Happy Corpus Christi!
The last two precious gifts given to us by Jesus are the Holy Eucharist as our spiritual food on Holy Thursday and Jesus’ mother Mary as our spiritual mother on Good Friday. Corpus Christi reminds us of the abiding presence of our loving God as Emmanuel (God with us), which is celebrated yearly in order that we may give collective thanks to our Lord for his living with us in the Eucharist. The feast also gives us an occasion to learn more about the importance and value of the “Real Presence” of Jesus in the Eucharist, so that we may appreciate the Sacrament better and maximum benefit from receiving Communion.
We believe in the “Real Presence” of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist because: Jesus promised it after miraculously feeding the 5000, Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist during His Last Supper, and Jesus commanded his disciples to repeat it in His memory.
“Nothing is impossible for God” (Lk 1:37)
We explain the real presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist by: “transubstantiation” which means that the substance of the consecrated bread and wine is changed to the substance of the risen, living Jesus in His glorified Body and Blood by the action of the Holy Spirit, while the accidents (like color, shape, taste, etc. of the consecrated bread and wine), remain un-changed. Only through the eyes of faith we can see Jesus’ presence under the appearance of the consecrated bread.
But Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist both as a sacramental banquet and a sacrificial offering. As a Sacrament, the Eucharist is a visible sign that gives us God’s grace and God’s life and, as a Communal Meal, The Eucharist unites us and nourishes our souls. As a sacrifice the Eucharistic celebration is a re-presentation or re-enactment of Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary, completed in His Resurrection. As Church, we offer Jesus’ sacrifice to God the Father for the remission of our sins, using signs and symbols.
Let us appreciate the “Real Presence” of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, by receiving Him with true repentance for our sins, due preparation, and deep reverence.
Let us be Christ-bearers and conveyers: By receiving Holy Communion, we become Christ-bearers as Mary was, with the duty of conveying Christ to others at home and in the workplace, through love, mercy, forgiveness, and humble and sacrificial service.
Let us offer our lives on the altar along with Jesus’ sacrifice, asking pardon for our sins, expressing gratitude for the blessings we have received, and presenting our needs and petitions at the altar.
“O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, all praises and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.”