Bert's Travels: Don't ask ... Just believe !

Fronleichnam.

Today, members of the Roman Catholic congregation celebrated the Festival of „Fronleichnam“.

I truly wanted to know what this festival is all about, and so I spoke to a number of people in Bleiburg, whom I know to be seriously professing Catholics, as well as to some, more or less „liberal“ Christians. I also consulted the Internet with a number of questions on my mind.

This is what I found out:

The Festival celebrated today is the „Feast of Corpus Christi“, celebrated in Austria under the name „Fronleichnam“. This word, so Mr. Google tells me, is derived from the words „V'rom“ meaning „the Master“ and the word „Leichnam“, meaning „body“

Today the word „Leichnam“ is used only for the human body, after death has occurred, but in former days it simply meant the „body“.

I also found out that this Festival has found its origin at the beginning of the 13^th century and I would like to translate here to the very best of my ability a German language entry in Wikepedia:

„The Feast of 'Corpus Christi' finds its origin in the appearance of the moon, witnessed by two nuns, in the year 1230, while on a walk during the night hours.They saw the moon in its full glory of its roundness, however with a gap, or a black hole.

In accordance with 'God's teaching' the Moon represented the Christian Church, and the gap/hole indicated that there was a Festival missing. This 'Vision' happened for another 20 years and then, at the urging of her confessor, Juliana of Liege, one of the two nuns, went public and agitated for a festival, celebrating the Eucharist.

By an edict issued by Pope Urban IV, this festival was introduced into the Catholic calender of Festivals in 1264.

The manner in which this feast has to be conducted is prescribed meticulously in Catholic Liturgy.

Can you imagine that ? Two lonely nuns, strolling at night, looking up at the Moon, they see a hole

and they see the same hole for 20 years. Maybe they still could see it today.

(In any event, one could ask: what did two nuns do out at night, strolling around and gazing at the moon?

We now have two occurrences which tax our belief system:

The first one is that two nuns saw a hole in the moon. They probably saw what we now jokingly call „the man in the moon“ ….

The second and surely the most important is the absolute mandatory belief that during Mass, celebrated by a Priest, wine and a wafer change literally, not symbolically, but literally, into the blood and body of Christ. This daily miracle is called „Transubstantiation“ and the Catholic Church teaches that this change from wine to the blood of Christ and from bread to the flesh of Christ is an occurrence „passing our understanding“ and „is a mystery“. But it happens without doubt, every time a Mass is celebrated.

They are not kidding.

I put the question to 4 „good Catholics“ (admittedly not a very large sample of the population)

Two of them made it very simple for themselves: „I am a Catholic and I don't question the teachings of the church. I simply believe“.

The third said: I suppose I ought to believe it, and sometimes I do. Other times I find it difficult.

The fourth „good Catholic“ said: „Are you joking ? Nobody believes this, not even the priest of our congregation. It simply is a symbol of the „Last Supper“ and what Christ said on that occasion.

Then I spoke to several „Liberal Catholics“. I shall not give individual answers. To summarize their replies however, I can tell you this: „We have a number of so called „teachings“ we ought to believe.

Some are easier than others. But the story of the Eucharist, regardless of what any Priest tells me, is simply beyond credibility.

It's a nice story about the conversation during the „Last Supper“ but is no more than when I raise a glass among friends and say:

„Cheers! May we meet again, all in good health and still happily married.“

This tale of „Transupstantiation“ is a „tale“ and a sorry one at that.

There were many participants at today's procession. It would be interesting to know how many „simply believe“ and how many actually „think“. All of them, however, doubtlessly, good people.

Here are a few pictures of today's procession: