Pope Benedict XVI leads Corpus Christi procession through Rome
(16 June 2006) : More than 50 thousand faithful gathered at the plaza outside Rome’s
St. John Lateran Basilica on Thursday evening when Pope Benedict delivered a homily
during a Mass for the feast of Corpus Christi. The Holy Father led the faithful after
the Mass to the Basilica of St. Mary Major in a traditional Corpus Christi procession
which ended with Benediction. In a brief but profound meditation the Holy Father spoke
about the significance of the bread used in the Eucharist. He said, “the transubstantiation
of poor man’s bread into the Body of Christ is both synthesis of creation and a means
by which creation is raised to the divine. The celebrant refers to this bread as “fruit
of the earth and work of human hands”,” the Pope noted. The phrase acknowledges that
man’s work is involved in making bread, but also that man relies on God for his substances,
since “the fact that earth bears fruit is the work of God, not anything man has done.”
In the Sacrifice of the Mass this bread – food that is accessible even to the poorest
of men – provides an encounter between lowly man and his almighty Creator,” Pope Benedict
said. Contemplating this ordinary bread, the Pope said, the believer is "struck with
awe at the way in which Jesus transforms his host into his very Self." At the same
time, the Eucharist draws together all of the faithful, sharing the same supernatural
food, united in Christ's Body, Pope Benedict concluded. The feast of Corpus Christi
is celebrated in Rome each year on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday.