THE MOST HOLY BODY & BLOOD OF CHRIST (CORPUS CHRISTI):
Scripture: “I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” – 1Corinthians 11:23-26
Catechism of the Catholic Church: “In the Eucharist Christ gives us the very body which He gave up for us on the cross, the very blood which He poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins…The Eucharist…makes present the sacrifice of the cross…The Sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice. The Victim is one and the same…The same Christ who offered Himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and offered in an unbloody manner [and] this sacrifice is truly peace-making.” – CCC #1365-1367
Brothers and sisters, the Body & Blood of Christ is a truly saving grace that was freely given up – by Jesus Himself – in order that we may be able to enjoy life with Him in God’s heavenly kingdom, rather than suffer the pains of everlasting hell. This is a gift in which we could never hope to pay back. However, we can pay it forward.
We pay it forward by loving God with our entire being, and each other as Christ loves us. We pay it forward by nurturing and sharing the Fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. And we pay it forward by receiving the Eucharist in community with other believers – living and loving as one – the Body of Christ.
I remember at the beginning of the Covid pandemic when the world still didn’t understand it, many of our parishes were closed with no masses. There were a number of faithful upset and angry that they could not receive the Lord in the Eucharist.
When we were permitted to open the churches for mass again – sitting six feet apart – their anger quickly turned to tears of joy; crying as they processed down the aisle to receive Jesus. It brought tears to my eyes as well – watching them come up in all reverence and humility, happy to have the opportunity to once more receive the Lord.
It also caused me to think about those people around the world that don’t have the opportunity to receive the Eucharist because of anger, hatred, social intolerance, and/or government restrictions. There are currently over 50 countries where Christians are persecuted in some form. While working in the Middle East, I myself, was forced to attend an underground church in order to receive the Eucharist.
Brothers and sisters, do we take advantage of every opportunity to receive the Lord in communion? Do we even attempt to schedule our day in a way that allows us to worship the Lord who offered His very life, that we may be able to do so? Or, are we more like the church in Laodicea that is neither hot nor cold, just lukewarm, that Jesus spits out of His mouth?
Let us not be indifferent to the Lord, brothers and sisters. May we always joyfully process to the altar of the Lord and receive Him with tears of joy – the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ.
“Without the Holy Eucharist there would be no happiness in this world,
And life would be unbearable.”
-St. John Vianney