Thousands gather for Corpus Christi Mass, procession with Bishop Martin
CHARLOTTE — On his first Sunday as bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte, Bishop Michael Martin got out among the people, celebrating Mass for a crowd of thousands at a Ballantyne amphitheater.
The outdoor Mass and Eucharistic procession were hosted by St. Matthew Parish and had been in the works for months to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi on June 2. Since it fell on the same week as Bishop Martin’s installation, parish leaders invited him to celebrate the Mass.
“We were greatly honored to welcome our new bishop on his first Sunday in the diocese,” said Father John Allen, parish administrator. “It’s a very special gift that he comes to us on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi so we can celebrate our communion with him as our chief shepherd.”
Organizers estimated the outdoor Mass drew about 4,000 people, including St. Matthew parishioners and other members of the community.
Bishop Martin arrived at The Amp Ballantyne outdoor amphitheater shortly after 10 a.m. and started talking with people in the crowd minutes after getting out of his car. People young and old gathered around him, some snapping photos with their cell phones.
One of the first people he met was a St. Matthew parishioner also named Michael Martin.
“It was rather a shock to discover that the bishop and I have the same name,” Martin said as he sat with wife Shauna and their three children. “It’s nice to share a name with him, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does as our bishop.”
Many in the crowd obviously enjoyed the unique outdoor venue for the Mass, sitting together on the lush grass on beach towels or lawn chairs. Children ran and played before the Mass started.
“This is just a beautiful chance to get outside the walls of the church and worship together,” said St. Matthew parishioner Jaime McKenzie. “This is a great way to get us together and show the Ballantyne area that we are here as Catholics.”
In his homily, Bishop Martin drew on the meaning of the feast day of Corpus Christi. The feast, with roots in the 13th century, celebrates Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist.
Bishop Martin described recent research that shows many Catholics no longer fully believe in the Real Presence, a sad situation he said that has roots in a more secular culture, increasingly focused on social media and technology offering “quick-hit” information and communication.
“Many people have a hard time considering what the Real Presence is and means, and that’s not a Jesus problem – it’s an us problem,” he said. “It’s we who are less really present, and the extent we fail to really be present to one another and our God is the extent to which we find ourselves adrift. We have got to find ways to not allow this culture to cause us to be less present to Christ and to each other.”
He encouraged people to focus on building a community willing to reach out to others, make sacrifices and do the necessary work to bring the message of Jesus to everyone they encounter – including the poor and the marginalized.
“Jesus is really present in the Eucharist – He wants communion with us and He shares it with us so we become His Body and Blood,” Bishop Martin said. “His Real Presence is not just to be received, adored and taken around in procession. All of those things are beautiful, but together we will also need to bring His Real Presence into the world out there that so needs us. If we don’t bring that Real Presence there, we’ve minimized Jesus Christ.”
The Mass concluded with a Eucharistic procession with Bishop Martin and St. Matthew clergy walking through the crowd.
Bishop Martin spent more time with people after the Mass, shaking hands and talking with everyone who approached him.
“The Mass was wonderful and it was amazing to have the bishop with us,” said Karen Botero Cabas. “The sermon he gave was great – very concise and very timely, very true.”
“The venue for the Mass was perfect and the whole thing was just beautiful,” said St. Matthew parishioner Diane Gaskin. “Having the bishop here made this an even more special experience.”
Father Binoy Davis, a parish priest at St. Matthew, reflected on the day’s meaning.
“Based on everyone who has come out here today, you can see they are excited to be together with the bishop as we celebrate and proclaim our faith.”
— Christina Lee Knauss. Photos by Liz Chandler and Travis Burton
