From pastor’s desk on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
The second Sunday after the Solemnity of Pentecost is dedicated to another great mystery of our faith. It is the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, popularly also called the Feast of Corpus Christi, in which we are reminded that our Lord Jesus is truly present with us under the signs of bread and wine. In this feast we emphasize that God is really close to us in the Eucharist. Hence, the Holy Mass should be of the greatest importance to each Catholic believer. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states on this:
The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life." "The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch."
(Catechism, 1324)
We must remember that Holy Mass is not a merely human action, nor it is a nice “fellowship,” but a truly sacred action, during which people are united with God in the most intimate way. It is especially expressed in the reception of the Body and Blood of Christ, which we call a Holy Communion, which we can translate as “a-union-with.”
Consequently, the Church teaches that when we go to Holy Mass it is Jesus Christ Himself, whom we receive and are united to by the means of the species of bread and wine. So the Eucharist is NOT a mere symbol, as many tend to believe! Rather it is an awesome reality of God’s presence among us. For that reason the Eucharist is the central sacrament by which the whole Church lives.
Many people today have a problem with accepting the doctrine of the Real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. I think it is due to very superficial understanding while dealing with the mysteries of faith by and large. In order to comprehend and enter this tremendous mystery, we cannot treat it as a material object, but as a spiritual reality that is as real as the things we see around us. Regarding the Eucharist, we may still see bread and wine, even after the words of the consecration, but it is no longer bread and wine—it is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This truth has been confirmed by God Himself in numerous Eucharistic miracles.
On the practical note, knowing that the Holy Mass is an encounter with the Living Lord, we must prepare ourselves in order to receive the Eucharist worthily. Let us remember THE EUCHARIST IS NOT A COOKIE. It is a mysterium tremendum, an awesome and terrible mystery beyond human comprehension. Thus, we cannot receive Holy Communion with a light heart, we must be prepared, otherwise it becomes sacrilegious or a mockery of our faith. No one can truly appreciate the Eucharist if he or she does not want to repent. For that reason the Church teaches that those who are living in a state of mortal sin should not receive Holy Communion until they are reconciled with the Church in the sacrament of penance. If they do receive it, it is not real communion, for they already have separated themselves from the Church and Christ by committing grave offense against God. Moreover, they offend God gravely by an insolent approach toward this sacred mystery. In other words, they commit the sin of pride, which lies at the basis of all the sins.
Of course one may say that Jesus came to everybody so everybody should have “a right” to receive. It is true, Jesus came to everybody but not everybody was ready to accept Him and then to receive Him even when He was still walking on earth. Only those who repented, that is, accepted all Christ’s teaching, were able to enjoy the graces He bestowed upon them. Notice, that after His resurrection Christ did neither appear to His adversaries nor to anyone who did not believe Him, but only to His disciples. He appeared only to those who believed His word and followed Him to the end.
So if we want to truly enjoy and comprehend the great mystery of the Eucharist let us take seriously what St. Paul wrote to the church in Rome: “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God” (Romans 12:2).
Have blessed week. Fr. Janusz Mocarski, pastor