Today we celebrate the great feast of Corpus Christi, the veneration of the most precious Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. As I was preparing for this homily, I was trying to think, ‘ What could I say to express what I love so much in my life?’ And what we all love. How do you explain the Eucharist? The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian faith. (CCC, 1324)* It is the most important teaching of our faith. And the most important thing that we do in our faith is come together to celebrate and to receive the Eucharist.
Now you may have heard of a study that was done a few years ago, and it was done by the PEW Research, and the Pew Research researches everybody, every denomination, every faith, every religion, and every culture, and they get to different specifics about their way of life and their culture. One of the questions they asked when they surveyed people was if they were Catholic. They asked them if they believed, if they actually believed in Christ’s true body and blood, that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. That was one option, or are they symbols of the body and blood of Christ? So those were the two options that Catholics could answer. Does it become the Body and Blood of Christ or is it a symbol of the body of Christ?
I want you to think about that for yourself. Which way would you answer?
Well, 69% of Catholics answered that it was a symbol of the body and blood of Christ and not the true body and blood of Christ. And so, the church has been grappling with this for the last couple of years. The most important part of our faith is being missed by 70% of surveyed Catholics. So, there is a great problem that exists there. And that’s why a couple years ago, the Bishops got together and they decided that we would make this year all about the Eucharist. That this is the Eucharistic Revival. This year begins with this feast of Corpus Christi.
So, in this homily, I was pondering, knowing that 70% may not believe in the real presence. I’d like to do a little bit of teaching on what the real presence is, because I wonder if the survey, the way that it was worded, was a little bit confusing for people.
So, what does it mean to be a sign? Bread and wine, for us, are a sign. Before the gifts are even brought up, in the back of the church right now are bread and wine, which are signs to us. They point to a deeper reality of what will happen with the Eucharist. But at the heart of our Eucharistic celebration, when the bread and wine are brought forth, and the priest extends his hands over the Eucharist, he says the same words that Jesus said. He took the bread; He took the chalice, and by the priest’s words that are spoken through Christ, they become the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, so much so that they are no longer bread and wine. They are his real presence in the body and blood. Well, how can this be possible right? Because we look at it, it still looks like bread and wine.
Well, this was difficult saying so much so that when Jesus was teaching His disciples about his real presence in the body and blood and they should receive Him and eat His flesh and blood, they said to Him, “This is a hard saying, who can listen to it?” (1336) And at that point many of his disciples walked away. Coincidentally, that verse is John 6, verse 66. Many of His disciples walked away. And so, Jesus asked a question to His disciples who stayed, “Will you also go away?” And He could ask each of us today, “Will you also go away from me?” (1336) Then the priest says the words of Jesus, “Do this in remembrance of me.” (1339) When these words are spoken, the word this is very important. Jesus was commissioning his disciples to do what He had done, so when He consecrated the very first time and changed the bread and wine into His very body and blood and gave them His body and blood, soul and divinity to receive, He then commissioned His disciples to do the same. He said, “Do this in memory of me.” (1340) Do exactly what I have done so that I can continue to be with you always.
The disciples always gathered on Sundays which was the day of the resurrection and so that’s why, still to this day, we gather on Sunday. We come together in this one place, this church as the disciples did every Sunday, they gathered together. (1343) In the point of the mass when the priest holds his hands over the bread and wine, it’s called the epiclesis, a Greek word meaning invoking God, so he holds his hands, I’ll hold my hands over the bread and wine, and I’ll “ask the Father to send His Holy Spirit on the bread and wine so that by his power they become the body and blood of Jesus Christ, and so that those who partake in the Eucharist may may be one body and spirit.” (1353)
So how is Christ present, right here in the sacrament? What does the real presence mean? What is the real presence? How is that different than a symbol or a sign? Jesus Himself, before He died, wanted a way for Him to be always with His people. And He intercedes for us, He is present to the church in many ways: We hear Him in the word of God, He is present in the sacraments, He is present in couples that are married, He is present where two or three are gathered together in his name, He is present with the poor and the and sick and the broken, but He is present most especially, here at the Eucharist. (1373) And this Eucharist is higher than any other presence. The catechism says, “the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend. In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist, ‘the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and, therefore the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.’” (1374) And this is what we mean by real presence; body, blood, soul and divinity are present at the Eucharist. It’s by this conversion that bread and wine into Christ’s body become the Body and Blood of Christ.
