On May 31, Trailmen joined St. Joseph Parish in honoring Christ with a procession on the Feast of Corpus Christi. For approximately 800 years Catholics set aside the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday to acknowledge the awesome reality that Jesus meant what he said, “This is my Body” and “He who eats me will live because of me.” Along with the warning that, “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord.” The Feast of Corpus Christi and the procession with the Blessed Sacrament, not only acknowledges the sacrament, but in a very public way proclaims God’s presence in our world, in our lives, and reminds us that we are pilgrims intended for Heaven.
Prior to the procession, a Mass and first communion according to the old Rite was said. The sequence can be listened to here.
Dogma datur christianis,
quod in carnem transit panis,
et vinum in sanguinem.
Quod non capis, quod non vides,
animosa firmat fides,
praeter rerum ordinemChristians, let your faith grow stronger:
what was bread is bread no longer,
blood is here where once was wine.
Touch and sight are here deceivers,
mind and heart, be true believers:
truth is here beneath the sign.Sub diversis speciebus,
signis tantum, et non rebus,
latent res eximiae.
Caro cibus, sanguis potus:
manet tamen Christus totus
sub utraque specie.Bread and wine are here concealing
what to faith God is revealing:
outward signs his glory hide.
Bread becomes its very Giver,
wine redemption’s mighty river,
flowing from the Savior’s side.
In all, there were eight Trailmen at Mass the the following procession during a Thursday meeting. Several Trailmen served at the altar, three carried banners in front of the procession, and two Trailmen had their first communion.
