Although Catholics in the United States could be forgiven for not knowing it, today is the Feast of Corpus Christi. The trouble is that the Feast is no longer celebrated on the traditional feast day. As a consequence of the modern(ist) mania for dumbing things down and making things easy, the traditional Holy Day has been transferred to the nearest Sunday. It seems that modern-day Catholics cannot be expected to inconvenience themselves by going to Mass on an additional day, even to pay homage to the Body of Christ. Cafeteria Catholicism is all about picking and choosing what we want; it is not about taking up our Cross and choosing to follow Christ to Golgotha, sharing in His suffering so that we might share in His Resurrection. These fair-weather Catholics would have headed home from the Crucifixion as soon as the skies darkened!

Compare these fair-weather and cafeteria Catholics to the Christian Martyrs, whose lives and deaths were spent in profound and sacred unity with Christ’s Mystical Body. Such martyrs embraced their own cross, embracing Christ in their suffering so that they might be embraced by Him in Heaven. It is, therefore, significant that today is also the Feast of St. Joan of Arc, patroness of France, who was burned at the stake on this day in 1431. It is also the Feast Day of St. Luke Kirby who was hanged, drawn and quartered on this day in 1582 for the heinous crime of being a Catholic priest in Bloody Bess’s England. Those wishing to know more about this little known English Martyr can read more at the following link: http://vultus.stblogs.org/2009/05/saint-luke-kirby.html