Homilies

SOLEMNITY OF THE CORPUS CHRISTI: OUR COMMUNION WITH THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST

IN ALMOST ALL parishes in the country, an annual procession is being held in honor of the Body and Blood of Christ. Historically, this feast was celebrated on Thursday after Trinity Sunday and until now there are dioceses which follow this tradition to reflect the Holy Thursday celebration, that is, the institution of the Holy Eucharist. However, in the Philippines, this great feast is celebrated on a Sunday, that is, after the Trinity Sunday. Let us try to reflect on the importance of this feast.

First, in the opening prayer for the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, the priest-presider leads and begs God to “experience the salvation [Jesus Christ] won for us and the peace of the kingdom.”  We pray with a desire to be in communion with the body and blood of Christ in order to attain true salvation and true peace.  While many evangelical preachers cried for salvation and peace, we Catholics and some Protestant churches turn to Christ in the Eucharist as our concrete source for physical and spiritual nourishment, our salvation and peace.  This reminds me of the beautiful image we often see in many churches: the image of a pelican wounding herself in order to feed her young.  Perhaps we can also remember the life of Bro. Richie Fernando, the Jesuit brother who died in Cambodia.  Bro. Richie covered the grenade with his body in order to save the people he serves.  His life continues to inspire me.

Second, the gospel reading continues to inspire and to move us toward a more significant communion, a fuller and livelier communion with Jesus.  Jesus who said, “whoever eats this bread will live forever” and “whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,” is himself the eternal life.  He gradually unveiled this to us during his passion, death and resurrection.  We no longer have to doubt.  “Doubt no more!”  These are the words of Jesus to Thomas after his resurrection and for us too.  When we ask to receive salvation from Jesus, we are actually invited to relive what he did for us. I remember when my sister was diagnosed with leukemia.  Since the day she told me, I never stopped worrying.  I knew her end was in the offing.  Thus, I kept on praying, desperately asking God to give her more life, more years to live.  I even asked for the intercessions of the saints – St. Therese, Padre Pio and even Mother Theresa, and John Paul II. My only prayer was that God would heal her from her sickness.  To give her communion never struck in my mind.  Maybe I was too preoccupied with the healing miracles that I heard.  But never did I realize that Jesus’ flesh and blood has the power to give eternal life.  The turning of the bread and wine into Jesus’ body and blood is the greatest miracle that ever happened to mankind: eternal life for those who eat His flesh and drink His blood.

Third, the second reading tells us something about communion. Paul said to the Corinthians, “The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” Hence, the communion of the body and blood is seen as a principle of unity. We can demonstrate our unity with each other, as the body of Christ, by reception of the body of Christ. So, we are entering into the world of meaning, that is, the meaning of partaking of the one loaf. This could be the source of hope for us Christians. It is a scandal to see how we are divided, and some denominations do not have the Eucharistic celebrations as we, Catholics do. We are hoping for the time that we, Catholics and Christians, will partake of the one bread. And there, we would experience the fullness of unity and communion as the Body of Christ.

Hence, the body and blood of Christ is not only a source of personal nourishment, but it is also a nourishment of the community to maintain its unity. This is the meaning of the celebration of the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ.

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