Say you decided to take a vacation to the little village of Spycimierz, Poland, for the feast of Corpus Christi (traditionally today, but usually celebrated in the US this Sunday). The morning of the feast, you wake up, look out the window, and are greeted by a most unusual sight.
The villagers—all of them, it seems!—are as busy as worker ants, creating something on the road. They are arranging colorful flowers in various elaborate patterns in a path that seems like it stretches on forever down the street. As you look down from your window, sipping your morning coffee, you see all kinds of beautiful sacred images and designs come to life.
Hard at work in Spycimierz! (photo credit: ASzoszk/CC BY-SA 4.0)
What’s it all about?
The villagers are carrying on a tradition that has been going on for generations in their town. They are creating a floral pathway for the Corpus Christi procession that will take place after Mass, when Our Lord in the monstrance will be carried throughout the town, in joy and festivity.
Spycimierz is particularly known for this tradition, but it is hardly alone in the world. You can find stunning floral carpets elsewhere in Poland, in Italy, in Spain, in South America. Parishes here in the US have even taken up this tradition!
The artwork will be destroyed as many feet tread over them during the procession, but it’s unlikely anyone thinks of it as a waste. These works (and the labor they require) are humble gifts for Our Lord, Who has given us a gift beyond anything we can hope to repay in the Blessed Sacrament. The beautiful carpets are a small reminder of Who is passing by that day—the same Person Who humbly dwells daily in our churches, our monstrances, in our own unworthy selves in Holy Communion.
What a gift!
Our Lord has, time and again, chosen to lift the sacramental veils and remind us of His Eucharistic presence in very visible, tangible ways. In Lanciano, Italy, a host turned into visible Flesh; an altar cloth in Stich, Germany, was stained red with His Sacred Blood. Read about these stunning miracles—and many more—in Eucharistic Miracles and Eucharistic Phenomena in the Lives of the Saints. Available today at The Catholic Company!
