Sunday, June 2nd - Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

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8:30 am - Mass in English

9:00 am - Outdoor Corpus Christi Procession

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On Sunday, June 2nd, we will celebrate the External Feast of Corpus Christi, or “The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ” which commemorates the institution of the Holy Eucharist.  Mass will be at 8:30 am, followed by an outdoor procession with the Blessed Sacrament around the parish grounds. (Please note, there will be no 8:00 am or 10:00 Mass on Sunday, June 11th. Find the full schedule above). The Feast of Corpus Christi at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Three Rivers is an important experience for parishioners and visitors. Incense prepares the way for the Blessed Sacrament, and we process to the outdoor altars set up for the procession.

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In this day and age when only around 31% of Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, let us refute these statistics!  

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The Feast of Corpus Christi (traditionally celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday), recalls how Jesus instituted this the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist on Maundy Thursday. Thomas Aquinas considered the Eucharist to be the greatest of all sacraments (Summa Th. III: 65,3). Thus, the Church has consistently viewed the Eucharist as unique, even among the sacraments. Thus it is fitting that a feast exist to specifically commemorate the Eucharist. The Catholic Catechism summarizes this teaching of the importance of the Eucharist:

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The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” “The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.” (1324)

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