{"id":263047,"date":"2016-06-22T19:34:39","date_gmt":"2016-06-23T00:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/?p=263047"},"modified":"2016-06-22T19:34:39","modified_gmt":"2016-06-23T00:34:39","slug":"corpus-christi-faith-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/06\/corpus-christi-faith-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Corpus Christi, Faith, and Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here in Guatemala, the feast of Corpus Christi is awesome. The whole diocese celebrates it together on the appointed day but in the following weeks, each particular parish church has its own celebration of Corpus Christi. These celebrations are a big deal\u2026 A really big deal. In the larger churches, they are celebrated as an octave beginning on a Sunday with Mass.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_263069\" style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-263069\" class=\"wp-image-263069 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/2016-06-05-10.56.23-HDR-2-550x413.jpg?resize=550%2C413\" alt=\"The Eucharistic Procession leaving the Church through the main doors.\" width=\"550\" height=\"413\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-263069\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Eucharistic Procession leaving the Church through the main doors.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_263068\" style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-263068\" class=\"wp-image-263068 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/2016-06-05-09.02.17-550x413.jpg?resize=550%2C413\" alt=\"Charging one of the smaller thuribles\" width=\"550\" height=\"413\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-263068\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Charging one of the smaller thuribles<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The Mass is followed by a Eucharistic procession complete with choir, band, and 5-6 Thurifers with huge thuribles (like thuribles the size of the head of the kid who\u2019s swinging it) and fireworks\/ firecrackers.\u00a0The procession passes through most of the parish grounds stopping along the way at homemade altars in homes and businesses (about 25 of them in our case) for moments of Adoration, and a Eucharistic blessing for the faithful and their homes. It\u2019s a real testament to how deeply the Catholic faith has influenced the culture of this place that city blocks can be completely shut down by this procession. The faith\u2019s inundation of the culture here in Guatemala is a beautiful thing to witness because it can provide support to the Church in her disciple-making mission.\u00a0 People who grow up in a culture which is filled with Catholicism are naturally inclined to have an appreciation for the faith\u2019s beauty. This procession is a great example:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"630\" height=\"355\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XLxZ5LKutOU?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>However, being in a place which is culturally Catholic is not enough to guarantee that a person will continue to persevere in the faith. It is not enough to have a culture of Catholicism. The most important thing that the Church can do in the world is to make disciples. Period. Having a cultural Catholicism without committed discipleship turns the Church into just another social service organization. It is a recipe for disaster for the Church. We exist to make disciple of all nations, and whenever any part of the Church forgets its disciple-making mission, it forgets the very end for which the Church was created. \u00a0Failure and mediocrity are not far behind because the focus has been turned away from fulfilling Jesus\u2019s mission and towards something else.<\/p>\n<p>To do\u00a0this, we have to remain focused on introducing people to Christ. At one moment during the procession last week this point was driven home to me in a new way. Like I mentioned before firecrackers and fireworks are must haves on the standard Corpus Christi procession checklist, and at one point there was so much noise that I could hardly think. It sounded like all hell was breaking loose around me. (Check out the end of the video above for an example.) At that point, I looked up at the Blessed Sacrament in front of me and asked Jesus what he wanted me to learn from that moment. I asked partly because the noise \u2013 beautiful as the true devotion that inspired it was \u2013 was not my cup of spiritual-tea, and honestly, I would have preferred a bit more silence. What I realized was that Christ was calling me to remain focused on him despite the noise and commotion of the external trimmings of the procession. The lesson for me that day was that the most important thing I can do is to remain focused intensely on Christ.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_263071\" style=\"width: 535px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-263071\" class=\"wp-image-263071 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/2016-06-05-11.11.34-e1466640312924-525x700.jpg?resize=525%2C700\" alt=\"2016-06-05 11.11.34\" width=\"525\" height=\"700\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-263071\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Focus on JESUS!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>We all need to find Him amongst the craziness of our lives. The beautiful thing about this realization is that to we have but to look up, and we will realize that Christ is with us amongst the everyday hustle and bustle of our lives. He already is walking with us in whatever situation we find ourselves and desires that we share our struggles with him so that we can learn to walk like him. This is the life of a disciple \u2013 to learn to walk like the Master and with the Master. As a Church, we must constantly guide people to encounters with Christ. We have to help them look up so they can be disciples.