Summer 2023 Four County Catholic
This is My Body
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi, is celebrated this year on June 11th.
As you know, the Latin term “Corpus Christi” translates into the English words, "Body of Christ.”
Isn’t it interesting that the label ‘Body of Christ’ refers to both the Church and the Eucharist? This is not a mistake, rather it is a beautiful understanding of what unites the people of God to Christ.
Our understanding that the Church is not a building or even a visible organization goes as far back as the writings of Saint Paul. “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body . . . and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:13-27)
What unites us and makes us the people of God is the Eucharist, which is Christ Himself. Christ is to the Church what the soul is to the body.
When the priest holds up the consecrated host, he says, “Behold the Lamb of God.” It is something we can see. What we see with our senses alone is only the appearances of bread and wine.
The Eucharist is not a symbol or a ceremonial liturgy. Jesus did not say, “This resembles My Body.” Rather, He said, “This IS My Body.” We believe that because Christ is God, and God always speaks the truth.
The Eucharist is Christ Himself. Jesus said, “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life.” (Jn 6:51-59)
This passage not only provides us with the significance of the Eucharist, but it also indicates Jesus’ ability to proclaim the truth even when faced with criticism for His words. Instead of backtracking and saying something akin to, “That is not what I meant.” He instead strengthened His public statement about the Eucharist being His Body and Blood by declaring, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you do not have life within you.” (Jn 6:53)
We know that “as a result of this, many of His disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied Him.” (Jn 6:66)
Jesus reinforced this teaching on Holy Thursday at the Institution of the Eucharist and again at what has been referred to as the “Second Mass” on that first Easter Sunday on the road to Emmaus.
Do not be disheartened if you still struggle with understanding Jesus being really and truly present in the Eucharist. Faith is a gift. And much like the disciples journeying on the road to Emmaus, Jesus’ presence may be hidden from you. Pray to have that faith strengthened.
Sometimes, Jesus conceals His presence among us to challenge us to deepen our faith in Him and in His enduring presence among us in both Word and Sacrament. But dear brothers and sisters, once we do recognize Him and encounter the power of His presence, most of all in the Holy Eucharist, we, like those first disciples, are called to go forth and tell others so that they might believe that Jesus is real; that He is alive; that He is truly risen, and that He continues to make Himself, and the redeeming grace He won for us present in so many ways!
Have a blessed and safe summer.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Michael R. Cote
Bishop of Norwich