This past Thursday we celebrated the Holy Body and Blood of Christ “Corpus Christi”. A feast originating in the Latin West. In almost every church the feast has been moved to Sunday. The Feast of the Sacred Heart (next Friday) follows Corpus Christi by nine days, which in Catholic lingo is called a “novena.” Corpus Christi, if celebrated on Thursday, thus begins the novena to the Sacred Heart, teaching us how the Body of Christ is (literally) from the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Forensic analyses of the Eucharistic miracles (beginning with Lanciano around 750AD) indicate myocardial [heart] tissue of the left ventricle, AB blood type, with living white corpuscles (which explains the preservation of the tissue). In other words, the Corpus Christi that we receive at the Divine Liturgy is living heart tissue from the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Most dioceses have moved Corpus Christi from Thursday to Sunday, which is unfortunate, because it misses the link between the Eucharist and the Sacred Heart. The Body of Christ is not from any old part of Christ’s body but precisely from His Heart, torn open by the soldier’s lance and pouring forth blood and water to the earth. 
   When one changes an ancient liturgical practice, much knowledge and piety can be lost, so one must make changes only when necessary and with the greatest care. If we lament that most Catholics don’t believe in the real presence of the Eucharist, we might consider restoring the full value of the Corpus Christi Feast. Returning it to Thursday would require Catholics to make the (small) sacrifice of attending church on a weekday in addition to Sunday, better defining the sacrifices required for a “worthy” reception of the Holy Eucharist. Returning Corpus Christi to Thursday would also connect it to Holy Thursday, when we processed with the Blessed Sacrament inside the Church. On Corpus Christi we process outside the church because it follows Pentecost: the Spirit’s gift of fortitude and piety impel the Church to bring God into the streets. Like the disciples on that first Pentecost day, we cannot keep the good news of God’s saving love to ourselves but must proclaim what we have seen and heard, where everyone can get close to Christ Himself as the Incarnate Word and Lover of Mankind makes his way. God goes out into our streets on Corpus Christi, and it’s a perfect way to end a long workday one Thursday a year.