Religious Education and Social Justice

Feast of Corpus Christi

 Last Sunday 6th June, the Church celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi. The feast day is also known as the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. On this day we celebrate and commemorate the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. 

Although the liturgy on Holy Thursday remembers the celebration of the Last Supper, its focus tends to be more aligned with the events of the Passion rather than on the institution of the Eucharist. In the 13th Century, Pope Urban IV established the feast of Corpus Christi (the Body of Christ) and it was St Thomas Aquinas who composed the official prayers of the Church for the feast day. 

In 1970 the feast was changed to the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. In some countries it is celebrated on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday and in others on the following Sunday.

In Sunday’s Gospel reading  Jesus repeatedly demands that his followers must eat his flesh and drink his blood. It is through these actions that his followers will share in eternal life. Jesus says that whoever does this will live in him and he will live in them. That is one of the fundamental beliefs about the Eucharist. When we receive the body and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist we become what we receive – we become Christ’s body in the world. When Jesus called his disciples, he called them to be like himself. He reissues that call to be like him every time we receive his body and blood in the Eucharist.

Traditionally our Year 3 children receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist on the Feast of Corpus Christi. Sadly for the second year in a row, the children have not been able to receive this beautiful Sacrament due to lockdowns and COVID-19 restrictions.  We pray that in the not too distant future our Year 3 and Year 4 children will be able to celebrate receiving their First Holy Communion. Please continue to keep the children in your prayers.

Prayer for the 

Feast of Corpus Christi

O Lord Jesus Christ, 

we come before You today, 

we thank You for the gift 

of Your Holy Body and Blood 

through which we get strengthened 

body, soul and mind. 

We solemnly pledge that we will offer You 

our undivided love 

and also service to our brothers and sisters 

as it is Your Holy will. 

We pray this 

in the name of the Father, 

and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Jane Wilkinson

Religious Education Leader