As on Maundy Thursday, we celebrate the Body of Christ -- but this time without the sense of impending doom of knowing what would come on Good Friday.

The Feast of Corpus Christi -- which is always on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday or on Sunday after -- has an interesting history. Its inspiration is due to two things: the first is the Miracle of Bolsena, which happened in A.D. 1263. Peter of Prague, a German priest, during a pilgrimage to Rome, stopped at the Church of St. Christina there to offer Mass. While he was a holy and devout man, he harbored doubts about the Real Presence -- doubts which were completely resolved when the Host he consecrated during that Mass began to bleed. He rushed to meet Pope Urban IV in Orvieto, bringing the Host with him. The miracle was declared, and the Host is still on display at the Cathedral of Orvieto today.

The second source of inspiration was an Augustinian nun, a Belgian named St. Juliana of Mont Cornillon (A.D. 1193-1258). She had a vision of the Moon that was full and beautiful, but marked by a black spot that signified that there was no joyous celebration of the Eucharist in the entire Church calendar.

In response to both of the above, Pope Urban IV eventually published a Bull, Transiturus, in A.D. 1264, which made this Feast a part of the calendar.

The Mass includes the Lauda Sion Sequence by St. Thomas Aquinas, and a procession followed by the greatest Eucharistic hymns of the Church, also written by St. Thomas especially for this Feast. These include Sacris Solemnis, Ave Verum, Adoro Te, and Verbum Supernum.

Eucharistic processions are held today, and in still relatively Catholic countries, those who live along the procession route decorate their homes with greenery, floral wreaths, and banners, and put candles in the windows. Rose petals are strewn in the path of the Sacrament.

Also today, Catholics may start a public Novena to the Sacred Heart in anticipation of the Feast of the Sacred Heart which will be on Friday of next week. Doing so may earn one a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions. Even if the Novena is said privately, and if one says the Novena on all 9 days, a plenary indulgence may be gained.