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here in Guatemala, the feast of Corpus Christi is awesome. The whole diocese celebrates it together on the appointed day but in the following weeks, each particular parish church has its own celebration of Corpus Christi. These celebrations are a big deal\u2026 A really big deal. In the larger churches, they are celebrated as an&#8230;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/06\/corpus-christi-faith-culture\/\">[Read&nbsp;More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":194,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[359,132,50,2786,697],"class_list":{"0":"post-263047","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"tag-culture","8":"tag-eucharist","9":"tag-faith","10":"tag-procession","11":"tag-spanish","12":"entry","13":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":114810,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/05\/corpus-christi-procession-one-heart-and-soul-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":263047,"position":0},"title":"Corpus Christi Procession &#8211; &#8220;One Heart and Soul\u201d (Part 2)","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"May 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The upcoming, June 7, 2015, Corpus Christi procession unites the Austin, English and Spanish communities, as when the early Church was a \u201cCommunity of believers [that] was of one heart and soul.\u201d (Acts 4:32) \u00a0\u00a0From the very beginning the early Christians were a convergence of a trilingual culture, so public\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Column&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"PopeFrancisHoldingMonstrance","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PopeFrancisHoldingMonstrance-550x309.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PopeFrancisHoldingMonstrance-550x309.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PopeFrancisHoldingMonstrance-550x309.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":112190,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/05\/diocesan-corpus-christi-procession-that-they-may-all-be-one\/","url_meta":{"origin":263047,"position":1},"title":"Corpus Christi Procession &#8211; \u201cThat They May All Be One&#8221; (Part 1)","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"May 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Corpus Christi Procession in Austin, Texas, is a very special one. This year, two communities are coming together to praise and adore the Lamb of God on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. \u00a0For the first time in Central Texas history, the English and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Column&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pope Francis at the 2014 Day of Adoration","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/pope-francis-monstrance-323x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":116365,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/05\/corpus-christi-procession-that-your-joy-may-be-complete-part-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":263047,"position":2},"title":"Corpus Christi Procession \u2013 \u201cThat Your Joy May Be Complete\u201d (Part 3)","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"May 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Corpus Christ procession is one of those cosmic events in our lives that recalls the words of Jesus, \u201cThat your joy may be complete.\u201d (Jn. 16:24) \u00a0In the gospel Zacchaeus climbs a tree to see Jesus in procession (Lk. 19: 1-9) and this encounter fills him with an over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Column&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ecce_panis_angelorum_factus_cibus_viatorum","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Ecce_panis_angelorum_factus_cibus_viatorum-550x261.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Ecce_panis_angelorum_factus_cibus_viatorum-550x261.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Ecce_panis_angelorum_factus_cibus_viatorum-550x261.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":117966,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/06\/corpus-christi-procession-where-the-body-is-there-the-eagles-will-be-gathered-together-part-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":263047,"position":3},"title":"Corpus Christi Procession: &#8220;Where the Body is, there the eagles will be gathered together&#8221; (Part 4)","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"June 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Where the Body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.\" (Lk. 17:37 RSV) \u00a0This scripture is also found in Matthew 24:28. \u00a0This scripture is taken from the Revised Standard Version Bible which is the bible translation used for the Catechism of the Catholic Church since the New American Bible\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Column&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Gospel","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/st_john_eagle-135x190.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17636,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/06\/saint-mary-cathedral-celebrates-the-solemnity-of-corpus-christi\/","url_meta":{"origin":263047,"position":4},"title":"Saint Mary Cathedral Celebrates The Solemnity of Corpus Christi","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"June 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"On Sunday, June 10th at 10:45 AM parishioners and friends of Saint Mary Cathedral are invited to join together as we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi. We will show our love for Christ in the Real Presence by processing with the Blessed Sacrament as we have for over 750\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/P119-300x198.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":119096,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/06\/sunday-says-june-7-2015-mass-readings-and-reflection\/","url_meta":{"origin":263047,"position":5},"title":"Sunday Says &#8211; June 7, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflection","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"June 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) Lectionary: 168 (NAB Translation) (Jerusalem Bible Translation) This is the great Corpus Christi Sunday where we take a Sunday to focus on the gift of the Eucharist. Reading 1 Exodus 24:3-8 This week\u2019s first reading from Exodus\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sunday Says&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sunday Says","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/podcast\/sundaysays\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sunday Says Podcast","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/SundaySaysPodcast-logo-300x231.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/194"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263047\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}