19th Sunday Year B

What do we think of when we say Corpus Christie? Is it the same as when we say or hear – The Body and Blood of Christ? For me, the immediate image is Holy Communion. The Blessed Sacrament in all of its simplicity, its complexity and its glory.

I often wonder what people are thinking about when they are offered Holy Communion; when the minister says to them, “The Body of Christ”, do they think about what he is saying to them, the full impact of that phrase or statement?

In the pre-Covid-days when we had regular Eucharistic Ministers coming forward to help at the altar and with visits to the sick and elderly at their homes or in Care Homes, I used to help with some of their training. I used to stress the importance of each Minister thinking long and hard about the sacrament and about the miracle of the transformation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

This was important to them and to the people they would be giving the sacred hosts to. Because when they said those words, “The Body of Christ” or “The Blood of Christ”, they were in fact proclaiming a holy truth, “I believe that the bread and wine has been transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and I am now offering this to you.”

And we in turn, the people who were receiving Holy Communion affirmed our belief and our understanding of and with this miracle when we issued our, “Amen”. This simple word offering up our own proclamation, “I believe that this miracle has taken place and I rejoice in receiving the Body of Christ.”

Our receiving Holy Communion should not be an automatic or robotic act. It should be a carefully considered and  fully celebrated action, one that fills and fulfils our day at least, our day’s food for our day’s journey. Our spiritual nourishment that sustains us throughout our life’s journey.

When we hear about the feeding of the five thousand and we hear about the initiation of the holy mass we have Jesus stepping up to fulfil a need that had been identified. First within the crowd, the need for them to be fed, nourished and looked after and the intertwined need for the disciples to take responsibility for the welfare of the crowd, to look after them and care for them and not simply dismiss them and send them on their way. Jesus took the loaves and fishes and blessed them and then broke them up and gave them out. He fulfilled the crowd’s need to be fed and nourished and showed the disciples their duty of care and responsibility to all that they teach and look after.

In the second instant we hear about the instigation of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper. We can see and hear that Jesus identified within and amongst his disciples a need for an ongoing support, the need for a continuation-link that would uphold them in their times of weakness and fulfil them in their times of need. He took the bread and wine and after blessing them, offered them as Himself and told the disciples that every time they did this same thing, they would have Him in their presence. He met their need for reassurance, for support, for care and He met their need for sustenance: food for their spiritual lives and sustenance for their daily lives and challenges.

This is what our Holy Communion, our Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, is for us. This is what we proclaim our acceptance of when we state our own ‘Amen’ when we come to receive the Blessed Sacrament. This is what we are saying to the world, “Jesus loves me so much that He gave me Himself in the form of bread and wine so that I may be stronger each day and in every way, able to meet life’s challenges and able to show God’s love for me by and through my love for my neighbour.

So when we come down for Holy Communion, stop and think about what you are hearing and about your own personal response.

When we think about the children who made their First Holy Communion last month and our wish and desire for them to return each week, or as often as they can, think about what we want them to feel as well as how we want them to act.

They will copy what we do. They will copy what we show them. They will copy what we say. So we need to say and think and show them that we believe we are receiving the Body and Blood or our Lord saviour, Jesus Christ: our day’s food for our day’s journey. Our life’s nourishment!

Corpus Christie – Amen