When I hear the words “Corpus Christi” I think Corpus Christi, Texas, a small city on the gulf which happens to be home of the Whataburger chain. You know, the giant orange W (home of the double cheese Whatburger®?) But Corpus Christi isn’t about fast food burgers and fries here in St. Lucia. Oh no. It’s much more spiritual than that.Corpus Christi is in fact a holiday closely tied with the Catholic Church. It celebrates the Eucharist – or the Holy Communion of the church where Jesus offered his disciples bread and wine, his body and blood. This is how Corpus Christi, Texas got its name actually, as it was named by the Spanish in honor of the Eucharist.
This in turn spurs a funny memory from childhood where when I was younger I would tell my parents that I very much enjoyed the “crackers” that were offered in church. “They’re not crackers!” my mother would angrily say to me. “Judy, don’t call it that,” my father would chime in.
“But why can’t I call it a cracker? It basically IS a cracker.” I would retort. And hence began a lifelong habit of calling the Holy Sacrament a cracker. I actually really enjoyed the taste of it which is why I was voicing this opinion to my parents in the first place, and wished there was more of it to go around.
I asked Alleyne yesterday what he did on Corpus Christi since I was not all too familiar with it. He said that it’s a day where everyone walks outside and prays. Then almost on cue, he said sarcastically that he would pray for me and my all sins. Here’s to hoping I can be forgiven for my various misnomers and other mistakes along the way.
