Sunday, June 25, 2006

The body of Christ versus football (25/06/2006)

I took part in my first ever Corpus Christi Procession today and it was both amazing and great fun. For those of you not in the know it has become part of Catholic tradition to publicly process with the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance with banners, pictures, a processional cross etc and the faithful singing songs through the streets as a form of adoration. The Blessed Sacrament being the name Catholics give to the host once consecrated by the priest which has then become the body of Christ (Corpus Christi). I hope to have some pictures of the actual procession I took part in, in due course, but in the meantime this link from wikipedia will have to do!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Procession_with_blessed_sacrament_1.jpg

I loved being part of the procession for several different reasons. On a completely secular level and just because I'm rather contrary I liked the fact that I wasn't watching football this afternoon unlike most other people in the country, I liked the fact that we held up the motorists while we walked at a snail's pace, and I like the bewildered faces of the people we passed on the streets. On a more religious level I was enjoying this very public display of religiousity in our predominantly secular London with, lets face it, a rather an unashamed statement of Catholicism! I enjoyed being with soooo many people (there were lots of us!), young, old, male, female, black, white etc united by common belief and purpose.

The Corpus Christi procession really exemplifies what is so weird and wonderful about Catholicism. Catholics believe that a wafer, albeit a consecrated one, gets transformed into the body of Christ - hey that's weird enough but they also go about eating it each time they go to Mass!! OK, I being rather crude with my choice of words, but think about it, it seems like utter nonsense, yet all these people were out there expressing their adoration of the Blessed sacrament, kneeling in front of it and the women covering their heads in the presence of Christ. Did these people look mad - no! Did I feel like a bit of a fraud? Yes!

I really enjoyed singing the songs yet I couldn't quite put my whole heart and soul into it because I don't yet believe the words that I was singing. I still remain to be convinced that Catholicism teaches the Truth as revealed by God. Yet there is just something so strong about the faith that keeps me going back to Mass each week and I sincerely hope that I walk my next Corpus Christi procession as a proud Catholic!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And here's one of the photos from the procession, courtesy of joe - see his blog for other pictures http://catholiclondoner.blogspot.com/2006/07/more-picture-stuff.html


6 Comments:

At 11:51 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your closing reminds me of G.K. Chesterton's famous quote:

"I had no more idea of becoming a Catholic than of becoming a cannibal. I imagined that I was merely pointing out that justice should be done even to cannibals . . . [but] it is impossible to be just to the Catholic Church. The moment men cease to pull against it they feel a tug towards it. The moment they cease to shout it down they begin to listen to it with pleasure. The moment they try to be fair to it they begin to be fond of it . . ."

{The Catholic Church and Conversion, NY: Macmillan, 1926, 59,62}

You can read the entire book online at:
http://www.ewtn.com/library/CHRIST/CONVERSI.TXT

May God bless and guide your discernment of His Church...

- Timothy

 
At 8:42 pm, Blogger Katrina said...

Thank you so very much for your encouraging comments! Although I still have my doubts about the church I both fear and hope that I am beyond the point of no return!

As for the beloved GK, it is entirely possible that he has begun to hijack my brain given that I have not long finished reading 'Everlasting Man' and also his first fiction work, 'The Napolean of Notting Hill'. And did you realise my blog title is actually in his honour?

"I heard the hundred pin-makers
Slow down their racking din,
Till in the stillness men could hear
The dropping of the pin:
And somewhere men without the wall, beneath the wood, without the wall,
Had found the place where London ends and England can begin."

The Collected Poems of G. K. Chesterton, 1927

 
At 9:12 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO CONVERT DAMMIT?!!!

I'M GOING TO STALK YOU UNTIL YOU ARE A PAPIST!!! :P

See you on Thursday? Cheerio

 
At 10:41 pm, Blogger Katrina said...

Now, now Andrew, calm down! Patience is a virtue and all that.

The way to convert me is to be a shining example of what being Catholic is all about!! By their fruits you shall know them and all that!

Anyway, explain yourself - how did you find your way on to my blog Mr?!

Yes see you guys Thurs, but please don't bring the thumbscrews!

 
At 12:20 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Now, now Andrew, calm down! Patience is a virtue and all that.

The way to convert me is to be a shining example of what being Catholic is all about!! By their fruits you shall know them and all that!


Blah blah blah blah blah

The way to convert is to have a special "auto de fe" for Katrina!!!

:)

 
At 8:09 pm, Blogger Katrina said...

A special 'auto de fe' sounded quite nice till I googled it and found out it refers to public penance for heretics and apostates!! So which one am I, a heretic or apostate?

I gather that at these rituals if the accused converted to Catholicism at the last minute, the Church would be merciful by allowing a slightly less painful death by carrying out strangulation before burning! Well at least that's what it said on a website that claims that Jesus never existed!! Ok I must be a heretic if I'm looking at these websites!!

So you going to burn me in order to convert me?

 

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