The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
There is nothing like being home for the feast of Corpus Christi. By this I do not mean the festivities at our local parish. Rather, I mean that I am with my parents. It is only so many days in a year that my parents and I get to be present to each other in flesh and blood. We hug and kiss each other. We hold hands, we talk, we laugh and cry together. During the rest of the year we speak on the phone. But being present in a real way twice a year is radically different. Just yesterday, my parents thanked me for coming home every six months. It gives them something to look forward to. It is the same with me. Real presence matters.
Today we celebrate the feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus. And really the focus is on presence – real divine presence. But just as human presence, the readings take us to the different levels of divine presence. I want to reflect on these levels of presence and invite you to deeper levels of Christ’s presence.
In today’s first reading we encounter the first level of divine presence. Moses held the words of the covenant, offered a blood sacrifice and sprinkled the blood upon the people as a sign of the covenant. In none of these actions, did the people experience real presence. The people heard God through Moses. They offered a sacrifice of animals. They sprinkled the blood of animals to seal a covenant. That is how deep they could do in their relationship with the Divine. The second reading from Hebrews tells us about a deeper level of presence – God comes to us in an through Christ. Christ became the altar, Christ became the sacrificial victim, Christ became the priest. But this altar, this victim and this priest is unlike the altar, animals, and priest of today’s first reading. People touched the real person of Christ. People could look into Christ’s eyes. They could laugh and cry with him. They could touch him. They could even crucify him. The third level originates with Jesus’ own action at the last supper. Jesus, just before he died, gathered his disciples, broke the bread, gave the cup and said to them “This is my body; this is my blood of the covenant.” This is a new kind of presence that human beings were thus far not familiar with. In this third level, Christ is no more just with the person, but rather, Christ is in the person. There is a fourth level. As we receive the body of blood of Jesus, we must keep in mind that one day, even this presence will end. When our lives end or when the world ends, there will be no more Eucharist for us. So there must be something even deeper than the real presence of the Eucharist. To be able to peek into this deep, deep, level of God’s presence is to enter into the very life of God.
Let me offer three practical implications:
a) Many Catholics around the world are content to remain on the superficial level of the Divine presence. But we are invited today to enter into the deeper levels of divine presence. Receiving Christ in body and blood is like marriage – we enter into a deep, intimate, and everlasting bond. Christ lives in us and we live in Christ through body and blood. On earth this is the deepest expression of God’s presence. Today, when we receive the body and blood of Christ let us enter into deep communion with our God.
b) For a moment, I want also focus on what Christ did at the last supper. He took bread and wine said, “This is me, for you.” And then he broke and bread and then he shed the blood. For me personally, Jesus’ self-gift and the implications of that gift is the most compelling part of this feast. To be able to give oneself in total surrender becomes the model for our own relationship with each other. If we could break ourselves and spend ourselves for our families like Christ does; if we could build friendship on Christ-like self-giving; if we could base our church Christ’s sacrifice – the entire world would become alive with divine presence.
c) As I said earlier, when this world passes away, there will be no more Eucharist on the earth. On the earth, the Eucharist is the most real divine presence. But today, I would like to encourage you to enter in the level of divine presence which is even deeper than the real presence – God’s presence in all God’s glory and love. Spend time this week in prayer and seek to get a glimpse of the glory of God’s eternal presence.
In a very few moments from now, Christ will come to us in bread and wine. As we receive Christ, as we say “Amen” let us enter into the divine presence in the deepest way possible. Let our Amen reflect our total surrender to the divine presence. Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph