Today we celebrate the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

The Feast of Corpus Christi  also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is a Catholic liturgical solemnity celebrating the Real Presence of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the elements of the Eucharist.

The feast of Corpus Christi was proposed by St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church to Pope Urban IV, in order to create a feast focused solely on the Holy Eucharist, emphasizing the joy of the Eucharist being the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.

Here are some of St. Francis de Sales thoughts on the Eucharist.

 So that we might intimately be united with God’s goodness, Jesus instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist. Our Saviour desires us to be united to Him by a union so strong and close that we are marked with His features. In receiving the Eucharist our Lord carries us and does in us works altogether performed by Him. Whoever turns to the Eucharist frequently, and in a holy manner, builds up his or her spiritual health. If fruits that are tender and most subject to decay, such as strawberries, can easily be preserved a whole year in sugar and honey, it is no wonder that our hearts, no matter how frail and weak, are preserved by the spiritually real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Two kinds of people ought to receive the Eucharist often: the strong and the weak. The strong, lest they become weak, and the weak that they may become strong. The sick that they may be cured, those in good health, that they may not fall sick. Persons who are involved in many worldly affairs need it. Those who labour much and are heavily burdened need to eat solid food and often.  In the Eucharist our Saviour advances, strengthens and nourishes us with His self-giving love.

Jesus is our food. Whatever emptiness may be felt in our lives, he alone can fill it. If a vacuum exists anywhere in need of justice, peace, charity, compassion, understanding, forgiveness, or simple respect, Jesus is the missing element. The living bread from Heaven is what sustains hope on this planet. God is with us. God’s life is offered to us. The unity of humanity and divinity expressed in Jesus is the model of the oneness we seek as Church. It’s a high standard, but only high standards are worth pursuing.

When we speak of Jesus as food, we naturally tend to focus on the elements of our Eucharist. The unity of God-with-us begins there, but it can’t end at the Lord’s Table. If God-life is in us, then it must be knit to our blood and bone, to our actions and decisions, to our yearnings and relationships. Unity means unity. There can be no corner of our lives we reserve for selfish motives and bitter resentments. If we come to this Table, we’re asking for unqualified unity with the life of God. Is this really what we want?

LET US PRAY… Thank you, Holy Spirit, for the fruits you bear in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Help us to encourage others by the exercise of these fruits, so that this world might see your kingdom coming, moment by moment. Amen.