Today is the Catholic Feast of Corpus Christi. It celebrates the Christian rite of the Eucharist. Or, in this case, the Catholic belief in Transubstantiation, or the literal changing of the bread into the body of Christ during communion. Due to the religious colonialism of much of the world, Corpus Christi is a holiday in some countries, So, happy Corpus Christi day.
The feast owes much of its existence to St Juliana of Liège, who in the 13th century was instrumental in its inauguration. Apparently she had a vision of the church under a full moon, but the moon had one dark spot – this made it clear to her that the church was lacking something and that something was the feast of Corpus Christi. Thank heavens for the moon, and the stargazer Juliana.
The Eucharist is referred to as a mystery. Many of the beliefs held by the church are called mysteries. For anyone outside the church quite a lot more would be described as a mystery too.
The Eucharist is one of many sacraments that different flavours of the church hold. Some have many sacraments, others have almost none. Some hold them in high esteem, while others describe them in a different language. Protestants tend not to believe in transubstantiation, and therefore don’t celebrate this day. Some might say that protestants don’t know how to celebrate anything, but I wouldn’t like to comment on that, Ben Elton’s Lord and Lady White Adder said enough.
Sacraments are an acceptable magic within some denominations.
I like rituals. Sacraments, or Sacramental celebrations found in the church, fit neatly into a liking of rituals. A ritual with an underpinning of mystery and mysticism, is right up my aisle.
Religious groups claim to have the answer. Yet here, as mentioned earlier, is a mystery at the very heart of one of the world’s major religions. Most, if not all, divisions within religions, occur when someone tries to define a mystery, to box it and label it, to explain it.
Don’t lose the mystery. Within the mystery is awe, is
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