Ten Ways to Celebrate Corpus Christi
Next Sunday is Corpus Christi, a designated feast day for the Catholic Church. In preparation for the event, I thought I would offer a brief explanation of what it is, as well as 10 things you can do to celebrate!
According to Wikipedia, “The Feast of Corpus Christi (Latin for Body of Christ), also known as Corpus Domini, is a Latin Rite liturgical solemnity celebrating the tradition and belief in the body and blood of Jesus Christ and his Real Presence in the Eucharist.” Technically, this feast day lands on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. However, it is celebrated on the following Sunday because the Thursday event is not a holy day of obligation.
Wikipedia explains that, “While the institution of the Eucharist is celebrated on Holy (Maundy) Thursday, the liturgy on that day also commemorates Christ’s washing of the disciples’ feet, the institution of the priesthood and the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. So many other functions took place on this day that the principal event was almost lost sight of. This is mentioned as the chief reason for the introduction of the new feast. The Feast of Corpus Christi was established to create a feast focused solely on the Holy Eucharist.”
Ten Ways to Celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi
- Spend an hour in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.
- Make a wreath from flowers and hang it on your door (or anywhere)! According to catholicculture.org, Corpus Christi is known as the “Day of Wreaths” in central Europe. It is custom to celebrate the feast day by wearing wreaths of flowers and by decorating the church and the home with floral bouquets and wreaths.
- Wear white — and decorate your house in it too! White is the liturgical color that is typically used for major holidays (like Easter and Christmas) and for Solemnities (like Corpus Christi).
- Make lamb for dinner in remembrance of Jesus as the “lamb of God.” Bonus points if you drink a glass of wine with your meal.
- Pray a decade of the Rosary while meditating on the mystery of the “Institution of the Eucharist.”
- Attend Mass on Thursday, even though it isn’t a holy day of obligation.
- Sit down, print out and color one of these coloring pages, while thinking about what the Eucharist means to you. This is especially great for kids, but adults can have fun coloring too!
- Journal about who you are as a member of the body of Christ.
- Research Eucharistic Miracles!
- Curl up in a chair with your favorite beverage and a book about the Holy Eucharist (or something similar). Here’s a list of five suggestions.
What have you done in the past to celebrate Corpus Cristi? Do you have any suggestions/ideas?
