This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, often referred to as “Corpus Christi.”The Eucharist is our greatest Treasure, and is at the center of our life as Catholics. Jesus tells us clearly, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” (Jn. 6:53-54) We believe that when Jesus said “This is my body….This is my blood” during the Last Supper, he meant what he said. And he gave his Apostles and their successors the power to “do this,” that is, to continue to transform bread and wine into his living Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
We call the transformation of bread and wine into the living presence of Christ transubstantiation. The bread and wine keep their outward appearance in every respect, but the reality—the substance—is changed. After the Consecration of the Mass, they are no longer bread and wine. They are the living presence of Jesus Christ. To be sure, this is beyond our power to understand completely, although we know that with God all things are possible.
In the United States we are beginning a three-year National Eucharistic Revival: a “grassroots revival of devotion and belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.” Our Bishops state that “the National Eucharistic Revival aims to be a movement that renews the Church by enkindling a living relationship with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.” During these three years, let’s do what we can to increase the faith and devotion that the Bishops are encouraging. For more information, please visit https://rcbo.org/revival/ and follow the links. This is a movement we can all get into! Let’s always recognize the Eucharist as the Source and Summit of Christian life!
Gratefully yours,
