The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
I said to someone the other day that I was “funeralled out.” We have had so many funerals and so many tragic deaths that I feel emotionally drained. The most challenging part of my ministry is to keep the hope and faith of grieving families, particularly children. The intense grief comes from knowing that the family will not have the PRESENCE of their loved one. PRESENCE – that is the key. Sometimes we take it for granted, but the ability to be present to each other the greatest thing about being alive. Funerals are sad because death takes away our ability to be present to each other.
No wonder, then, that Paul begins today’s second reading from the letter to the Corinthians with the words, “…the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over….” In other words, before his death, before he would cease to be present in his human body, Jesus “took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."” Why did Christ do what he did? Why did he say what he said? What did Christ offer us before his death?
The answer to these questions in the reason for the feast we celebrate today - Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ. However, the more we think about it the more we realize that we are not merely celebrating the body and blood of Christ. This is a celebration of the PRESENCE of Christ. Unlike us, who when we die, lack the ability to be present to one another, Christ continues to be present to us even after his death. In this presence is our hope, our life, our eternity. Because of Christ’s presence, all of us who have and will experience death will have the ability to be present to one another… for ever.
PRESENCE… Let me say three things about Christ’s presence to us.
This presence is REAL. As a human person, Christ knew how important it is for human beings to have the presence of one another. So before his death Jesus offered us his presence; not in some abstract way, but a REAL presence. When we partake of the bread and wine, when we hold the bread in our hands, and sip from the cup we are in touch with the real presence of Christ. At that moment Christ is present to us and we are present to Christ. Today, when you come for communion, be aware of Christ being present to you and your being fully present to Christ.
This presence is TOTAL. I am not very comfortable with the terminology of today’s celebration. Today’s celebration is called Corpus Christi - the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. Somehow, the name makes me feel that we are celebrating ‘something” rather than “Somebody.” At communion we encounter not just the body and blood of Christ; rather we encounter the total Christ, the complete Christ, Christ as the Son of God, Christ of the gospels, Christ as a person, Christ as a being. And that is why comm-union is called a union. It is the union to two persons – Christ and us. Today, when we come for communion, let us be aware of the person of Christ and Christ’s total presence to us. And let us be totally present to Christ.
This presence is HOLY. There is a reason why we take the time each week to be at the Eucharist. There is a reason why we set aside a Sunday each year to celebrate Christ’s real and total presence. It is because we recognize that here were encounter no ordinary presence. This is the most HOLY presence. This is the most sacred presence. This is the most eternal presence. As human beings we do not have the ability to be eternally present to each other. Only God does! Our holiness, our sacredness, our eternity is dependent on Christ’s holy, sacred and eternal presence. So today, we go on our knees in awe of the real, total, holy, sacred, and eternal presence of Christ. Today, we do homage, we do worship, we bring our lives into the all holy, sacred and eternal presence of Christ.
Today, we thank God for the gift of the Eucharist. Every Eucharist is an invitation to allow Christ to be present to us. Every Eucharist is an invitation to be present to Christ. Let us make this Eucharist an act of faith in the PRESENCE of Christ to the world. Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph