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The Solemnity of “Corpus Christi”

CORPUS CHRISTI SUNDAY is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. It is told that the Jews were not prepared to accept Jesus’ message about eating His flesh and drinking His blood as condition for true life within and for eternal life. Even now, it is repulsive, if not outrageous. It is a mystery that we cannot fully understand, something we believe and live-in faith.

Jesus’ desire to be united with us and to continue to live in us is the main point of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. The Holy Eucharist is not symbolic; it is a real presence of the Lord in our midst even now. We proclaim this all-time unity with the Lord when we acclaim:” We remember how you loved us through your death (past) and still we celebrate for you are with us here (present), and we believe that we will see you when in your glory Lord (future), yes we remember, we celebrate, we believe!”

May our devotion to the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist lead us to real loving in the world. All our prayers and devotions should make us better and more loving persons. Someone who is a “daily communicant,” one who daily partakes of the Lord’s Body and Blood, must become more and more like the Lord in thought, word and deed. Get real, man you are what you eat goes the saying. Real presence through simple text message? Yes, simple and doable for a very sick and bedridden person who asks only a simple prayer, or an inspirational message is a great help just to feel God’s love and be inspired to live another day despite the constant pain. It really does not take nor cost much to make God’s presence felt.

Real presence through smile? Yes, have a smile for everyone, you can bring God’s presence through your assuring smile.

Real presence in sufferings? God makes us learn His presence in a qualitatively new way whenever we go through any trial. In fact, He is most present to us at such times a mother would be most present to a child who is sick or hurting. Trials lead us closer to God’s heart, and make us realize our dependence on Him, and lead us to trust more in Him. This is a moment for which we can know God in a deeper way, and to love him in a more humble and sincere way. It is in the way of the cross when the journey to God’s heart really begins and takes a new meaning.

Guess what? Being present means being absent at times. Sometimes it is when we are away, when we are incommunicado, when we are not seen, or heard, in a hospital or being in a monastery or even in jail or quarantine that we become present. As the song says: We say it best when we say nothing at all.”

Fr Armando Red