Corpus Christi
O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine,
All Praise and All Thanksgiving Be Every Moment Thine!
Today we celebrate the Patronal Feast of our parish family, the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi. Let me wish you all a Blessed and Happy Feast Day of the Most Holy Eucharist. With great jubilation and gratitude to the Lord for His precious gift, let us take pride and celebrate it reflecting upon the greatness of this gift. At the Second Vatican Council, the Fathers of the Council authored a document entitled The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, or Lumen Gentium. It gives the most wonderful definition on the Eucharist. The Eucharist is "the Source and Summit of the Christian life." Holy Eucharist is the unique characteristic of our Catholic faith. For us, the consecrated bread and wine are not merely bread and wine. They are the real Body and Blood of Christ. That makes our Holy Communion different from the communion of other Christian denominations.
From the earliest of times, it has been the faith of the Church that Jesus is present in the Eucharist. The earliest New Testament witness to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist comes to us from Paul writing to the community of the Corinthians. 1Cor. 11:23. “I have passed on to you what I myself received.” Paul goes on to recount the words of the Last Supper: “This is My Body...this is the Blood of the new covenant.” Since Paul was in Corinth around the year 51 AD, we can assume that the tradition that Paul received which he passed on to the church dates to the very earliest days of the Church. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, written later than Paul’s letters, likewise affirm the tradition of the words that Jesus spoke at the Last Supper: “This is My Body, this is My Blood.” The final scriptural witness to the Real Presence comes from the sixth chapter of John’s gospel in what is called “The Bread of Life discourse.” Here, Jesus clearly identifies the “Bread come down from heaven” as His very own flesh.
First and foremost, a devotion to the Eucharist always begins with Mass. The Eucharistic celebration, Mass, is always there for us. Always present. Forever Christ, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in every drop of Precious Blood, every tiny particle of the Host. Every hour of the day, somewhere in the world, the re-presentation of Calvary which is the Mass, is celebrated by a human being called a priest–Black, White, Croation, Australian, Nigerian, Indian, tall, short, nice, irritable, old, young, humble, proud, whatever his personal traits–in persona Christi, acting in the person of Christ. And by this priest’s words and actions of the Consecration the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. As Monsignor Romano Guardini writes in his beautiful book, Meditations Before Mass, “When the priest, empowered by the Lord Himself, speaks the words over the bread and the wine, Christ walks alive and real among His congregation until He gives Himself as nourishment in the sacred Supper.”
Jesus in the Holy Eucharist is Alive and Real. Walking among us. He allows us to consume Him! And to think we have the privilege of being there! Every day! Yes, every day we can (that is, are allowed, truly invited to) participate in the Mass. If we love our Lord, going to see Him should be a pleasure! Participating in, not just “attending” Mass, is a privilege for the person who wishes to become closer to our Lord. Immediately after receiving Communion, one should close oneself off from the world around, draw close to Jesus, and focus on devotional thoughts. Attending Weekday Mass–Monday through Saturday–should be a goal for those wishing to grow in faith. If it is possible to attend Mass daily, but one is not yet in that habit, a good way to begin is to make a good effort to add one or two extra weekday Masses, increasing the frequency as one is able to do so. For those whose schedule just does not allow for daily Mass participation, a visit–whether five minutes or fifty–to the Blessed Sacrament is nearly always possible. Just stopping by to “say hello” to Our Lord in His home on earth, the Tabernacle, allows us to acknowledge His Presence in the Eucharist.
In addition to attending Mass, a tremendous opportunity for coming ever closer to our Lord is to make a holy hour in our wonderful chapel where Eucharistic Adoration is held. I strongly encourage you to visit our beautiful adoration chapel more frequently and spend time before the Lord. New adorers often ask, what should I do there for an entire hour? The simplest answer: Adore! As one story goes, St. John Vianney observed a local citizen making frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament. When he asked the man what he did there, the man replied, “I look at Him, and He looks at me.” In the spiritual life, one is never static. One either goes forward toward Our Lord or backs away from Him by not progressing in our spiritual life. Jesus is waiting! Come to Him. Mt. 11:28. Jesus keeps on inviting us, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavily laden. I will give you rest.” It is here, at the foot of this altar, where Jesus is fully present, where we can find true peace and consolation. Are you toiled by ever-growing issues in your life? Are you anxious about your future? Are you worried about your family, your sick husband or wife or kids or parents or siblings? Jesus says again and again, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavily laden”……. The greater one’s devotion to the Eucharist, the greater is one’s sense of peace. There is a physical sense of peace and quiet when present, praying, and adoring Jesus in the Eucharistic Presence but there is also inner peace. Peace that satisfies. Peace that calms fear. Peace that fills one with the love of God. The “Great School of Peace” that is the Eucharist, in the words of John Paul II. At the school of Mary, says John Paul II, the apostles learned to have an intimate, profound and constant relationship with the Eucharistic Lord. She must have taught them to be custodians of the greatest treasure of the Church: the Eucharist. As the Second Vatican Council said, “In the Most Blessed Eucharist is contained the entire spiritual wealth of the Church, namely Christ Himself.”
Conclusion
Let us offer our worship and adoration to the Blessed Sacrament what St. Thomas Aquinas did not hesitate to call, "the greatest miracle that Christ ever worked on earth ...... my Body ........ my Blood". Before the greatness of this mystery, let us exclaim with St. Augustine, "O Sacrament of devotion! O Sign of unity! O Bond of charity!" Let us also repeat St. Thomas Aquinas' prayer of devotion in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament: "O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament divine! All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!"
Fr. Benny Mekkatt, CFIC