| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
article
CORAM SACRATISSIMO
By Kenneth Baker, S.J.
How many Catholics in the United States have seen a procession with the Blessed Sacrament out in the streets of their town on the feast of Corpus Christi? How many Catholics in our secularized culture even know that there is such a thing as a Corpus Christi procession?
In the Catholic countries of Europe and South America such processions are very familiar. But I will never forget how surprised I was to experience such a procession as a first-year student of theology at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, in 1958. It was a holiday and a festive one at that.
First of all, there was a long and large procession that went through the main streets of the city. The procession was composed of groups of religious, both men and women, in their distinguishing habits. Some prayed the Rosary while others sang hymns. There were school children in the traditional costumes of the Tyrol; there were businessmen, professors, the mayor of the city along with his council, and ordinary citizens. As I recall there were two or three brass bands playing hymns and marches.
The long procession wound its way through the narrow streets of the medieval town. Windows were open and their sills were decorated with beautiful cloths trimmed in silver or gold, resembling altar cloths; many of them were covered with candles, a crucifix and bouquets of red and white flowers.
There was more to the procession than just moving slowly through the streets amidst prayer and song. The destination of the procession was the four temporary altars set up in public squares. The procession was led by the local bishop carrying the Blessed Sacrament, surrounded by the clergy and many altar boys. The altars were dedicated to the four evangelists - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. When the bishop arrived at each altar the Blessed Sacrament was placed on the altar for adoration. The altar was elaborately decorated with fine linens, lighted candles and an abundance of colorful flowers. At each altar the beginning of the appropriate Gospel was sung and then the bishop blessed all the people with the monstrance from the altar. From there the procession moved on to the next altar. Immediately the prayers and singing would begin again.
The final destination of the procession was the steps of the Innsbruck Opera House, just across the street from the old Hapsburg palace, called the Hofburg. There another magnificent temporary altar had been erected and the bishop began to celebrate a Solemn High Mass Coram Sacratissimo. The Square was packed with those who had taken part in the procession. The expression Coram Sacratissimo needs some explanation, since most Catholics in the past forty years have never witnessed such a celebration.
Coram Sacratissimo means a Mass celebrated before the Blessed Sacrament exposed in the monstrance. The rites are somewhat different from those of a regular Solemn High Mass, and include a number of double genuflections in adoration of Jesus Christ really present in the host. Also, when the celebrant says "Dominus vobiscum," he steps aside one pace out of reverence so his back will not be to the Blessed Sacrament.
So the Mass and procession were a festive occasion that saw all levels of society in Innsbruck involved in it. Here was a solemn and public acknowledgement of the sovereignty of Christ the King. As an American and a son of Tacoma, Washington, I had never seen such a procession; in fact, I doubt that I had ever heard of such a thing.
The feast of Corpus Christi has a long history - going back to the first part of the 13th century. The first celebration was held in Liege, France, in 1247; gradually other cities began to celebrate the feast of the Body of Christ. In 1264 Pope Urban IV extended the feast to the whole Church, but it did not really catch on until the 14th century. The date established for the feast was Thursday after Trinity Sunday. Today it is celebrated on the Sunday after Trinity Sunday. Gradually the public procession was added to the Mass and the day was a Holy Day of Obligation. As time went on, the Mass and procession were surrounded with more and more solemnity and celebration. It was a triumphant profession of faith, not only in the Mass, but also in the reality of the presence of Jesus Christ under the appearance of bread as the "Bread of Life."
Church historians and liturgists point out that Christians in the first thousand years of Christianity did not have special devotions to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Then the emphasis was on the action of the Mass as a re-presentation of the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary and the reception of him in the sacrificial meal. From the 13th to the 17th centuries frequent communion was not common; since Catholics received communion only rarely, but still had a strong desire for Christ, they wanted to see the Host. So it was during this time that the elevation of the Host became a part of the Mass, and the Monstrance was developed for Benediction so the people could see the Host and make spiritual communions. Gradually more and more towns and cities added a procession to honor the Blessed Sacrament.
I do not know how common the Corpus Christi procession is in the United States. Various ethnic groups brought the custom with them from Europe; some of their churches have a procession inside the church, others walk around the parish and school grounds, but they do not go into the public streets. Some cities with strong Catholic populations still have processions, but I suspect the numbers are few in comparison with the total number of parishes in the U.S.A. (19,723).
On the feast of Corpus Christi in June 1995 I took part in the annual procession from St. Agnes Church on East 43rd Street in New York City. I guess we were about 100 strong. We crossed Third Avenue and then went up Second Avenue to East 47th Street; there we stopped at a small public area near the United Nations building where an altar was set up. The Blessed Sacrament was placed on the altar while those in attendance knelt and recited the Rosary. Then I blessed the crowd with the Blessed Sacrament. A police van then returned the priests and the Blessed Sacrament to the church. It was quite an experience in the heart of New York City. The streets were lined with curious onlookers, many of whom were tourists; traffic was stopped as we passed by, with a beautiful baldachin or canopy covering the celebrant who was carrying the Blessed Sacrament. This was a public demonstration of faith in the Real Presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. The onlookers were quiet and respectful. From the number of pictures taken I got the impression that most of them had never seen such a thing. That procession is repeated each year on the feast of Corpus Christi, carrying on a tradition of more than 700 years.
