“The Body of Christ is the bread of the end times, capable of giving life, and eternal life, because the substance is this bread of love.” —Pope Francis in his Corpus Christi homily on June 19, 2014
The Catholic belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist is celebrated every day at every Mass around the globe. But yesterday’s Feast of Corpus Christi here in the United States —the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ—is observed in many other nations on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. It celebrates the institution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Pope Francis presided over this liturgy last Thursday at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, which is the cathedral of the Rome Diocese.
“Man carries within himself another hunger, a hunger that cannot be satisfied with ordinary food.” —Pope Francis
I attended the 41st International Eucharistic Congress, held in Philadelphia in August of 1976, our bicentennial year. Under the theme of “Jesus, the Bread of Life,” the Congress was a high point in my early spiritual life and nurtured my love for the Blessed Sacrament.
For this week’s Music Monday, I am sharing the official song written for this Eucharistic Congress, “Gift of Finest Wheat (You Satisfy the Hungry Heart),” composed by Omer Westendorf and Robert E. Kreutz.
Meditative scenes accompany the Cathedral Singers, who are conducted by their founder, Richard Proulx (1937-2010).