Somebody

One of the things l love to do is eavesdrop on people as they wander round galleries and museums.  Modern art is such that the responses of Joe Public are as valid an interpretation as the experts’.  Things ancient can be misconstrued also; here is a story of a small boy who didn’t quite ‘get’ the point of blessing the people with a piece of Jesus.

Today, the feast of Corpus Christi celebrates the institution of the Eucharist. But relatively few churches, Anglican or Roman Catholic, perform Benediction, let alone strew the streets with rose petals as they parade the Host in glorious procession.  More’s the pity, I say: it’s one of the greatest pieces of Street Theatre… and hugely entertaining to see the bemused faces and listen to the passers-by.

I guess we’re lucky that, nowadays, in this country, people are able to carry out their devotion in public, however weird it may seem to others.

Corpus Christi

They jostled into a hole.

The heather-priest screwed the stem onto his travelling chalice.

“Too late: no time.”  He grabbed the reserved sacrament.

“What’s that clock for?” the boy asked, perplexed.

“It’s a monstrance,” he said, as he placed the Host into the casement, and lifted up the Body of Christ.

“A monster!”

“Benedicamus Domino,” he pronounced, as protestant footsteps angrily approached.