On the feast of Corpus Christi this year I had a unique experience for a Catholic in the 1990s. I was the deacon at a Solemn High Mass Coram Sacratissimo and took part in the public procession which preceded it. Let me explain.
There is a small church in Northern New Jersey (Pequannock) called Our Lady of Fatima Chapel. It is located in the Diocese of Paterson and is administered by the priests of the Fraternity of St. Peter. That is the group established by the Vatican in 1988 to provide the traditional Latin Mass (1962) for those who prefer the ancient liturgy. There Mass is celebrated only in Latin according to the 1962 Roman Missal. The chapel was authorized and entrusted to the Fraternity of St. Peter by Bishop Frank Rodimer in 1994. Since the chapel follows the traditional order of Masses, the feast of Corpus Christi is celebrated on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday. This year the feast fell on June 6. For the past eight months I have been "in residence" at the rectory, that is, I live there and help with Masses and confessions, but I am not an assistant pastor or, as they now say, a parochial vicar. So the pastor, Fr. Joseph Terra, asked me to be the deacon at the Mass and the procession.
The celebration began with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. The celebrant, deacon and subdeacon were wearing the finest white and gold vestments. After the first incensation, Fr. Terra took the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament and turned to face the congregation. The procession started from there, led by altar boys dressed in red cassock and white surplice. One carried the cross; others carried lit candles; next came two altar boys with censers filled with glowing charcoal and lots of sweet-smelling incense.
As we exited the church we were met by four Knights of Columbus in their ceremonial uniforms; they carried the four poles of the baldachin which covered and surrounded the celebrant who carried the Blessed Sacrament. As we started down the street, with the altar boys going first, we were followed by the children from the school and then by members of the parish who carried lit candles as signs of the Presence of Christ. The two boys with the censers alternated in incensing the Blessed Sacrament with three series of double swings; two boys also carried bells and rang them alternately.
The procession offered a stately and impressive sight. As we walked down the street and through the neighborhood, people stood or sat on their front porches and watched us in silence; they were respectful and there was no incident of disrespect. Perhaps they did not understand what was going on, but they knew it was something important from the demeanor of all in the procession. As we walked along we sang Latin hymns or prayed the Rosary.
It is an unusual and, I might say, exhilarating experience to make such a public profession of faith by carrying the Blessed Sacrament in a public procession, whether in New York City or in Pequannock, New Jersey. People in our increasingly secular society are not accustomed to seeing others make a public profession of faith. The tendency and pressure of our culture is to keep faith and religious belief a purely private thing. There is nothing private about a Corpus Christi procession through the neighborhood.
We returned to the church about 8 p.m. and immediately started the Solemn High Mass Coram Sacratissimo. There was of course much incense, in keeping with the solemnity of the Mass, and lots of Gregorian chant and Latin hymns. Immediately following the Mass there was Solemn Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The procession and Mass lasted about two hours. It was a glorious celebration for a wonderful feast - the Body of Christ. This is a concrete fulfillment of our Lord's promise at the end of St. Matthew's Gospel, "Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (28:20).
I would like to conclude with a personal reflection. I was ordained in 1960 in Innsbruck and celebrated the traditional Latin Mass until 1969. When the Novus Ordo was promulgated by Pope Paul VI, I switched to the new Mass along with all the priests I knew. I have never had doubts about the validity of that Mass, but from the beginning I felt that the English translation was banal, faulty and beneath the dignity of the Mass. When Pope John Paul II celebrates the Novus Ordo Mass in Latin in St. Peter's Basilica it is very dignified and devotional.
About 1990 I was asked by a group in New York to offer the traditional Latin Mass in a location approved by Cardinal O'Connor. In order to be able to do that I had to study the rubrics and practice three or four times to get all the rubrics correct. Soon I discovered that I liked offering the "old Mass" in Latin because it brings out the sacredness of the event more clearly than the Novus Ordo Mass does, especially as it is celebrated in English facing the people. When the Celebret was offered by the Vatican, I applied and was one of the first priests in the U.S.A. to get one.
When I offer the traditional Mass in Latin I feel that I am in communion with all the saints of the past 1500 years or more who have worshiped God according to that Rite. I feel that I am in communion with the great saints of the Society of Jesus like St. Ignatius, St. Francis Xavier, St. Robert Bellarmine and all the rest. I feel that I am in communion with the martyrs, virgins and doctors of the Church, like the eight North American Martyrs, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Jerome and St. Augustine - to mention only a few. They offered that same Mass with those same words. That feeling of communion with the saints of the past may be a small thing but it means a lot to me - and perhaps to others. I had that same feeling as we walked the streets of Pequannock with the Blessed Sacrament and celebrated a Solemn High Mass Coram Sacratissimo. That link with our Catholic culture of the past, and its continuation into the Third Millennium, is important not only for us Catholics but also for our secularized fellow Americans. For deep down, they also have an inherent desire to experience the sacred. That desire can be fulfilled, and can lead them to God, when they see Catholics openly showing adoration to Jesus Christ really present in the Holy Eucharist.
Father Baker is editor of Homiletic and Pastoral Review, operator of several local television stations around the country, and a popular and stirring speaker.