June 22, 2014
Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
Today is the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, in Latin, “Corpus Christi.†We commemorate the mystery of the presence of Jesus Christ in the consecrated bread and wine, his very life and sacrificial love for us; the presence of Jesus in us, the assembled community; and the presence of Jesus, disguised and hidden in our brothers and sisters most in need. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote profoundly about the Eucharist and composed beautiful hymns and prayers: “O sacred banquet in which Christ is received as food, the memory of the Passion is renewed, the soul is filled with grace and a pledge of life to come is given to us.†The great doctor of the Church detected threefold dimension of time: a memory of the past e.g. we remember Jesus at the Last Supper and Jesus dying on the cross; a present grace e.g. we celebrate God’s love and life that nourish us to go forth in compassion and service; and hope of eternal life e.g. we look forward to the day when, with the communion of saints, we will participate in the heavenly banquet. Thomas’ great work was the Summa Theologiae – a systematic exposition of Catholic faith. But he abruptly stopped writing his dissertation after a mystical experience at Mass. He explained: “I cannot go on…All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me.†We can only surmise what (or whom) he saw.
A lady came to the parish office for Mass intentions for her husband who died recently. I asked how she was doing. We talked briefly about physical absence and spiritual presence. She found a clipping in her wallet and shared these words: “Life itself is a sacrament, an outward symbol of an inner grace that reminds us of the mystery that we are all part of a never-ending circle. It is anchored by the past and given wings by the future, but it is lived only in the present, in the awareness of each precious moment – in a light that gleams through a stained-glass window or the smell of biscuits baking in the oven or the sweet holy touch of a child’s hand on your face. Can you see it?â€
Holy Communion is a Sacrament that we receive and share, that we live and become. Holy Communion is a Sacrament that we see in faith as the deepest mystery of our being.
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