Celebrating the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Archbishop Bernard Hebda noted in his homily June 22 that, “Jesus made sure he would be present with us always.”
With temperatures in the 90s and heat indexes threatening to climb into triple digits, Archbishop Hebda led an indoor Eucharistic procession after Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Usually, the procession takes place outside on Summit Avenue.
During his homily, Archbishop Hebda explained that the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is on the cusp of celebrating 175 years. Dating an archdiocese, he said, begins when a decree comes from Rome appointing a bishop to an area.
But the Church is present when the Eucharist is first celebrated, the archbishop explained.
“We can think about those pioneer priests who would come and visit Pig’s Eye (later named St. Paul) and who would offer the Eucharist for those Catholics who were here, who would share not only the Lord’s body and blood, but would baptize, would celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation, would marry and really engage in all the sacramental life of the Church,” Archbishop Hebda said. “The Church was here because of the Eucharist even before the Diocese of St. Paul was established,” the archbishop said, referring to Pope Pius X erecting the diocese on July 19, 1850.
“For the last several years, my brothers and sisters, the Church throughout the United States has been engaged in what we call a Eucharistic revival,” Archbishop Hebda said. “It’s an opportunity for us to go deeper in our understanding of that great gift that Jesus gave to us. … We have that opportunity to recognize Jesus as the source and summit of our (lives).”
Jim Smith, a 10-year parishioner of the Cathedral, said he usually attends the procession because it is a “beautiful representation of our faith in the body of Christ here and with us now. (It’s) a beautiful way to express our faith and what Christ gave us.”
This year’s procession was among liturgies marked by the archdiocese as an opportunity for parishioners to participate in implementing year two of Archbishop Hebda’s 2022 pastoral letter “You Will Be My Witnesses: Gathered and Sent From the Upper Room,” with the goal of enriching the understanding and lived experience of the Mass and the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
