In keeping with a long-standing tradition, Michigan Area members attended the Archdiocese of Detroit’s Corpus Christi celebration on June 7 at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, and joined the outdoor Eucharistic procession that followed.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) is the patronal feast day of the Detroit Cathedral. Mass was celebrated by the Most Rev. Edward J. Weisenburger, archbishop of Detroit and a chaplain of the Michigan Area. See, “Michigan Area participates in Archdiocese of Detroit’s Anointing Mass – and welcomes Archbishop Weisenburger to Order of Malta on Order’s 913th anniversary.”

In his homily, the archbishop explained that the Greek text of the day’s Gospel (John 6:51-58) is very clear about the realism of Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist. The passage begins, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Photo Credit: Valaurian Waller, Detroit Catholic

While the Greek word “soma,” is frequently used in other passages to refer to “body,” St. John here uses the term “sarx,” which has only one meaning, “flesh.” The use of “sarx” harkens back to the opening words of St. John’s Gospel, which proclaims that “the Word became flesh.” While “soma” could have a symbolic meaning, that is not true of “sarx,” which has only one, very specific meaning, “the corporeal human reality of physical being,” the archbishop explained. “Jesus is being crystal clear and He is adamant: He is truly present – body, blood, soul, and divinity – in the Eucharist.”

Similarly, the passage uses the word “trogein” which means the physical act of “munching, as on a piece of food, which some might find mildly offensive to refer to the Eucharist,” Archbishop Weisenburger continued. A more polite term, “phragein,” could have been used, but can have a figurative meaning, such as “digesting” an intellectual work.  “Again, Jesus in John’s Gospel is going out of his way to make very firm His point. He is giving us a real gift of His Body and Blood, and to receive this gift, we must physically consume it.”

At the Offertory, Barbara Wilson, DM, and Robert Wilson, KM, took up the gifts. The couple are past co-chairs of the Michigan Area.

Photo Credit: Valaurian Waller, Detroit Catholic

After Mass, Archbishop Weisenburger led the faithful out of the Cathedral as he carried the monstrance. The procession continued out onto Woodward Avenue, witnessing to Christ’s presence in the city of Detroit.

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