Unity in Him

Homily for the Feast of Corpus Christi

By Deacon Thomas Stephenson

June 18, 2017

Following our celebration last week of the infinite mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, today we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This feast prompts us to focus on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and to refresh our understanding of that Presence.

Jesus is present to us in different ways. He is present in His Word, in the bible and in the readings we hear at Mass. He is present in the Sacraments. He is present when we gather together to pray. He is present in the Church, meaning the Church made up of all of us, the Body of Christ, with Him as the Head and all of us as the members. More on that later.

But it is as the Eucharist that He is most completely, physically present. The unconsecrated host, which at the beginning of Mass is nothing more than a small piece of unleavened bread, at the consecration becomes the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus. We say that Jesus is in the host, but that is because it is an easier way to express it. Really, Jesus is not in the host – the consecrated host is Jesus.

We have received communion so many times that we may take it for granted, it may have become commonplace for us. We should be in awe every single time we receive. As Jesus tells us in the Gospel, this bread is truly His flesh, which He is giving for the life of the world. Jesus is not in the bread and the wine; the bread and wine are Jesus. As such, He is as present as if He were standing here in front of us. This is something that we need to believe – but that we should not expect to ever completely understand.

Most of time in this parish, we offer communion as both the bread, the body of Christ, and the wine, the Precious Blood of Christ. But Christ is fully present as either one. He is completely present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, as the host. He is completely present in the cup, as His Precious Blood. Although the Eucharist is not just a symbol, there is a certain measure of symbolism involved when receiving both. It helps make the mystery a little more understandable to us. But if we only receive one or the other, we are not missing anything; if we receive both, we are not receiving more of Jesus. No matter which way we receive, we always receive the complete presence of Christ. That complete presence exists in the smallest fragment of a host or the tiniest drop of the Precious Blood.

It also exists completely in each and every host received by those here at Mass. Which means that Christ simultaneously exists in each and every one of us who have received Him. We become in communion with each other. There is a connection among all communicants, and I would suggest that there is a connection to some degree even to those who are here but for one reason or another are unable to receive communion. Being here as one, praying as one, receiving Jesus as one, we form the Body of Christ, with Him as the head. As Saint Paul tells us in the second reading, “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread”.

Today, we begin to implement a change to our posture during communion. Throughout the Mass, we have different postures at different times. Without listing every example, we stand to pray and to listen to the Gospel, we sit to listen to the readings and to meditate, we kneel for the Eucharistic Prayer until after the consecration. When we stand, sit, or kneel, (health permitting), we do it together – we are unified in our posture. One exception to this has been during communion. Some people are sitting, until they get up to get into line. Some are standing, as they walk up to receive and walk back to the pew. And some are kneeling, praying and meditating after receiving. The change is now for all of us to remain standing until the last person has received communion and returned to their pew. At that point, the ministers of Holy Communion will return to the sanctuary, the choir will stop, and people may then sit or kneel. There will be a brief period of silence until Father stands and says “Let us pray” leading into the Prayer after Communion.

This change in posture will probably feel a little awkward at first, and it is understood that some of us may find this to be irreverent. Once we have received communion, we have an intensely intimate time with God. But this time is not only personal, it is communal as well – we are in communion with all of the others present, and indeed with all of the Church. It is not one or the other, communal or personal – it is both.

With this change, the time period for personal prayer and reflection is considerably shortened. Therefore, I would ask that everyone please, please, have some respect for those who may want to pray after Mass, and take extended conversations downstairs or outside. This does not mean silence in the church after Mass. It has been said before that one of the wonderful things about our parish is the feeling of community, that so many people speak with each other and visit after Mass. It’s great to exchange greetings and catch up with each other on what’s happening in our lives. So please, continue to do so – but lengthy discussions are better held downstairs or outside. Once the exit hymn has finished, we seem to forget that we are still in the Lord’s presence, and that some of our brothers and sisters may be trying to meditate, pray, and contemplate the mysteries we have experienced. We can maintain our spirit of community while being considerate of the needs of others.

Jesus tells us; “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day”. Let us give thanks to the Lord for the gift of Himself in the Eucharist, and pray that we will always be mindful of His Real Presence when we receive communion, so that we, too, may have eternal life.