Fr. JC Maximilian

In hundreds, if not thousands of cities and villages throughout the world people are taking to the streets.  Why?  Our brothers and sisters in Christ are walking the streets of the world in the solemn processions of Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

Actually in most of the world they took to the streets this past Thursday, but for us in the United States, we have moved this most important of Solemnities to Sunday.  One of the reasons why the Bishops asked permission to move Corpus Christi to the Sunday following the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, was so that more Catholics in the United States could celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.  So why are we not taking to the streets in a solemn procession with the Blessed Sacrament?

The sad reality is that over two-thirds of all Catholics in the United States do not even understand what the Eucharist is.  Many Catholics in our country think of the Eucharist as being merely a symbol; some think of it as a symbol of our fellowship with one another, while others see it as a symbol of Christ’s presence.  This is the way that most non-Catholics think about the Eucharist; that it is just a symbol and not the real thing.

A symbol just points to a reality, but it is not the reality itself.  The Exit 64 sign on Route 295 South that says “Mercerville” is not really Mercerville, but just points you towards Mercerville.  The Paschal lamb in the Old Testament did not really take away the sins of the world, but just pointed towards the real lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, Jesus Christ.
As Catholics we know, or we should know, that Christ is NOT just SYMBOLICALLY present in the Eucharist.  Rather He IS TRULY, REALLY present.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it this way, “In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained” (CCC #1374).  This is why St. Paul, in today’s second reading, calls Holy Communion a “participation” in the body and blood of Christ.  And if it still was not clear, the Church gives us the passage from the Gospel of St. John where Jesus Himself says SIX TIMES in just seven verses that His flesh is real food and His blood is real drink.

While it is most fitting that we give adoration to the Eucharist, the readings today have a the theme of eating this Bread from Heaven.  Clearly the Church wants us to think about eating the Eucharist as we celebrate today the gift of the Body and Blood of Christ.  “The readings also suggest three conditions for eating this heavenly bread.  It is to be continual, corporate, and contrite” (J.J. Hughes, Proclaiming the Good News: Homilies for the ‘A’ Cycle, Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., p. 95).

In today’s first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses reminds the people how for forty years the Lord directed their journey through the desert and provided for them by giving them manna, the heavenly bread.  Let us call to mind that the Lord commanded the people to gather up each day only enough manna to meet their needs for that day; except for the day before the Sabbath.  If they kept it over night, it spoiled.  In making it impossible to hoard the manna, God was reminding the people that they could only live by God’s bountiful love, and not from their own resources.

This same principle applies to the true Bread come down from Heaven, the Eucharist.  We are called to receive the food of the Eucharist continually, NOT because God’s gift is limited, but rather because our capacity to receive God’s gift is limited.  Our coming continually to the Holy Communion reminds us of our dependence upon God.  The Eucharist, as the non-bloody re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, is what saves us from our sins and offers us the gift of eternal life; not anything that we can do on our own.  “Those who come infrequently to the Lord’s table, or not at all, are depriving themselves of food they need to nourish the divine life given to each of us at Baptism” (J.J. Hughes, Proclaiming the Good News: Homilies for the ‘A’ Cycle, Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., p. 96).

The reception of the Eucharist is a corporate action, not a purely private affair as too many Catholics today believe.  Our second reading today, from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, makes it clear that the reception of Holy Communion is not something between the individual Christian and God alone.  St. Paul writes, “Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.”  Unlike ordinary food, which when eaten is digested to become part of our body, when we eat the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus we are converted, transformed into what we eat — the Mystical Body of Christ — and the more continuously we partake of Holy Communion, the more complete our transformation in Christ becomes.

This corporate dimension is expressed in several ways, liturgically, as we receive the Eucharist.  First, as we approach the Eucharist we are suppose to make a common gesture of reverence to the Eucharist.  The Bishops in the United States have decided that in this country the common gesture is a bow of the head.  We then say “AMEN” when the minister says “The Body of Christ” or “The Blood of Christ.”  Amen is a Hebrew word that is never translated to show our oneness with Christ and with one another.  We should never substitute “so be it” or “I do believe” or some other phrase for the “Amen” we say right before receiving Holy Communion.

We then should reverently receive Holy Communion.  It saddens me to say this, but too many of you do not show proper reverence for the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus.  Too many come up to receive Holy Communion with dirty hands.  Too many do not say “Amen,” and they do not properly prepare to receive Holy Communion.  The universal manner for receive Holy Communion is, after saying “Amen,” to humbly open one’s mouth to be fed by Christ.  In this country we have received permission to have the option of receiving Communion in our hands, but it MUST be done with reverence.  One is suppose to form an altar with one’s hands, holding them up — at least at chest level — like this [demonstrate the proper way].

Finally, in today’s Gospel reading Jesus says, “Amen, Amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.”

As with ordinary food, our capacity to benefit from the nourishment it contains depends on our physical condition when we eat it.  If we are sick with an illness of the digestive system, we will not fully benefit from a hearty meal.  Likewise, if we are sick spiritually we cannot benefit from receiving the Lord’s Body and Blood.  To be spiritually healthy means that we come to the Lord’s Table with a CONTRITE heart.  We should come to receive the Eucharist with the words of the Centurion still on our lips, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you….”  We should approach Holy Communion seeking from God not a reward, but rather His mercy.

The Eucharist has an unlimited capacity to give nourishment; however our capacity to receive nourishment from the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood is limited by our consciousness of our need, by our sorrow for our sins, and by our longing for God’s healing and strengthening love.

“These are the three conditions imposed by the Lord, who gives us the Eucharist, upon our eating of it.  We must receive this heavenly bread continually, conscious of our permanent dependence on God; corporately, rejoicing in our fellowship with all who share this sacred meal with us; and contritely, acknowledging our unworthiness and seeking God’s loving mercy” (J.J. Hughes, Proclaiming the Good News: Homilies for the ‘A’ Cycle, Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., p. 97).

If we fulfill these three conditions for worthy reception of Holy Communion, then the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel are fulfilled; “whoever eats this bread will live forever.”