*Today we are celebrating the Gift of God Himself – The Eucharist. God nourishes us with His Body and Blood, it is the Source and Summit of Christian Life; “… bread and wine are transformed by the Spirit of God into the body & blood of Christ.” The Eucharist we receive should transform us into sacraments of God’s love compassion, justice, peace and hope for our families and our world. [Adopted from Connections 6/02/2024]
On this Feast of Corpus Christi – The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ. I want to focus on three thoughts: The Real Presence, a Hug and a Kiss. In the reading from Exodus the people told Moses: “We will do everything, that the Lord …” asked of us. In the Letter to the Hebrews, we heard that Christ “… is mediator of a new covenant …” one that promises an “… eternal inheritance.” Jesus Christ The Bread of Life is our bread of life.
In Mark’s account of the Last Supper, Jesus offers His Apostles and us - His Body and His Blood, in the Eucharist. “Jesus is present to us in many ways, but only in the Holy Eucharist is He uniquely & substantially present — Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. This is the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.” [CCC, # 1373-1374]
Timothy O’Malley wrote a terrific book Real Presence: What Does It Mean and Why Does It Matter? He said “… doctrines are not a physical or technical explanation …. It is not a physical change.” At the Last Supper Jesus asked to be Remembered and He gave us: THE EUCHARIST, the Memorial of His Body & Blood to do that.
These stories may help us treasure and love the Eucharist more deeply.
6-year-old Mortakai refuse to go to the school, when his Mom or Dad took him, he ran home, his parents tried everything and nothing worked. Desperate they went to their Rabbi, who said bring him to me, the Rabbi did not say a word, he held the boy to his heart for a long time and then put him down. This silent embrace accomplished what words could not & the young boy went on to become a great scholar and Rabbi. [The Sunday Website of St. Louis University, “In Exile”, Ron Rolheiser OMI, 6-7-15]
In the Eucharist God embraces us!
As a boy growing in Hungary before WWII George Docsi loved dinner… big plates, the maids serving soup, the dining room, one evening at dinner time he went to the dining room, and it was in an uproar. A persecution was taking place in Russia, and his grandfather went to the railway station and brought home some Jews. Men were in skull caps in the living room, mothers nursing babies in the dining room. George threw a fit and yelled, “I want my supper! I want my supper!” One of the maids saw this and gave him a piece of bread. He threw it on the floor and screamed, “I want my supper!”
His Grandfather entered the dining room at that moment - bent down, picked up the bread, kissed it & gave it to George. George ate the bread. Kissing the bread was a beautiful act, George said, “… I think there’s a little of my grandfather in me now.” [The Little Book on the Human Shadow p. 41]
In the Eucharist God kisses us!
The silent embrace and the kissing of the bread are very personal, they remind us that Jesus embraces and kisses each of us with the Eucharist; the doctrine of the Real Presence help us understand the most precious gift that the Eucharist is - the kiss and embrace of our Redeemer. St. Augustine said, “If you receive worthily, you become what you receive.” And “Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
Our hunger for completeness cannot be satisfied in this world.
As we celebrate CORPUS CHRISTI may it remind us that Jesus leads us to the heavenly banquet giving us the Eucharist for nourishment along the way. “The Eucharist is not a luxury, but a necessity, for without it, we would, in the spiritual sense, starve to death.” [Bishop Barron, Eucharist, p.11].
For a few minutes, in silence think about what receiving the Eucharist means to you & how it nourish you?
May God Be Praised
*Brother Mickey McGrath’s artwork is available at: https://www.bromickeymcgrath.com/
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