My dear friends,
At first glance it may seem a bit odd that we gather today to celebrate the Feast of the Eucharist, the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Lord’s Body and Blood, when in fact you and I celebrate that same Sacrament every day of the year – except Good Friday and Holy Saturday.
And of course, the origin of the Feast perhaps cannot give us the answer to the question, why do we in fact celebrate this day? For in the medieval Church my friends, there was a general sense among God’s people that even those in the state of grace were not worthy to receive the Eucharist. This was the age of Saint Francis of Assisi, who tradition tells us, received the Eucharist three times, can you imagine, three times in his life, because he thought he was not worthy.
And so the Church, in that age, asked that the Eucharist be brought forth into the community literally to leave the Church, so that believers could look, at least, upon the Lord in His Eucharistic presence and have spiritual communion with Him – something we rediscovered, did we not, in covid – when we could not gather in person to pray.
But times have changed, and we now live in a time, since Pope Pius X over a hundred years ago, encouraging everyone who is a believer, a member of the Church, who is in the state of grace, to come forward and receive this great sacrament.
So I asked the question again, why do we celebrate this day? And I think, my friends, the answer to that question lies in a basic human tendency. That when we are familiar with something, we tend to take it for granted. We tend to forget how special it is. We become lukewarm and mediocre in our practice.
And so it seems to me it is good that we celebrate this Great Feast, to remind us of what we truly believe. And what is it that we believe about this great sacrament?
First, my friends, we call it the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because, to the power of Grace, each time we come to Mass, you and I enter, in an unbloody way, into the one sacrifice Christ offered on Calvary for your Redemption, and mine. He offered His blood so that we might not have to offer our blood. But we enter into that one sacrifice so that its fruits could be ours. And the forgiveness of sins, and the redemption of our souls, and eternal life that comes from that sacrifice we depict over the altar, could be ours.
We also call it a Holy Meal. But it is a meal unlike any other. For its roots were in the Passover meal. When the Jewish people recall liberation that came to them through the hands of Moses as they passed through the Red Sea. You and I come to share a meal because the lord loves us so much
that He wants to be present to us completely. Not just in spirit, not just in mind, not just in soul, but in body.
For consider, of all the sacraments the Lord could have chosen to create. In this great Sacrament He gives us food that our bodies need to digest, because even our bodies will one day be saved in Him. He loves you so much that He is totally present to all of you and me. That is a meal unlike any other.
And we also believe it is a sacred memorial. In a few moments I will be at the altar and I will say the words ‘in Persona Christie do this in memory of me’. For my friends, we don’t remember history. We remember that He is truly, fully, substantially present here. This, my friends, what we remember is on this side of death we will never encounter Christ more fully than here.
And we also remember that the sacrament of His sacrifice must be the invitation of my sacrifice, and yours, in love for our neighbor, our wife, our husband, our child, our co-worker, even those who offend us. For it is not enough for us to receive the Eucharist if we do not remember we are, to do what the Lord did always and everywhere. For if we are not willing to sacrifice ourselves in love, how could we possibly think we are ready to come forward to receive the sacrament of His sacrifice, for you and me?
And lastly my friends, as Augustine, who is our Patron here in our mother Church reminded his believers 1600 years ago, we receive the Body of Christ to become the Body of Christ. We receive Holy Communion so that we might have communion with each other. We receive His body to become part of the mystical Body of Christ. And what does that mean? It means that in every country, language, race and culture, all who believe, all who receive His body, are truly one family in Him.
And as I’ve taught you many times, the bonds of Grace are far more important than the bonds of nature. And it is that unity that we bring forth into the world as His disciples.
So why do we celebrate this feast? So that your mind and mine, your spirit and mine, your faith and mine, may be strengthened and renewed. And that you and I might have the conviction to go out into that divided and unbelieving world and invite all God’s people to come to see, to adore,
to eat, and to live.
