Pope Francis: Mass and torchlight Eucharistic
procession for Corpus Domini
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis
celebrated Mass on the steps of Rome’s cathedral basilica of St. John Lateran
Thursday evening, to mark the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Our
Lord, Jesus Christ.
In the homily he prepared for
the occasion, Pope Francis focused on the Eucharist as the source of Christian
strength. “From the outset,” he said, “it is the Eucharist which becomes the
centre and pattern of the life of the Church: but we think also of all the
saints – famous or anonymous – who have ‘broken’ themselves, their own life, in
order to ‘give something to eat’ to their brothers and sisters.” The Holy
Father went on to say, “How many mothers, how many fathers, together with the
slices of bread they provide each day on the tables of their homes, have broken
their hearts to let their children grow, and grow well; how many Christians, as
responsible citizens, have broken their own lives to defend the dignity of all,
especially the poorest, the marginalized and those discriminated; where
do they find the strength to do this?” he asked. “It is in the Eucharist: in
the power of the Risen Lord’s love, who today too breaks bread for us and
repeats: ‘Do this in remembrance of me’.”
The liturgy was followed by a
torchlight Eucharistic procession from the Lateran Basilica to the nearby
Basilica of St. Mary Major: an occasion for parish groups, sodalities and
charitable and fraternal organisations of all kinds to give public witness to
the central mystery of the faith: that Jesus Christ is really, truly,
substantially present: body, blood, soul and divinity, under the species of
bread and wine.
Ordinary citizens
participated too, whether watching from the windows and balconies of the
buildings that line the route from the Lateran basilica along the via Merulana
to the Basilica of St Mary Major, or joining on foot in the procession itself.
All told, the Mass and
procession rad roughly two and a half hours, and ended as the fullness of night
fell on the city in late spring, with the Pope leading the faithful in
Eucharistic adoration and offering solemn benediction.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét