Wednesday, June 3, is the Feast of Corpus Christi, the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. Accompanied by many Franciscans and religious from different communities, Monsignor Shomali, the Auxiliary Bishop representing the Latin Patriarch, solemnly entered into the Holy Sepulcher.
The Feast of the Blessed Sacrament, also known by the Latin expression of Corpus Christi, is a solemnity of the Latin rite that celebrates the body and blood of Jesus Christ and his real presence in the Eucharist. This solemnity, which takes place two weeks after Pentecost, emphasizes the joy of the institution of the Eucharist.
With the approaching beating of the kawas, the doors of the basilica were open wide to welcome the assembly. The entry preceded the singing of first vespers for the feast, followed by the daily procession made solemn by three circling around the shrine three times. After Compline and the nearly four hours of prayer that many pilgrims, faithful, and religious had participated in, the Franciscans returned.
But while Jerusalem was asleep, at night, the mendicant friars returned to the Church of the Resurrection for the night office presided over by the Custodial Vicar, Fr. Dobromir Jasztal. In the silence of the night, candles and incense filled the church once again. And a new procession, accompanied by a few faithful, also was a part of this day of prayer.
The next day, on Thursday, June 4, at the same place and for the same feast, the Franciscans and faithful gathered again but this time for the Mass presided by His Beatitude Patriarch Fouad Twal. Welcomed by the guardian of the monastery, Br. Noël Muscat, OFM, to the stone of Annointing, the Franciscans and seminarians of the Latin Patriarchate, in addition to the multitude of concelebratnts, began with the prayer of Lauds before the tomb. All around, pilgrims prayed, both Catholic and Orthodox, of all nationalities, and some were moved to tears. Visiting groups, who were more or less discreet, passed behind the tomb before exiting in the opposite direction.
In his homily during the mass, the Patriarch highlighted the essential contribution of the Eucharist to our lives: “Every path through the desert, every vocation or major life project life still has pitfalls, hardships or misunderstandings. But those who keep the faith, nourished by this “manna from heaven” (Dt 8:16) achieve the desired goal.”
The last procession around the tomb was certainly the most beautiful. The Patriarch carried the Body of Christ, that is living in His Eucharist around the place where He conquered death. The festival comes to an end at the Chapel of the Resurrection with the blessing of the Blessed Sacrament to in turn become, in the words of the patriarch, “bread for our brothers in service, prayer and working together.”
Nizar Halloun et Hélène Morlet