Saint John Chrysostom said, “It is not man that causes the things offered, to become the Body and Blood of Christ, but He who was crucified, Christ Himself. The priest, in the role of Christ, pronounces these words but their power and grace are Gods. This is my body, He says. This word transforms the things offered.” (1375) Saint Ambrose says, “Be convinced that this is not what nature has formed but what the blessing has consecrated. The power of the blessing prevails over that of nature, because by the blessing nature itself is changed… Could not Christ’s word, which can make from nothing that did not exist, change existing things into what they were not before. It is no less a feat to give things their original nature than to change their nature.” (1375) So, if God spoke and brought all creation out of nothing, He can just as well speak and transform.
All right, now I am getting to the heart of this. “Because Christ, our redeemer, said that it was truly His body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council (Council of Trent) now declares again, that by the consecration of bread and wine, there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change, the Holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation.” (1376) Does Anybody know that word (raise your hand)? Remember that word from way back when? Transubstantiation. Just think of what that word means. Trans means transform. Substantiation to transform the substance.
So, the substance of the bread and wine is transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. Christ is present whole and entire in each of these species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that when the Host is broken, Christ is not divided, He is present. (1377) He is present in every host you receive; He is present in the precious Blood. “It is highly fitting that Christ should have wanted to remain present to His church in this unique way.” So, before He suffered and died, He gave us this way of Himself to remain with His church. And this would be the memorial of His love, a memorial of his Hope. “The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of Love. Let us not refuse the time to go to meet Him in adoration, in contemplation, full of faith, and open to making amends for the serious offenses and crimes of the world. Let our adoration never cease.” (1380)
I invite you, if you are doubting the real presence and it’s a struggle, probably for some of us, to spend some time in our adoration chapel. Just spend some time being with Him. He will reveal Himself, and you will come to know Him.
Saint Thomas Aquinas said, “That in this sacrament are the true Body of Christ and his true Blood is something that ‘cannot be comprehended by the senses.’” So, we should know first that our senses are not going to see this. And he says, ‘but only by faith which relies on Divine authority.’ For this reason, in a commentary on Luke 22:19 (this is my body which is given for you.’), Saint Cyril says, ‘Do not doubt whether this is true, but rather receive the words of the Savior in faith, for since he is truth, he cannot lie.’ (1381)
What if we just accepted that because Jesus has said this, and because he is truth, He cannot lie? It is what he says it is.
The Lord invites all of us, “Truly I say to you unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (1384) You hear this in the Gospel today unless we eat His flesh and drink His blood, we have no life within us.
Saint Paul urges us to examine our conscience. He says, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, eat the bread, and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.” ‘Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion.’ (1385) I just read this part because I think we need to know as well we do come as sinners in the Eucharist. Our venial sins are forgiven, but the same survey shows that very few Catholics go to confession regularly. And so that can also be a way of healing us if we are not believing in our Lord. But we do say during the Mass, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.’ So, if we don’t have any grave sins, that’s when we ask Him to forgive us of our sins.
So, what happens to us when we receive Holy Communion? What happens when we believe this is the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ? The Catechism says that “Holy Communion augments our union with Christ.” (1391) It’s like we become one; we are augmented with Him…” in this intimate union. Holy Communion also separates us from sin and helps us to overcome sin in our lives. So, it’s a strengthening for us, for eternal life.
Now what if you are not Catholic? It’s a difficult one because the Eucharist is for those who are fully in union with the church, and yet we want all people to come to receive, and sometimes we can’t understand why can’t I receive, so maybe you are in the church, and you find yourself not Catholic. We want you to receive it. Jesus wants to feed you with His body and blood. But there is a process of initiation where we learn about the faith and believe in the true presence. At the end of that process is when you become fully initiated and receive the body and blood of our Lord. So, we do desire you to receive, but there’s a process for that, and the process is called the Rite of Christian Initiation. So, if you are not Catholic and want to receive, please talk to me, and we will help you along that way.
“Finally, this Eucharist incorporates us into the Church, and it fulfills the call, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ; the bread which we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?” (1396) We therefore who are one bread, and are many become one body. Jesus wants us to be one.
So, on this great feast day where we celebrate the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus, Corpus Christi, let us ask for an increase of faith in the Eucharist. Ask Him that you can experience Him personally as we celebrate this Mass. And finally, I just want to end with a hymn written by Saint Thomas Aquinas (in the 13th century) for the celebration of Corpus Christi. I’m just going to read you two verses of this. But it talks about really believing and trusting what God is doing for us.
Godhead Here in Hiding
(Adore Te Devote)
Godhead here in hiding whom I do adore,
Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more;
See, Lord, at thy service, low lies here a heart,
Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art.
Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived;
How says trusty hearing, that shall be believed;
What God’s son has told me, take for truth I do;
Truth himself speaks truly, or there’s nothing true.
Let us celebrate this great mystery that He reveals to us, the truth of the very real presence of His Body and Blood of Christ.
*The quotes are from certain paragraphs of the Catholic Church Catechism – Article 3
