Word to the Wise
Sunday, June 6, 2010 - Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
[Genesis 14:18-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Luke 9:11b-17]I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after super, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
The Church celebrates today the most important and central liturgical expression of our faith in Christ - the Eucharist. To be more precise, we celebrate what Jesus asked us to do in remembrance of him. The fact that we celebrate the Eucharist every day except Good Friday can mean that this important mystery can become "routine" and taken from granted. This feast day calls our attention to this great gift of Christ's true presence in our midst in a unique way: in the bread and wine consecrated by the action of the Holy Spirit through the offering by the priest and the community. Although Christ is truly present in the gathering of the community, the proclamation of his word, and the person of the priest acting in the name of Christ, this presence is unique in the consecrated bread and wine, which our faith proclaims to be his body and blood. This is not some mandated nostalgia nor ritual cannibalism. This is the way in which Christ fulfills his promise to be with us always! The word, "eucharist," means to give thanks. Today we give thanks in an intentional and special way! Catholics commonly refer to the reception of the eucharistic bread and wine as "going to communion." Unfortunately, our secular consumerist culture can slip into this sacred act and we view this "communion" as simply receiving something as a reward for being present! (As a pastor it is distressing to me to see gum chewing coming up the communion line!) The sacredness of what is received, emphasized by the importance (in the Western Church) of the tabernacle, can be easily lost in the cultural competition of casualness and other events that happen just before or after the gathering of the assembly. We know well what has "happened to Sunday" in our land. The true meaning of "communion" refers not only to our personal relationship with Christ, but should also refer to our relationship to our fellow Christians!! The Lord himself has told us that we should be reconciled with one another before we come to make our offering! [Matt. 5:23-24] Traditionally, the feast of Corpus Christi is celebrated with a procession in which the Blessed Sacrament is carried and adored at three different "stations" along the way. I am presently at a monastery of cloistered Dominican nuns in Farmington Hills, MI, which is dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament. We will process within the convent grounds and also, in a separate ceremony, outside the convent. Our own experience should teach us that there is nothing like having a close friend physically present to us. The Lord has wisely and profoundly provided for his presence to us through the celebration of the Eucharist. Today we can be especially grateful for that gift of presence in his Body and Blood. What St. Paul proclaims in the quote above, is what we proclaim today! AMEN
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