The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)

Sollemnitas Corpus Christi
19 June 2022

This weekend we have the gift of the observance of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, placing our focus on giving thanks to God for that distinct aspect of our Catholic faith received from Christ and the Apostles, by which we profess belief that the Lord desires to remain with us in such a way that he is truly with us in his Real Presence, and that he nourishes us by giving himself to us in the Holy Eucharist.  It is our catholic faith that the bread and wine at a Catholic Mass are transformed in their substance by the power of God so that they become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of the Lord.

A very important yet simple lesson about Eucharistic practice can be learned by observing the pattern of how a person is prepared to receive Holy Communion the first time.  When we prepare to receive Holy Communion for the first time we must be healed of the sins that separate us from communion with the Lord.  In other words, it is just plain logic that if we are not living a communion with the Lord then we are not able or eligible to receive Holy Communion.  We live in communion with the Lord in three primary, critical ways that the Church has identified since ancient times: (1) by first entering life with him by baptism, (2) by sharing a communion of faith in our acceptance of Catholic doctrine, and (3) by maintaining a communion with the Lord in our moral life by the observance of his commands and the rejection of sin.  This pattern of preparation for Holy Communion is easily seen in about the second grade.  In that momentous year for a young catholic soul, children are prepared for their First Holy Communion.  But before that, they make their first confession so that, being healed of sin, their reception of Holy Communion may carry the full sign value of first living a communion with the Lord by their moral life.  This pattern teaches all of us something that needs to be recalled: the healing of sin and the reception of Holy Communion go together and are intricately tied to one another.  This pattern does not change for us as we age and get further and further away from the day of our First Holy Communion.  We are always called to examine ourselves and so to live in such a way that grave sin does not impede our communion with the Lord and our eligibility to receive Holy Communion.  Thus, the regular practice of confession and our repentance of sin is critical to our reverence for the Lord’s Real Presence and our participation in Holy Communion.

So many examples in history teach us the truth of our faith in the Holy Eucharist and our necessary practice regarding it.  St. Paul, in First Corinthians, remarks that a communicant should examine himself carefully and that to take Holy Communion in an unworthy manner is to profane, not mere bread, but the Body of the Lord.  He goes on to say that to take Holy Communion unworthily is to bring judgment upon oneself (cf. 1 Cor. 11:27-30).  St. Justin, martyred by the Roman Empire in about the year 165, wrote to explain the practice of the early Catholics and reveals the harmony of faith received from St. Paul and still held today.  Namely, St. Justin indicates that reception of Holy Communion is not simply open to all, but requires that one first enter and maintain a communion of sacramental practice, a communion of accepting doctrine, and a communion of one’s moral life.  No one outside of that, he says, may gather with Christians or receive the Eucharist.  Notice how this “closed communion,” as it is often called, applies to non-catholics and also Catholics alike.  It applies equally to anyone whose communion with the Lord is not first established by those important measures: sacramental communion by baptism, communion of doctrine with the teaching of Christ and his Church, and communion of moral life.  St. Cyprian, who died in about the year 258, writes similarly.  In his treatise on the Lord’s Prayer he writes the following, “Now, we who live in Christ and receive his eucharist, the food of salvation, ask for this bread to be given us every day.  Otherwise we may be forced to abstain from this communion because of some serious sin.  In this way we shall be separated from the body of Christ…” (Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings, Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, vol.3, p.371-372).

Keeping in mind our authentic faith about the Holy Eucharist and what is required to receive it, listen to what St. Thomas Aquinas wrote in a prayer of thanksgiving to be said after Holy Mass.  He wrote, “I pray that this Holy Communion may not be for me an offense to be punished, but a saving plea for forgiveness.”  If the Holy Eucharist were only bread and if it did not require that one first maintain a proper moral life, those would be strange words, right?  How would Holy Communion be an offense to be punished?  Well, if it were taken unworthily, that’s how.  Therefore, the debate about public figures at odds with Church teaching and practice being told they cannot receive Holy Communion is not a mean injustice or some new idea by a bishop.  It is completely consistent with our faith in what the Holy Eucharist actually is.  And the same applies to us.  The ways in which we are not prepared to receive Holy Communion may not be as publicly known as someone like a politician, but notice that we must self-police and take ourselves to confession as part of our preparation to commune with the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.  The pattern of being healed of serious sin always precedes our reception of Holy Communion.

Finally, I want to say some words about how we adopt more traditional practices of worship at this parish.  Surveys over the past decades will show that an alarming number of self-described Catholics do not hold authentic Catholic doctrine on the Holy Eucharist.  They will often erroneously describe the Holy Eucharist as mere bread and wine, or as a symbol of Jesus, or a representation of his body and blood.  I can’t explain to you all the reasons why so many Catholics have lost faith in the Holy Eucharist.  But I do believe that one key reason, often overlooked, is the manner in which the Mass itself is often conducted.  Over the past decades, along with some positive options and possibilities for how the Mass is celebrated, there have also been many abuses that have crept in, along with practices in some places that are novelties not called for by the Church.  The way the Mass is celebrated – how we pray – impacts our faith.  It can impact our faith positively and negatively.  Since authentic faith in the Holy Eucharist has lessened over these more recent decades, it seems to me that recapturing those legitimate options of past decades when faith was stronger is one answer to lacking faith.  Let’s examine this principle with something other than the Mass.  Think of the most important event of your life, maybe your wedding day.  Don’t we expect the bride and groom to be the center of focus?  Would it change things if they were pushed off to the side and rarely acknowledged?  Of course, it would.  Would it be your dream to celebrate your wedding with paper plates for your reception?  Probably not.  Would the reception “feel” differently with paper plates versus real plates?  Would guests dress and behave differently if they knew the event was disposable versus something like a sit-down banquet?  You bet.  Those are simple examples to illustrate that how we observe or celebrate something impacts what we think about it.  The same is true here (in the sanctuary at Holy Mass).  That’s why I think recapturing traditional practices like quiet prayer, solemn worship, folded hands, the posture of the priest and the people facing the Lord together instead of standing on opposite sides of the altar looking at each other, appropriate sacred music, communion patens, and emphasizing reception of Holy Communion on the tongue are all important things for communicating the truth of the faith we gather to proclaim.  These are not trivial or incidental matters.  Casual practice results in casual attitudes which results in casual faith.  All this impacts us.  It is my hope that in our own little corner of the Church we are doing everything we can to communicate in every gesture here that we believe the Lord is truly present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist.  Formed in proper catholic faith by worship here, may we go out to share with others that the Lord is in our midst and that here we can truly behold the Lamb of God!