solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ

Today in the church we celebrate the gift of the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ come to us in the appearance of bread and wine transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. The bread and wine offered on the altar receive the word of God and become real food and real drink that bring forth the very presence of Jesus, body, blood, soul, and divinity.

What does the Catechism of the Catholic Church say about this Reality:

*The mode of Christ's presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the sacraments as "the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend...the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained..by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present." (ccc1374)

Can the church be any more clear in its teaching on the presence of Jesus come to us in the Eucharist. It is not a symbol or sign but rather it is what Jesus says it is, "my body, my blood." Jesus comes to us. What an encounter! this is no ordinary bread from you momma's kitchen. This is bread from the pantry of heaven.

*It has always been the conviction of the Church of God...that by the consecration of the 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. (ccc1376)

It has always been the conviction of the Church of God. The church has never wavered on this fundamental truth. The protestants have protested the sacraments but we Catholics have been fed and nourished by them. Other sects have been led into error but the Catholic Church has maintained its identity in the gift of the Eucharist.

*the Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of Consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist. (ccc1377-1380)

Jesus comes to stay. He is not here one moment and gone the next. Every time you come into a Catholic Church, this place of worship, you discover it is never empty. It is not just a place of worship it truly is the house of God. The little red light flickering upon entering reminds us to stop and pause, fall upon our knees, and acknowledge a presence greater than ourselves. We see his strength and glory in his sanctuary. The words of Jesus to the apostles ring true, "I will be with you always until the end of the age." The ever abiding presence of Jesus is the Eucharist.

*"the mass is at the same time, and inseparable, the sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated and the sacred banquet of communion with the Lord's body and blood." (ccc1382)

When we celebrate mass the reality of the cross and calvary is made present. The same sacrifice makes itself present. The death of the Lord we proclaim. It is this death of the Lord upon the cross that makes communion possible. The redemption of Christ offered to the world on the cross now comes to be made actualized in our hearts as we receive communion. In communion we apply Christ's redemption personally to us in our lives. We up root the cross from the soil of calvary and we plant it in the center of our hearts every time we say Amen to the words, "the body of Christ."

It is one and the same sacrifice that knows no boundaries of time and space. Its unlimited merit is unlimited by time and space.

*we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience: 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...for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. Anyone conscious of grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion." (ccc 1384-1387)

We must tread lightly. We must never rush through the act of reception but be mindful of the gift we are receiving. We must prepare ourselves mind, heart, and soul. We tremble when we extend our hands to receive trusting in the mercy of God to strengthen us with his presence and transform us with every reception.

If we are guilty of grave offense then we should not receive. How often have we ate and drank judgment upon ourselves. When we receive communion we are saying we seek to follow Christ fully and faithfully. Yet if we are living contrary to the gospel as realized in the teachings of the Church then we bear false witness against ourselves and destroy the integrity of our lives.

*"Holy Communion augments our union with christ. The principle fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus." (ccc1391)

Intimate union with JEsus. The foretaste of future glory comes to be in our hands and on our lips. He is near to us; he is within us.

*Communion with the flesh of the risen Christ...preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace received at Baptism." (ccc1392)

Wow! Preserves, increases, and renews. Every time we come to communion we enter into a time and space of retreat, a spiritual awakening and renewal. A simple gesture of stretching forth and a simple word of 'Amen" begins the spiritual renewal, this encounter for the ages. Truly, communion is a life changing experience each and every time.

*The eucharist cleanses us from past sins and preserves us from future sins...the bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this wipes away venial sins." (ccc139-1395)

We are washing in the waters of forgiveness and we are strengthen to avoid the sins that lie in waiting. Our wills are fortified and prepared for the spiritual battle. Our desire is rehabilitated and disordered attachments are slowly broken. The fuel for charity in our life is found in this Holy Communion. Christ the perfect love of the Father comes to enkindle in us that same love.

*"those who receive the Eucharist are united more closely to Christ. Through it Christ unites them to all the faithful in one body-the church. Communion renews, strengthens, and deepens this incorporation into the Church, already achieved by Baptism." (ccc1396)

We become church more fully by the communion we share. We all eat from the one table and thus we realize our one family by which we all belong. We truly become brothers and sisters united in Christ and fed by him. We must learn to live in a community and allow the communion we share move us from our individual lives into lives that seek solidarity and fellowship, with deep concern and compassion for all. We are not in this alone. We go together or we do not go at all.

Corpus Christ, this solemnity is so much more than we could ever imagine. What a gift from God in Christ by THe Holy Spirit. May we always be thankful of this ever abiding presence of Jesus who not only calls us to heaven but journeys with us until we arrive, "The Lord is my shepherd...with his rod and staff he gives me courage" and he gives me life for he is the "living bread come down from heaven."