The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Homily)
June 19, 2022 11:00 am · Sergio Muñoz Fita
This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi. The eyes of the Church today rest in contemplation of that small white Host in which the Eucharistic mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ is made truly present in his body, blood, soul and divinity. She does so with astonishment and amazement, overwhelmed by this unparalleled miracle of God's love. She knows that she does not deserve such a gift, and so she receives it with profound gratitude. Spousal love is a love in the flesh, and here we see it taken to its ultimate consequence: "This is my body, which is given for you". In the Holy Mass, Jesus offers himself to every man: he becomes flesh to come to us, his brethren, who need to eat of eternal life so as not to succumb to our enemy, death.
The Eucharist is also the covenant that God has made with his people. A covenant of love, which comforts us because it assures us that He will be with us, every day, until the end of the world. The Lord does not abandon us, nor is he distant from our weaknesses. He does not watch us from afar, seated on a distant throne, deaf to our most pressing needs. On the contrary, in the Tabernacle he listens to them and always receives them into his care with a love that knows no bounds.
Let us never take the silent presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for granted. How afraid we should be to lose our grateful and ever-surprised gaze on this august Mystery! God has made himself so accessible, so close, so small, that in this way of being with us, he has exposed himself to our lack of sensitivity. In order to be continually at our disposal, the Lord risks remaining alone in the tabernacle. In his desire to be able to draw near to us in order to heal our wounds, He makes himself vulnerable to our forgetfulness and indifference. As St. Teresa of Jesus wrote, in the Eucharist, the King of heaven and earth has hidden himself under the humblest of garments so as to be always at our side. In this way, we can speak with God without being afraid, from You to you. We can, if we are in a state of grace, let Him become one with us so that we may become one with Him.
The Eucharist is the first wonder of the universe. It is the gateway to the Heart of Jesus, the treasure that contains all the riches of God, the secret of true holiness, the food of those on pilgrimage to the final homeland of heaven, the seed of immortality that we must receive so as not to die forever.
I conclude by repeating the message I shared with the parish on Holy Thursday. I entrust the Eucharist to all of you so that, at St. Anne, the Lord may always be treated with affection, tenderness and gentleness. I remember one of our altar boys suffering because some people did not receive Holy Communion well, at least externally. He said to me with sadness and with the innocence of a child who loves Jesus, "Don't they know that God is there? How can they approach the Body of Christ without reverence? Where is their faith?” This child was right: if we had true faith, living faith, we would receive Christ in Holy Communion in a very different way.
Dear brethren, devotion and piety are the proper response to the presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. We can learn it from the saints and from many people in our community, for in our parish there are souls who have a wonderful love for the Eucharist, from whom we can all learn. They are our adorers, who keep watch while we sleep; they are our altar servers, who strive to give Jesus the service he deserves; they are the people who approach Holy Communion, every day, as if it were the first and last time they will receive the Lord sacramentally; They are the young people in love with Christ who take time each day to visit their best friend in the chapel; they are the families who participate in Holy Mass united by their faith and love for the Lord in the Sacrament of the Altar; they are those whose life revolves around the Tabernacle, and therefore rest their hearts only in the Eucharist.
I entrust to all of you the care of Christ in this Sacrament. It is everyone's task. Make Christ feel always loved in St. Anne. If you protect Jesus, the Lord will bless and protect you and your families. Be the friends that Jesus seeks and needs.
I conclude my words by turning to that Jesus who is looking at us and loving us from the tabernacle. Lord, forgive us our infidelities and lack of love for you in the Blessed Sacrament. Give us the grace to fall in love with you in the marvelous Mystery of the Eucharist. May our passions find peace in your Body. May we quench our thirst for love in your Blood. In your soul, may we always find rest, refuge, and consolation, and in your divinity, true and complete happiness. And so, living through You, with You and in You, as we say in the doxology of each Holy Mass, may we reach the final goal in the eternal joys of Paradise.