Eucharistic Processions

Last year something happened to me. I'd say, "I had an idea," but that would give the wrong impression. I didn't have an idea. The thought seemed to come from nowhere--or at least from anywhere but me. It wasn't something I'd thought of before. It wasn't something I felt some sort of connection with before. To be more precise, some one happened to me. The "idea" clearly came from the Holy Spirit. I always have to remind myself that God usually speaks to us in quiet, undramatic ways, as he did to Elijah:

And he said, "Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. (1 Kings 19:11-12)

The "idea" was this: organize a Eucharistic procession on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord (Corpus Christi) for my parish (Guardian Angels). I had never participated in one before. I barely knew what one was. I hadn't organized anything at my parish before. And yet, I didn't resist this call. It seemed completely right. I certainly had moments of hesitation. But I worked through them.

It was a wonderful experience. And the turn out was much better than I expected. I prepared myself for as few as 10 people, but estimates were that we had at least 50 or more. We processed from our parish to the Cincinnati archdiocesan major seminary (Mt. St. Mary's of the West) up the street. We prayed for vocations during the procession, which was led by the archdiocesan vocations director (Fr. Kyle Schnippel).

I cannot encourage people enough to hold Eucharistic processions at their parishes. They take a little work to put together, but it is not an insurmountable task. God put in my path a small group of dedicated, faithful people at exactly the right time to make this happen. And he will do the same for you.

I want to put together some resources to make it easier for other people to organize Eucharistic processions. The easier it is, the more processions there will be. And the more times we bring Jesus into the streets of our cities, the more he will transform the lives of those following him and those who have been passing him by.