions of the liturgical year after I first experienced it in Bolsena and Orvieto many years ago. Every year I wish I were in those cities again on this day. God willing, next year... This year, we found a connection to Rome in the church of St. Joseph of Manistee, where, last year, we were delighted to discover that one of the former apostolates to our Rome program, Fr. Roman, is now the parish priest. We were blessed to hear his homily this morning at Mass, and then meet up with friends at Portage Lake, where this photo was captured. Lately I've been reflecting on how, as much as we try to deny it in our technological age, the human being is a deeply incarnational creature. Photos never quite capture the "feel" of a place or the personality of a friend. You just had to be there. And that, I suppose, is why the Catholic Church has survived while so many Christian denominations are absorbed by secularism. There is nothing more incarnational than consuming the body and blood of God. We become what we repeatedly consume, what we repeatedly do.
Liturgical: Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
Here beneath these signs are hidden
Priceless things to sense forbidden;
Signs, not things are all we see:
Blood is poured and flesh is broken,
Yet in either wondrous token
Christ entire we know to be.
Highly recommended reflections on this very important feast day:
Fr. Geoffrey Plant's Homily
Bishop Barron's Homily
Sanctoral: Marcellinus and Peter (d. 304) who were two Roman martyrs who suffered under the Diocletian persecution. The first was an exorcist, the second a priest. Their cultus was so important that after peace was restored to the Church, Constantine built a basilica in their honor. Their names are mentioned in the Canon of the Mass (Eucharistic Prayer I).
Human: 455 AD-- the Vandals' Sack of Rome; 1946-- Festival of the Italian Republic
Natural: Eucharistic miracles around the world
Italian Idiom: Prenderci gusto (to develop a taste / take a liking)
Quote: “One of the most admirable effects of Holy Communion is to preserve the soul from sin, and to help those who fall through weakness to rise again. It is much more profitable, then, to approach this divine Sacrament with love, respect, and confidence, than to remain away through an excess of fear and scrupulosity.” - St. Ignatius of Loyola
Comments