June 14, 2020
Happy Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, our Lord and God! What a Gift we celebrate today! Today’s celebration of Corpus Christ, the Body of Christ, is the feast of the very center and heart of our church, the center and heart of our faith, and the center and heart of parish, the center and heart of the lives of each of us, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
I know that some find it difficult to believe that bread and wine change into the Body and Blood of Jesus. We don’t see any change in the bread or wine. There is no difference in the taste; the bread still tastes like bread and the wine still tastes like wine. It is going against logic to say that the bread and wine change into the Body and Blood of Jesus despite no change in appearance. With our intellect we can understand that God must be keeping the universe together, that God is the origin of everything, but reason will only take us so far. Then we need to add faith to our reason and intellect. As Paul says, in the Christian life we go by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). We need to be humble and open to God performing a miracle every day in this church, the miracle of the Eucharist. Can you be humble enough to add faith to your intellect and reason, to admit that intellect by itself does not provide all the answers, and that God can perform miracles every day making it possible for bread and wine to become the Body and Blood of Jesus while keeping the same appearance? Can you add faith to your intellect? When you submit to God you will not lose anything, you will gain everything. There is a beautiful chant, “Trust, surrender, believe, receive.” Add faith to your reasoning and receive the love of God for you! The Eucharist is the gift of God’s love for you.
This statement of faith reveals that when we worship before the Eucharist, we worship God Himself hidden under the appearance of bread and wine. Our senses are deceived. What we see, taste and feel do not reveal the reality before us. The Eucharist is God.
Throughout our lives, if we were raised Catholic, we were taught reverence for the Eucharist. But “reverence” is not enough. Most Catholics reverence the Eucharist, meaning, we genuflect, kneel, and treat the Sacred Host with respect. But it’s important to ponder a question in your heart. Do you believe the Eucharist is God Almighty, the Savior of the world, the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity? Do you believe deeply enough to have your heart moved with love and profound devotion every time you are before our divine Lord present before us under the veil of the Eucharist? When you kneel do you fall down prostrate in your heart, loving God with your whole being?
Perhaps this sounds like it’s a bit excessive. Perhaps simple reverence and respect is enough for you. But it’s not. Since the Eucharist is God Almighty, we must see Him there with the eyes of faith in our soul. We must profoundly adore Him as the angels do in Heaven. We must cry out, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.” We must be moved to the deepest of worship as we enter into His divine presence.
To help us believe, from time to time, God has allowed visible miracles of the Eucharist to occur, Eucharistic Miracles as we call them. These are miracles that occurred during Mass when the bread changed into the form of flesh during the consecration and the wine changed into the form of blood during the consecration. Many such Eucharistic Miracles have occurred in various parts of the world and throughout the two millennia of Christian history and have been authenticated by the Church
Try to put words on the deepest healing of your life that you need and ask Jesus to heal you. At Masses for healing, the healing always occurs when people are blessed with Jesus in the monstrance. Jesus in the monstrance will pass you by tonight. Adore him, love him and ask him for help. He is waiting for you. Remember the words of the consecration of every Mass recalling Jesus giving himself for us, “This is my Body which will be given up for you….This is the cup of my blood. It will be shed for you.
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May Jesus in the Eucharist always be the very center and heart of our church, the center and heart of our faith, the center and heart of our parish, and the center and heart of the lives of each of us.
O Sacrament most holy,
O Sacrament divine,
All praise and all thanksgiving
Be every moment thine.
Ponder the depth of your faith in the Eucharist today and strive to renew it, worshiping God as one who believes with your whole being.
God Bless you. Have a wonderful Sunday.