What is the meaning of Corpus Christi?

Answer

The term Corpus Christi translates to “body of Christ” in Latin. Corpus Christi, also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is a religious celebration observed by many Roman Catholics on the first Thursday following Trinity Sunday, which occurs on the first Sunday after Pentecost. In certain regions, it is commemorated on the subsequent Sunday after Trinity Sunday. This places the Corpus Christi celebration approximately two months after Easter. For adherents of transubstantiation, the occasion serves to honor the actual presence of Christ’s body (the corpus Christi) in the Eucharist’s bread and wine. In nations where Catholicism is prevalent, the Feast of Corpus Christi is marked not only within churches but also with processions in the streets, where the Host is carried.

The observance known as Corpus Christi originated in 1246 and was initially held in the diocese of Robert de Torote, the bishop of Liège, Belgium. Jacques Pantaléon, formerly the archdeacon of Liège, ascended to become Pope Urban IV, and in 1264, he mandated the universal observance of the feast. By the mid-14th century, the celebration had gained widespread acceptance, and by the 15th century, it had become one of the primary feasts of the Roman Catholic Church.

Naturally, evangelicals reject such reverence for the Eucharist’s bread and wine. Jesus stated, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” «when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. », (John 6:24). However, Jesus was not speaking literally, as He clarifies shortly after: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” «Then said they unto

« Lord, give us this bread always. », (John 6:34). Eating and drinking Jesus’ body and blood are not done literally, but through “coming” and “believing.”

Chapter 29 of the Westminster Confession clearly presents the evangelical perspective:

“Section II. In this sacrament, Christ is not offered up to His Father; nor is any real sacrifice made for the remission of sins of the living or the dead; but it is solely a commemoration of His self-offering on the cross, once for all, and a spiritual offering of all possible praise to God for the same reason. Therefore, the Roman Catholic mass (as they call it) is extremely disrespectful to Christ’s unique sacrifice, the only atonement for all the sins of His chosen ones. . . .

“Section V. The outward elements in this sacrament, properly dedicated for the purposes established by Christ, are so connected to Him crucified that, truly, yet only sacramentally, they are sometimes referred to by the names of the realities they symbolize, namely, the body and blood of Christ; however, in essence and nature, they still remain genuinely and exclusively bread and wine, as they were before.

“Section VI. The doctrine that asserts a transformation of the substance of bread and wine into the substance of Christ’s body and blood (commonly known as transubstantiation) through the consecration by a priest, or by any other means, is not only contrary to Scripture but also to common sense and reason; it undermines the essence of the sacrament and has been, and continues to be, the source of numerous superstitions and even blatant idolatries.”

Corpus Christi, Texas, was established in an area previously named by a Spanish explorer who discovered and named the bay on the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1519. The actual city of Corpus Christi was founded over 300 years later.