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June 3, 2021Saint Mary Catholic Church in Ardmore will be celebrating the Feast of Corpus Christi in a very different way on June 6.
At 10 a.m. at Regional Park in Ardmore, all other weekend Masses will be cancelled so all parishioners may unite for a huge parish outdoor Mass and picnic.
“I am so excited to celebrate Mass outdoors and look forward to enjoying fellowship with all of our parishioners at the picnic,” said Patty Tate, parish secretary. “It will be a wonderful opportunity to come together as one after the challenging year we all have experienced.”
The parish will host spiritual time together, a good meal and games for families. Handicapped parking and transportation will be available.
Parishioners said they are excited to welcome back to Mass even more of their fellow church community.
Deacon Juan Jimenez said, “This is a wonderful feast day for the parish to celebrate great unity at one time and in one place. It will be a great event.”
The Catholic Church has been celebrating the feast of Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ for nearly 800 years. This feast originated in France in the mid-13th century and was extended to the whole Church by Pope Urban IV in 1264. This feast is celebrated on the Thursday following the Trinity Sunday or, as in the United States, on the Sunday following that feast.
This feast calls for Catholics to focus on two manifestations of the Body of Christ, the Holy Eucharist and the Church. The primary purpose of the feast is to focus attention on the Eucharist. The opening prayer at Mass calls attention to Jesus' suffering and death and our worship of him, especially in the Eucharist.
At every Mass, Catholics are called to focus on the Eucharist and the Real Presence of Christ. The secondary focus of this feast is upon the Body of Christ as it is present in the Church. The Church is called the Body of Christ because of the intimate communion which Jesus shares with his disciples. He expresses this in the gospels by using the metaphor of a body in which he is the head. This image helps keep in focus both the unity and the diversity of the Church.
The Feast of Corpus Christi is commonly used as an opportunity for public Eucharistic processions, which serves as a sign of common faith and adoration. Worship of Jesus in his Body and Blood calls Catholics to offer to God a pledge of undivided love and an offering of ourselves to the service of others.
Charles Albert is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
