The procession toward the Altar of the Chair of Peter was accompanied by the choir's rendition of “Hai dato un cibo,” “You have nourished us.”
For the celebration, Pope Francis wore white, the color corresponding to solemnities like the Corpus Christi.
Among the 50 or so attendees, all wearing face masks, the pope reflected on the Eucharist as an expression of God's love for human beings. He said it is the cure for three illnesses. The first is the pain caused by a lack of affection.
POPE FRANCIS
So many people have memories marked by a lack of affection and bitter disappointments caused by those who should have given them love and instead orphaned their hearts. We would like to go back and change the past, but we cannot. God, however, can heal these wounds.
The pope said the second wound healed by the Eucharist is the pain caused by humiliation.
POPE FRANCIS
We will always remember our failures, troubles, problems at home and at work, our unrealized dreams. But their weight will not crush us because Jesus is present even more deeply, encouraging us with His love.
The final sickness is closed memory: being detached. Pope Francis explained that the Eucharist moves people to give themselves in service to others.
POPE FRANCIS
It raises us from our comfortable and sedentary lifestyle and reminds us that we are not only mouths to be fed, but also His hands, to be used to help feed others.
At the end of Mass, instead of participating in the traditional procession through the streets with the Blessed Sacrament, those present spent some minutes in silent adoration.
Afterward, the pope stopped for a few moments to pray before the image of Our Lady.
The Corpus Christi was celebrated in Rome with contained joy. Although Italy now allows attending Mass on Sundays, the Vatican has not yet given the green light to more crowded events.
Javier Romero
Translation: CT
