Corpus Christi: Will we receive the nourishment we need?

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Homily Outline for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ: Corpus Christi

26 June 2011

It is a joy to be preaching to you on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ - Corpus Christi. By God’s generosity, yesterday was my 33rd birthday. Sometimes people get stressed out around their birthdays’, but I just like to think of it like a caveman… another year without getting eaten!

In these days after Pentecost, the Church puts before us a number of the key mysteries, the deepest and most beautiful truths of our faith…last Sunday, the Most Holy Trinity, and now, the Eucharist. This series will conclude with the celebrations of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus this Friday, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Saturday. They are connected: out of the dynamic and infinite and perfect love between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, God’s grace overflows and He sends Jesus to save us through Mary’s self-surrender. From Jesus’ pierced side flowed out blood and water and the Church was born. From the Church we continue to receive the Eucharist, Jesus Himself, and we are drawn into the love of the Trinity. These feasts map out for us the very life of grace!

You very likely have heard the phrase before, but it bears repeating. The Second Vatican Council calls the Eucharist the very “source and summit” of our faith… the font from which all grace flows and the goal and peak towards which we bring everything in our hearts and lives. The Eucharist is to be our life and our joy. As we hear in the first reading, we do not live by bread alone, but by every word from the mouth of God… in the Eucharist real bread becomes the WORD MADE FLESH, Jesus, the Word of the Father. God in His mighty humility comes to us under the appearance of simple food and drink, and the spiritual nourishment He gives us is JUST as necessary as physical nourishment.

In our wealth and comfort, I think some of these images begin to loose their edge. When we hear of the Israelites hungry and thirsty in the desert, most of us have little context to understand this! When I returned to El Salvador recently, everyone commented appreciatively on my round belly, some even patted it proprietarily! The folks there are close enough to knowing real hunger to see my belly as a sign of regular meals! To say “¡Mira, que gordo!”, “Look at how fat you are!” isn’t meant to be derogatory… in a sense, it’s admiration!

Listen, then, to what Jesus says about His Body and Blood in the Gospel, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” Let that sink into your heart… The Eucharist is not a nice fringe benefit of the Gospel… it is not a nice ceremony to fill out the preaching… it is not merely a symbol of something that happened long ago. Somehow so many of our separated brothers and sisters miss this passage as they study the Bible with so much real love and zeal. The Eucharist is the essential Spiritual Food without which we starve to death. “Amen Amen…unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you DO NOT have life within you.” These are very strong words… do we take them seriously? Do we approach this altar with reverence, hungry to receive the grace we need? Do we prepare our hearts with prayer? Do we examine our hearts to see if we are disposed to receive communion? Do we attend Mass to receive the Eucharist only when it’s convenient? If we face life’s frequent trials and difficulties without the Eucharist, it’s as if we’re trying to run a marathon on an empty stomach… it DOESN’T work!

As I complete two years of service among you this week, I am full of gratitude for the gift of priesthood, and the great gift of beginning my priesthood here with you. I have tried to serve you generously, and I have received far more than I have given. First and foremost, a priest is ordained to provide the People of God with that which is not possible without him… the Eucharist, and the forgiveness of sins. It is an enormously humbling thing to speak the words of Christ, “This is my body,” and to know that Christ works through me to bring us His Body and Blood. It is an enormously humbling thing to hear a person confess their sins and to say those words, “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” To serve in God’s name is a joy, and a constant invitation to gratitude and humility. God’s grace makes me very aware of how little I am before the Lord and how much I need Him.

Perhaps my greatest daily sorrow is to see so many people who do not receive - who do not seek - the enormous grace that God longs to give them in Confession and in the Eucharist. St. Paul tells us clearly what is offered to us… a participation in the body of Christ, in His Blood, and then unity with each other in Him. This is what our hearts most long for, God, and we are offered it at every Mass. Do we pause, do we wonder, do we grasp what we are offered! God HIMSELF! As I prepare, now, to celebrate this Sunday Eucharist for the last time among you, this then is my plea to you… do not receive these gifts in vain… do not approach this altar merely out of habit, do not approach without examining and opening your hearts to the healing and mercy that we ALL need. Do not take for granted the Bread from Heaven that comes to you now. God HAS NOT ABANDONED US in our distress, but we have OFTEN abandoned Him. We have chosen to be here and yet our openness can become deeper, wider, and more complete. Then we can bring this gift to the whole world. Jesus offers us infinite grace, if we will but receive it with open hearts. Listen again to Jesus’ beautiful promise, “Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”