Respond, Renew and Re-engaged!

This weekend, we join the entire Church in celebrating the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, traditionally called Corpus Christi. This feast was added to the liturgical calendar in the 11^th century when the Church noticed the declining number of people who were receiving communion. Pope Urban IV, the pope at that time, added this beautiful feast to the calendar in his efforts to encourage people to not only participate in the celebration of the Eucharist, but also to receive communion.

In this feast, the Church reminds us of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Yes, Christ, the Risen Lord, is present in the assembly gathered in the Word. But in a unique way, the Lord is wholly present – body and blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist.

This feast is particularly important these days as we end the pandemic. The feast invites us to renew our commitment, love, and devotion to the celebration and reception of the Eucharist. In our recent parish renewal initiative, I invited everyone to Respond, Renew, and Re-engage. These are critical times for our Church. In the words of the National Eucharistic Revival, “Our world is hurting. We all need healing, yet many of us are separated from the very source of our strength. Jesus Christ invites us to return to the source and summit of our faith in the celebration of the Eucharist.”  We, as Catholic Christians, are now asked to restore our understanding and devotion to this great mystery, the Eucharist.

As a symbol of our solidarity with the Church in the United States and the entire world, I invite you to join us for our parish Eucharistic Procession this weekend immediately following the 9:30 am Sunday Mass. “Theologically, processions remind us that we are pilgrims journeying through this earthly existence to follow Jesus on “the Way” (an early title for the Church). In the Eucharistic processions on Holy Thursday and the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), we publicly proclaim this truth, following the Lord physically even as we pledge anew to do so spiritually. We also give public witness to our acceptance of the Lord’s words, “The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (Jn 6:51). As such, “public processions serve as tools of evangelization within our neighborhoods.” (Msgr. Willian J. King).

Finally, every time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, may we be reminded of the words of the great St. Augustine, “You become what you receive!” Remember the feeding of the multitude. As Matthew writes, “All ate and were filled,” and even after those thousands were fed, the leftovers were gathered in twelve wicker baskets. This is the promise of the Gospel – that as we know ourselves to be taken, blessed, broken, and given, we will become bread for the world. In the Eucharist may we behold what we are, and may we become what we receive.