Corpus Christi 2025

Sunday, June 22 - External Solemnity of Corpus Christi

8:30 am - Holy Mass*

PROCESSION and BENEDICTION immediately following Mass

*No Masses at 8 am or 10 am on June 22nd only

On Sunday, June 22nd, 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 22nd. 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.

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 by embracing the venerable traditions of our Catholic heritage and restoring belief in the Real Presence! As the Catholic saying goes: the law of prayer is the law of belief. (Lex orandi, lex credendi) How we pray truly influences what we believe. We cannot hope for an increased belief in the Real Presence if we only speak about the Real Presence but do not take action. Therefore we must restore reverence in the liturgy. The liturgy therefore must be truly Catholic. We ought to "stand fast; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle." (2 Thessalonians 2:14) Our Catholic traditions turn us together toward the Lord, faithfully teach us proper belief, and lead us Heavenward. This is why the tradition of our Corpus Christi procession is so important.

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:

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)