Feast of Corpus Christi

Saint Anne Church - June 18, 1995

Today we celebrate the feast of "Corpus Christi," the Blessed Sacrament. Of all the Sacraments, this one is unique. It not only contains a special grace, like Baptism, Confirmation, etc. It contains Jesus himself. Not only his body and blood, but Jesus in person and all that he is: his body, his blood, his soul, his divinity. That is why if we receive him under the form of bread or bread and wine, we still receive the whole person of Jesus. Why? Because he comes as a living person, and you cannot divide a living person.

And why did Jesus choose to come to us in this sacrament under the form of bread and wine? Because he wanted us to understand that just as the food we eat becomes our flesh and blood, so when we receive him in the Holy Eucharist, he comes to live in us and becomes, spiritually speaking, our flesh and blood. He gives us his very life, he lives in us, becomes so to speak a part of us, like the vine and the branches that have but one life. What a wonderful sacrament the Eucharist is!

Jesus himself told us so plainly: "I myself am the living bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he shall live forever. The bread I give is my flesh for the life of the world." Not just his body and blood, but person of Jesus, "I myself am the living bread." The Eucharist is the greatest sacrament because through it Jesus himself, the person of Jesus, with all that he is: body, blood, soul and divinity, comes to live in us and share his divine life with us.

There is an old story retreat masters used to tell to emphasize what a wonderful sacrament the Eucharist is. It's about a Protestant lady who was talking, with a Catholic friend and she told her: "If I believed as you Catholics do that Jesus, my Savior, was really present in the piece of bread you call Holy Communion, I would crawl on my hands and knees to receive him." What a beautiful insight that Protestant woman had. Is Holy Communion that important to us?

Alas, we live today in unbelieving times. I was deeply distressed when three years ago I read in the press that a recent poll conducted by the Gallup organization revealed that less than 1/3 of U.S. Catholics surveyed really understood and accepted the teaching of the Church on the Holy Eucharist! Only 30% of those surveyed really believed that when they receive Holy Communion, they are really receiving the body and blood, soul and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ under the appearance of bread and wine. What do they believe? 29% believe like many Protestants that in Holy Communion all they receive is bread and wine, which symbolizes Jesus and our love for him. In a word, the majority of Catholics in the U.S.A. no longer understand the Holy Eucharist as being truly the Body and Blood of Jesus. When I read that, I could hardly believe it!

When such misunderstandings touch a core element, of our Catholic faith, we have a very serious problem. Last February, there was an article in THE ANCHOR titled: "Is faith in the Eucharist collapsing?" This reveals that we are facing a major crisis in the U.S. Church. In another article that also appeared in The Anchor in July of 1992, Bishop Weigand, of Salt Lake City deplores that the Catholic teaching on the Eucharist has become "so watered down and distorted over the past 25 years" that immediate correction is needed.

He told his Catholic people in Utah to "stop referring to Holy Communion as the "bread" and the "wine" rather than...the "body of Christ, the blood of Christ." "Sloppy language," he added, "gradually shapes (that is, misshapes) our understanding." If we do not believe that Jesus is really present in Holy Communion, as well as in the Tabernacle, is it surprising that people are so irreverent in church? I have often had to remind people that the church is no place to carry on conversations, yet many still do. Except for praying and singing to the Lord, the church should be a place of silence, even before and after mass!!! Out of reverence for the Blessed Sacrament and for others who go to church to pray. This kind of silence reminds us when we enter the church that we are entering in the presence of the Lord and disposes us to pray. It is uplifting. Since Vatican II, we have become sort of careless in church, no ill will, but we just drifted into this. Please, let us all be aware of this and do our part to restore the sense of reverence we used to have in Church. It will help build up, strengthen our faith and devotion.

Let me mention, in passing, that the so-called "Folk Masses" that were popular after the Vatican Council, did much to destroy the reverence that should mark our liturgical services. The focus of our worship shifted from being God-centered to become centered on the singers, who seemed to be enjoying themselves, more as performers than as worshipers. Thank God, these Folk Masses are over.

A small point finally. Even the sign of peace is meant to be reverent, God-centered. It's not at all meant to be a social handshake! We rather share the peace of God with our neighbor. So we do it in a low-keyed manner. And it should be given only to our immediate neighbors.

To sum up, we need to keep in mind that in Holy Communion we receive the person of Jesus Christ as he is: body, blood, soul and divinity, Because of that, we must be reverent. as we receive our Blessed Lord in communion and as we come into his presence in church. If we do that, we can experience the wonderful presence of the Lord whenever we visit him in church and receive him in the Holy Eucharist. Amen.

Sermons on the Eucharist Index