Sunday, May 29 was a special day for two young boys, who received First Communion at Christ King Roman Catholic Church. The mass was then followed by the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, a procession that went through the streets near the church.
The first time a believer is able to participate in the Eucharist, which in the faith is the sharing of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ that has been transformed from bread and wine by divine intervention, is a celebrated moment in the lives of the Roman Catholic parishioner.
Mass was followed by the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, led by Father Donatus Ihekwoaba, the pastor of the church. The rite was established in 1246 by Bishop Robert de Thorote at the suggestion of Juliana of Mont Cornillon, who went on to be Sainted. Pope Urban IV extended the observance of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi to the universal church in 1264.
"The sacred Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, which is given to us in the Eucharist, is a profound, prophetic and powerful feast among the faithful in the Catholic Church," Father Donatus said. "In it we are reminded that Jesus Christ still gives Himself to us, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity."
In the procession, the consecrated Host — bread that is now the body of Jesus Christ — is carried forward from the church in a Monstrance. The word comes from the Latin phrase meaning "to show or reveal," Father Donatus said.
"The Catholics process out of the church building with the Body of the Lord going through the streets, singing songs of worship and adoration," he added. "This Eucharistic procession can be a powerful witness as we proclaim by our action that the Lord Jesus Christ is truly present and is alive in the heart of all the believers, giving Himself to all that call upon His name. Jesus Christ, alive in the hearts of the faithful, is an opportunity for us to experience tremendous grace. When we participate with living faith in the procession of the Corpus Christi, it becomes one of those practices wherein we can truly encounter the Lord in a personal and life-changing way in the Catholic Church."