sermon : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Today’s Solemnity highlights the Eucharistic Presence, in the Body and Blood of God the Son. We meditate on the following readings: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16; Psalm 147; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; John 6:51-58. The Book of Deuteronomy tells of Moses’ advice and warnings to his people not to forget the deeds God had done for them; freedom from Egyptian slavery, safe passage through the dangers of the desert, the unique manna which he provided as food, and water from the rock when they had nothing to eat or drink. God’s people were in constant danger of letting these providential events slip from their minds, and to forget that their lives were being led by God. Psalm 147 recognizes that God is the source of the prosperity of God’s chosen people, especially in making known to them his statutes and ordinances. The Gospel of St. John presents a dense public declaration of Jesus to be the “bread of life.” The text refers both to the figurative meaning of bread as the basic dependence and reliance on Jesus in faith and the unmistakable vocabulary that refers to the physical Body and Blood of God made man. Jesus requires that those who would have eternal life eat his Body and Blood. This is difficult for the Jewish listeners to understand. St. Paul clarifies for the Corinthian Christians the unique nature of the Eucharistic sacrifice as a real participation, communion, with the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This is an effective sign of their unity From the doctrinal view, the Holy Eucharist makes present a triple reality. In the first place we are promised God’s real and physical presence, in his Body and Blood, under the outward appearance of bread and wine. Secondly, the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Mass ; the act of making God present in what was before bread and wine; re-presents the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is the sacrifice of Calvary made really present to us in our time. Thirdly, we are invited to partake of the Eucharist as physical and spiritual communion with Jesus Christ. In this way, the Eucharist becomes our nourishment, our manna in the desert journey of this life. From a pastoral view we may know the factual meaning of the Eucharistic Presence, but we may find it hard to experience its wonderful reality. It seems strange that we are drawn to things of beauty and rarity, to expressions of nature and art, and can, at times, be at a loss before the Eucharistic Presence. It is not that we do not know what the Eucharist is, but that we apparently experience so little of its reality. What has made us insensitive to the Eucharist? It may not be a lack of faith, as such, but a lack of internal disposition. That is why the time we may spend in the Eucharistic Presence can open our minds and hearts to greater truth and love. Almost imperceptibly, different attitudes and priorities become present in us. The events of our lives take on a different hue, and both our way of seeing things and our inner responses are different. This is when we allow the Divine Presence to penetrate our minds and hearts and draw out of us the fire of Divine life within us. It requires an act of contemplation, the meditated awareness of God’s presence before us. Eucharistic Processions used to be common to Christian worship. The evening Corpus Christi Procession in our streets and villages! Traffic is stopped, and the obliged interruption of rush hour makes many people take a second look at the ranks of lay people and religious who precede the Eucharistic Presence carried in our midst. And this keeps on our nostalgia for the next occasion of this Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. casimir1958@yahoo.com