SHILLONG: End of the Year of the Youths of the Catholic Church in the Shillong Archdiocese was one of the highlights of the 2018 Eucharistic Procession held here on Sunday in which thousands from among the faithful from different dioceses in Meghalaya and from outside the state attended.
The procession followed a route along the main thoroughfares of the Laitumkhrah area of the capital city.
All along the route, the roads wore a festive look with flags and banners inscribed with quotes from the holy scriptures.
At several places along the five km or so long route, Catholic faithful of respective localities also put up tableau of holy images depicting the Holy Eucharist which is the theme for the coming year.
Besides Catholic faithful from different dioceses of Meghalaya, there were also adherents of the faith who had come from other states in the region like from Nagaland, Assam and other areas. The catholicity of the faith could be discerned by the hymns they sung, prayers they invoked in their native tongues and the garments and dresses they wore which was a reflection of India in miniature.
The Eucharistic procession is also one of the important religious feasts celebrated by the Church globally in all Catholic countries where it is known as the feast of Corpus Christi, Latin for the Body of Christ, a liturgical solemnity, celebrating the real presence of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in elements of the Eucharist – known as transubstantiation.
The feast of Corpus Christi, the world over in Catholic countries, is normally celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday.
In countries where the Solemnity of The Most Holy and Blood of Christ is not a holy day of obligation, the Feast of Corpus Christi is assigned to the Sunday after the Thursday – the day the feast is normally celebrated.
Owing to the fact that in countries, where the Feast of Corpus Christi, falls in months of heavy rainfall, like in India, the celebration of this Feast is assigned to some other Sunday in drier months like in Meghalaya.
The important features of the Feast of Corpus Christi include the celebration Holy Mass and the Eucharistic procession generally displayed in a monstrance followed by benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
Earlier in the morning, during the holy mass concelebrated by Archbishop Dominic Jala and priests about ten in number, the youths of the archdiocese were commended by the Archbishop.
What touched the Archbishop the most was the fact that an increasing number of graduating youth were volunteering to take up mission work as lay workers in different fields of social work not only within the diocese, but also in mission stations in some of the most challenging countries in the world.
Later at the benediction, at the end of Eucharistic procession, Archbishop declared that the next year for the Archdiocese will be known as the Year of the Holy Eucharist for bringing about greater devotion and love for the Holy Eucharist among the faithful.
