On the feast of Corpus Christi, June 22, more than a dozen parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville honored the Blessed Sacrament with eucharistic processions.
For one parish — Holy Spirit Church — it was the first.
Holy Spirit Church’s procession, which brought out more than 100 parishioners, was the first eucharistic procession on the parish’s grounds, said Father Matthew Millay, associate pastor of Holy Spirit and St. Leonard churches.
The 30-minute-procession around its campus, located at 3345 Lexington Road, passed by the front of the church, facing Lexington Road, twice.
“In a very practical way, with this being one of the busiest roads in Louisville, and this being a beautiful church, it’s a statement,” said Father Millay in a phone interview on June 18.
Those passing by might “look over for a second,” and think, “those crazy Catholics — what are they doing?” Father Millay said. But he hopes the “act of faith” made by the parishioners’ procession shows the public that “we have something to see here.”
He hopes it plants a seed, he said, adding, “Where some will plant, others will harvest.”
The feast of Corpus Christi also marked the formal end to the U.S. bishops’ three-year initiative on the Eucharist — the National Eucharistic Revival.
Dr. Karen Shadle, director of the archdiocese’s Office of Worship, said the fruits of the initiative can be seen in the archdiocese.
“I’ve certainly seen growth in eucharistic devotions over the last three years,” she said in a recent interview, noting an increased interest in eucharistic miracles, eucharistic adoration and eucharistic processions.
But the revival isn’t meant to end this year; rather, it should act as a “permanent refocusing” on the Eucharist, she said. It’s “making sure that everything we do connects to the Eucharist.”
“If there’s a parish activity and we can’t explain what that has to do with the Eucharist, then it probably doesn’t belong,” she said.
The Eucharist is “the core of who we are” as Catholics, she said. “It binds us together.”
Father Millay said the revival has reminded him that Catholics are made to live in communion.
During the year of mission, the parish has been more mindful of “building bridges of communion” through an “attitude of hospitality,” he said.
“There has to be an intentional movement to have communion and community in the life of a parish,” he said. The parish is particularly aiming to “build bridges of communion” with its young adult parishioners and school families, he noted.
An “attitude of hospitality” is a “fruit of our communion,” he noted. “It’s something that we can offer because it’s something that we receive” in the Eucharist, he said.
This applies to the unity of the archdiocese as well, said Shadle.
“To focus ourselves on unifying as an archdiocese, and how we do that, is certainly part of the revival,” she said.
This year, on the feast of Corpus Christi, the “Norms for Posture and the Communion Rite,” a document issued by Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre, went into effect for parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville.
The norms also are meant to encourage unity as an archdiocese, said Shadle.
“Whenever we come together for the Eucharist, it is not merely a personal encounter with Jesus. It certainly is that. But more importantly, it is a corporate statement of, ‘This is the Body of Christ, but also we are in the Body of Christ as a community,’ ” said Shadle.
The world is full of division, Shadle added. “The Eucharist really challenges us to set all of them aside and to focus on the thing that makes us one, which is the Eucharist.”
