Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ also known to us as Corpus Christi.
The Eucharist is central to our belief because the Eucharist is not just a representation of Christ, but is the very presence of Christ made manifest among us under the appearances of bread and wine. Through the words of consecration the bread and wine truly becomes the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.
Such a statement should make us consider how we react when it pertains to the Eucharist. To be in the presence of the Eucharist is to be in the presence of Christ. To receive the Eucharist is to receive Christ. There ought to be attentionality when it pertains to us and our relationship to Christ and His presence made manifest among us.
If I were to drop a consecrated host or even a particle of it to the ground there are some who would not flinch and care. If I were to drop a baby that I was holding there all of a sudden would be a lot of concern at what has transpired and rightfully so. We must have such concern when it pertains to the Eucharist and our reception of it. What we are receiving is truly most serious.
Saint Paul instructs of such seriousness by stating “Whoever, therefore, eats the breads or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.”
Therefore, if it has been a long time since your last confession make use of this sacrament of the Father’s mercy for it goes hand in hand with our reception of Holy Communion. As the Catechism states, “Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicants union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins.”
What we receive strengthens us in the midst of our daily life as we are sent into the abundant harvest of the Lord. To think of the great gift that we receive when we receive Holy Communion. At this moment we have allowed the Lord to enter in under our roof. What an intimate statement that is more important then a celebrity, a sporting event, or a television show. This is Jesus who has communed with us!
At the Last Supper we should notice that it was Judas who was the first to leave. Why are we sometimes in such a hurry to leave Mass after the reception of Holy Communion that we fail to make time for a prayer of thanksgiving and fail to receive the blessing of Christ which sends us forth from the midst of this place? I agree that it might be convenient to beat the rush out of here, but I promise that making time for Christ is much greater.
As Gandhi stated, “I would like to believe what you Catholics believe about Jesus in the Eucharist. But I am unable to do so, because I don’t think you Catholics really believe what you say you believe; because if I really believed that my Lord and my God were truly present in the tabernacle as you say He is, I would crawl on my belly to church every day and worship Him.”
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