Solemnity of Corpus Christi
“…the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows….From the liturgy, therefore, and especially from the Eucharist, as from a font, grace is poured forth upon us; and the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God, to which all other activities of the Church are directed as toward their end, is achieved in the most efficacious way possible.”
So, this is the source, the beginning, of my celebration of the Extraordinary Form, but what we celebrate today is also the goal for all of our lives, going to heaven where God is eternally worshipped.
I also have to say that this Mass is special to me as I’m a member of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Dominic, the Third Order Dominicans for priests, and this Mass was composed by St. Thomas Aquinas, to whom I have a special devotion. So certainly a special day for me to begin this new part of my priestly life!
I would hazard that many here, if not most here, already understand that we believe that, by the ministry of the priest and the working of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ. And if you didn’t, now you do. Every time we come to Mass we get to participate in a miracle that God works for us. Transubstantiation, the changing of the bread and the wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, is nothing less than a miracle. How often do we ask the Lord in our lives if we can see a miracle, and yet we get to see one at least every Sunday!
But that miracle, like all of our Lord’s miracles, are not meant as a stupendous event that is supposed to wow the crowd and then fizzle away. It is meant to help us believe more, and then, believing, to share the good news that we have received, and cooperate in the transformation of the world by God. Our Gospel today from John, chapter 6, is the middle of the Bread of Life Discourse, that started with the multiplication of the loaves and fish. Jesus did a great miracle for the people, but the people got stuck on simply being awed by the miracle, and did not follow what our Lord was intending to instruct them, that He is the Bread of Life, and if we want to have eternal life, then we need to eat of Him, and then be sent by the Father just as Christ was. In fact, after our Lord revealed the Eucharist to the people, most disciples walked away because they found His teaching too difficult. I’m hoping my teaching doesn’t have the same effect!
Yes, we see the miracle of the Eucharist, but Christ also wants us to be sent by the Father, just as He was, to share the good news that eternal life is possible for us who are connected and transformed by Him. Christ also wants us to cooperate with Him to transform the world from something ordinary, like bread and wine, into something extraordinary, like the Body and Blood of Christ, the “supersubstantial bread,” as the Greek version of the Our Father literally says.
Part of that witness we will provide tonight as we walk in procession and bear witness to our faith in the Eucharist. And that public witness is so important! But that witness needs to continue in what one chart I read called, “The Mass During the Day.” If you have a hand missal, you notice that the first part of the Mass is the “Mass of the Catechumens,” Mass for those who are not initiated into our Catholic faith. Starting with the offertory, we begin the “Mass of the Faithful,” the Mass that is for those who have been baptized into Jesus’ Death and Resurrection. Then, beginning with the dismissal, we have the “Conclusion of the Mass.” But, in this “Mass During the Day,” we utilize the graces we receive from our Eucharistic Lord to be a good husband or wife, father or mother, priest, deacon, or religious. We continue the Lord’s ministry to proclaim the truth, to heal, to reveal God’s love with the people we encounter so that others know what it means to be a Catholic and are drawn by our witness to draw closer to Jesus.
Just as today is a beginning for me, may the Eucharist always be a beginning for all of us, a beginning of new opportunities to witness a miracle, to be transformed in our own lives, and to continue the mission of our Eucharistic Lord, sent by the Father to give the world the life of the Father, which makes us ready for heaven, where Father, Son, and Holy Spirit live and reign, world without end. Amen.
