When I was growing up in the Province of Quebec, Corpus Christi was a real celebration in the community with a long procession of people from the two Roman Catholic churches in town walking through the whole community. Altar boys lead the procession carrying candle sticks and the processional crosses, then came choirs, then clergy with various liturgical items, then the Brothers and the Nuns, then the members of the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Women’s League, followed by long lines of the members of the churches. It was a real parade, and it had an impact on me. It was something spectacular, but it was some thing Protestants didn’t do. AsI grew in my faith and with a smattering of high school Latin, I always assumed that the festival

of Corpus Christi was a festival centred on the Church as the Body of Christ. In actual fact it is focused on the institution of the Lord’s Supper, the sacrament of Holy Communion, which the Catholic Church celebrates after Trinity Sunday rather than during Holy Week. In the Protestant tradition I grew up with, the celebration of the Institution of the Lord’s Supper is the main focus of Maundy Thursday worship. I never saw foot washing and the penitential focus of Maundy Thursday until I was exposed to the experimental liturgies of the 1970’s while at seminary.

 

For me, Corpus Christi will always be a symbol of the Church alive and active in the community. It was wonderful to see the substantial number of people out in the community celebrating their Faith in Jesus Christ. And there was a large number of people, one could say a critical mass of people, a large enough group that one could feel their faith, one knew they had something special. They were the Church, the Body of Christ in our community in a way the other smaller churches were not. It was exciting and it rubbed off on me.

 

Last Saturday I had the experience of being part of the Body of Christ, the Church, when I attended the Diocesan Mission Conference. It was inspiring to meet members of various parishes with our diocese, to worship briefly with them, share inspirational talks with them, to learn that God is at work in our world, our denomination, in our community. There were probably over 250 registrants, it took long enough for all of us to get registered. It was what sociologists call a critical mass, borrowing the term from the atomic physicists who use it to describe a mass of radioactive material which is of a size that will enable a self -sustaining atomic reaction. There were enough Christians present that our faith was reaching out to energize the faith of others. It was powerful. It was a worthwhile day, and the bonus was hearing and watching Bishop Michael Curry give his two inspiring talks. It was a Corpus Christi event, where the Body of Christ was active and powerful.