At noon today (6:00am EDT), the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord (Corpus Christi), the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and with pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today in many countries, including Italy, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, or, according to the most noteworthy Latin expression, the Solemnity of Corpus Domini. The Gospel recounts the words of Jesus, pronounced during the Last Supper with his disciples: Take, this is my body. And then: This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many (Mk 14:22, 24). It is precisely because of this testimony of love that the Christian community gathers every Sunday, and every day, around the Eucharist, the sacrament of Christ's redemptive Sacrifice. And attracted by his real presence, Christians adore him and contemplate him through the humble sign of bread that became his Body.
Every time that we celebrate the Eucharist, by means of this sober and most solemn sacrament, we experience the New Covenant, which fully expresses the communion that exists between God and us. And as participants in this Covenant, we, though we are small and poor, collaborate in the building of history as God wishes it. For this reason, every Eucharistic celebration, while it constitutes an act of public worship of God, it also refers to te life and concrete events of our existence. While we nourish ourselves with the Body and the Blood of Christ, we are made one with Him, we receive his love within ourselves, not in order to keep him jealously, but in order to share him with others. This logic is inscribed in the Eucharist: we receive his love within us and we share it with others. This is Eucharistic logic. In fact, we contemplate Jesus as bread that is broken and given, blood that is poured out for our salvation. His is a presence that burns away selfish desires within us, that purifies us from the temptation to give only what we have received, a presence that ignites the desire to work in union with Jesus to create broken bread and blood that is poured out for our brothers and sisters.
Therefore, the feast of Corpus Domini is a mystery of attraction to Christ and of transformation in Him. It is also a school of concrete love, patience and sacrifice, like Jesus on the cross. It teaches us to become more welcoming and available to those who are in search of understanding, help, encouragement, those who are marginalized and alone. The presence of the living Jesus in the Eucharist is like a door, an open door between the temple and the street, between faith and history, between the city of God and the city of mankind.
Expressions of popular Eucharistic piety include the Blessed Sacrament procession which is taking place today in many places.
I too, this evening, in Ostia - like Blessed Paul VI did fifty years ago - will celebrate Mass which will be followed by a procession with the Blessed Sacrament. I invite you all to participate, even spiritually, following us on the radio or on television. May Our Lady accompany us on this journey.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Yesterday, in Naples, Sister Maria Crocifissa of Divine Love, born Maria Gargani, the foundress of the Sisters Apostles of the Sacred Heart, was Beatified. A spiritual daughter of Padre Pio, she was a true apostle of the school and parish fields. May her example and her intercession support her spiritual children and all teachers. Let us all express our joy with our applause!
I am united with my brother bishops in Nicaragua who are experiencing suffering due to serious violence which has left many people dead and wounded, carried out by armed groups who are seeking to suppress social protests. I am praying for the victims and for their families. The Church is always in favour of dialogue, but this requires an active commitment to respecting freedom and life above all else. I pray that all violence may cease so that dialogue may resume as soon as possible.
I greet all of you, pilgrims from Italy and from other countries. In particular, those who have come from Helsinki, Huelva (Spain), Peuerbach (Austria), and from Croatia. I greet the faithful from Caturano and Palermo, as well as the Siderinox society from Abbiategrasso and the recently confirmed young people from Corridonia.
I offer a special greeting to the faithful who are meeting today in Sotto il Monte, with the Bishop of Bergamo, on the anniversary of the death of Saint John XXIII. May the pilgrimage of the earthly remains of this Pope, who was so beloved by the people, through the region of Bergamo arouse generous intentions for good in all peoples.
And I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today in many countries, including Italy, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, or, according to the most noteworthy Latin expression, the Solemnity of Corpus Domini. The Gospel recounts the words of Jesus, pronounced during the Last Supper with his disciples: Take, this is my body. And then: This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many (Mk 14:22, 24). It is precisely because of this testimony of love that the Christian community gathers every Sunday, and every day, around the Eucharist, the sacrament of Christ's redemptive Sacrifice. And attracted by his real presence, Christians adore him and contemplate him through the humble sign of bread that became his Body.
Every time that we celebrate the Eucharist, by means of this sober and most solemn sacrament, we experience the New Covenant, which fully expresses the communion that exists between God and us. And as participants in this Covenant, we, though we are small and poor, collaborate in the building of history as God wishes it. For this reason, every Eucharistic celebration, while it constitutes an act of public worship of God, it also refers to te life and concrete events of our existence. While we nourish ourselves with the Body and the Blood of Christ, we are made one with Him, we receive his love within ourselves, not in order to keep him jealously, but in order to share him with others. This logic is inscribed in the Eucharist: we receive his love within us and we share it with others. This is Eucharistic logic. In fact, we contemplate Jesus as bread that is broken and given, blood that is poured out for our salvation. His is a presence that burns away selfish desires within us, that purifies us from the temptation to give only what we have received, a presence that ignites the desire to work in union with Jesus to create broken bread and blood that is poured out for our brothers and sisters.
Therefore, the feast of Corpus Domini is a mystery of attraction to Christ and of transformation in Him. It is also a school of concrete love, patience and sacrifice, like Jesus on the cross. It teaches us to become more welcoming and available to those who are in search of understanding, help, encouragement, those who are marginalized and alone. The presence of the living Jesus in the Eucharist is like a door, an open door between the temple and the street, between faith and history, between the city of God and the city of mankind.
Expressions of popular Eucharistic piety include the Blessed Sacrament procession which is taking place today in many places.
I too, this evening, in Ostia - like Blessed Paul VI did fifty years ago - will celebrate Mass which will be followed by a procession with the Blessed Sacrament. I invite you all to participate, even spiritually, following us on the radio or on television. May Our Lady accompany us on this journey.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Yesterday, in Naples, Sister Maria Crocifissa of Divine Love, born Maria Gargani, the foundress of the Sisters Apostles of the Sacred Heart, was Beatified. A spiritual daughter of Padre Pio, she was a true apostle of the school and parish fields. May her example and her intercession support her spiritual children and all teachers. Let us all express our joy with our applause!
I am united with my brother bishops in Nicaragua who are experiencing suffering due to serious violence which has left many people dead and wounded, carried out by armed groups who are seeking to suppress social protests. I am praying for the victims and for their families. The Church is always in favour of dialogue, but this requires an active commitment to respecting freedom and life above all else. I pray that all violence may cease so that dialogue may resume as soon as possible.
I greet all of you, pilgrims from Italy and from other countries. In particular, those who have come from Helsinki, Huelva (Spain), Peuerbach (Austria), and from Croatia. I greet the faithful from Caturano and Palermo, as well as the Siderinox society from Abbiategrasso and the recently confirmed young people from Corridonia.
I offer a special greeting to the faithful who are meeting today in Sotto il Monte, with the Bishop of Bergamo, on the anniversary of the death of Saint John XXIII. May the pilgrimage of the earthly remains of this Pope, who was so beloved by the people, through the region of Bergamo arouse generous intentions for good in all peoples.
And I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
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