Sunday, May 29, 2016

Receiving Corpus Christi

And Jesus said "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever." John 6:52-58

There are not enough extravagantly wonderful words to describe what took place this morning in the small town of Paidha..

After the last Mass of the morning, a congregation of people followed as the Priest in white, Fr. Joseph, carries he Blessed Sacrament in a gold monstrance while the youth ushers hold flowers and incense while walking beside Him. Yes, Him. It is Christ, in the humble appearance of bread, who was carried throughout Paidha.

We begin to proceed through village singing soft and wonderful hymns, all in Alur. There are huts and brick homes on both sides of us with curious onlookers gazing at us - or Him - some joining in song. We kneel for the first time on a dusty uneven road singing softer, bowing before Our Lord as we pray for the community around us. Hands open to receive.

We stand and process further.. down the road away from homes. The path becomes more narrow, we are surrounded by large trees that try to touch the sky. Bright yellow orange flowers placed perfectly within the vibrant green bushes beside us. As we sing I see women walking through the beautiful trees to join us, they too, begin to sing. The valley goes down and so do we - to our knees once again in prayer.

Walking deeper into the valley.. the smell of incense and green fill my lungs along with the spiritual gifts flowing eternally from the Holy Spirit. Green, yes, that is what came to my mind as I took this all in. Green has a scent. We come to the bottom of the valley where only a small bridge made from about five narrow tree trunks separated from each other make for the crossing of a creek. By two's we cross. Carefully walking in front of me is a young girl with her baby sister on her back. Beside me is a small, delicate old women. She grasps my hand tight as her little body tries to balance and we walk across. Giggling with delight I am thanking Our Lord for this short, sweet encounter with His child.
Up the hill we go with haste to catch up to Jesus! Reaching the top, everyone is kneeling in prayer. So much extraordinary beauty to be seen..

Now entering the town, there are many more people listening to the praises and looking at what is going on. Dressed handsomely, Alex, a Deaf boy from Paidha who I met while at BDI, who no longer attends Mass, catches the corner of my eye. He is standing beside a building alone staring intently at the Blessed Sacrament. Reverently and beautifully he makes the sign of the cross. I wave my hand until he sees me and he comes over. Although, he wanted to continue with us he needed to go home because he was sick. Ahh, I could see it in his face before he told me..he walks away slowly looking downcast.

Lord, in your mercy, grant him healing.

As we walk by the small shops and restaurants people join in - either in song or in the procession. What beautiful communion! We continue stopping throughout the walk around town, praying for all around.. Kneeling in the dirt or on the pavement. Our songs of praise get louder and more charismatic. Drums, hand claps, small movements of dancing, and... okay I don't know if there is a name for this and I am going to be general in saying -the high pitched sort of scream/something sound that African (or at least East African that I know of) women make at times while singing or dancing. I think you get the idea.

My friend Trinity comes beside me and we hold hands and dance as she tells me the meaning of each song we are singing. Most are short, repetitive simple songs of praise and thanks. Although I may not know the exact meaning of each word, I am able to sing along with everyone. Beautiful communion. I felt truly part of the community there. Beauty of my Catholic Faith I suppose, no matter where I go in the world I will always be one with the people, no matter the culture, through Christ and have the same understanding. I was thankful for the encouragement from Trinity though, to be that bridge into the culture of Paidha praise for me. Allowing me to dance and sing with her.

Again kneeling and praying in a different part of town. Our song changes to something soft and gentle again as we bow in wonder and awe before the Blessed Sacrament. Hands open under the hot sun - receiving the eternally out-pouring grace, mercy, and love from the Son. A women weeps beside me.

Stand, sing, praise, process, and adore our Beloved Savior. We take up most of the road while cars try to squeeze by us. Kneeling lastly on the soccer fields in front of the parish, Our Lady of Assumption. Then, entering the Church we have Benediction: the process of reposing the Blessed Sacrament after exposition.

Hours have gone by since the nine o'clock Mass. It is now somewhere close to two in the afternoon. People have been walking, praying, and fasting on this wonderful Sunday of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi (the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ).

I then went into the dinning hall and had lunch with the very tired Fr. Joseph and one of the seminarians. He had this beautiful glow about him. He joyfully talked about the absolute indescribable grace and beauty that God pours out on us as we process behind the Blessed Sacrament, on all of the people in Paidha who we had been praying for, and everyone around the world who participates in such processions and to those who simply place oneself in front of the Blessed Sacrament to receive - life.


*The following photos are NOT from today or from any spot where we walked. Simply aid for my description. :)








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