Corpus Christi Weekend -- Chant Workshop and Eucharistic Procession

 This past Sunday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Precious Body and Blood of Christ -- still known popularly by its former Latin name, Corpus Chisti. We took advantage of the beautiful Latin Vespers and Mass propers of the day's liturgy to schedule our annual Gregorian Chant Workshop for the days preceding the feast.

Chant workshop participants sing with Sr. Hildegard as they practice the Latin Introit for Sunday's Mass of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.

 We had fifteen chanters this year, ranging in age from 10 to 83 years old, and coming from New Mexico, Montana, and even Minnesota as well as from Colorado.

Nuns, retreatants, and visitors gather around an outdoor altar in the guest courtyard after Sunday Mass to pray at our first stop in our Eucharistic Procession on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

The weather smiled upon our Corpus Christi procession, with cool temperatures and fluffy white clouds scudding through the blue Colorado sky to give some relief from the sun, especially for those of us dressed in black. We sang our way around the Abbey building, pausing to pray at four altars which had been tastefully decorated by teams of Sisters with textiles, statues, and flower arrangements.

Springtime Solemnities

Sacristan Sr. Maria Gabriel arranges the bounty of beautiful cut flowers donated for our Abbey Church from our florist friends at Flower Corner in Fort Collins.

This is one of those years where, as some say, the June solemnities all come in May. The celebration of the 50 days of Eastertide ends with the Solemnity of Pentecost, preceded by the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord. (Along with the rest of the Archdiocese of Denver, we now celebrate Ascension Thursday on the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Some of us are still adjusting to that, but it seems less odd every year.)

Following Pentecost this Sunday, we look forward to Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi on the next two Sundays. (Properly, this last is now known as "The Solemnity of the Most Holy Boy and Blood of Christ", but the old Latin name is much handier.)

Since all of these liturgical celebrations depend on the date of Easter, they frequently fall in June, but this year's early Easter brings them all into May. It remains to be seen whether we will have an outdoor procession this year for Corpus Christi, but many of us have vivid memories of past years, marching around the Abbey grounds in flowing black cucullas, singing and reciting litanies while roasting in the alpine sunshine under the bright blue Colorado sky. It's always a nice custom, but having the feast fall in May increases the likelihood of cooler weather.