Homily
for Corpus Christi Sunday
June
6, 2021
Eucharistic
Coherence
Back in the eleventh century in
Trani, Italy, a non-Christian woman was debating her Christian neighbors about
the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The nonbeliever scoffed at the
idea, and claimed that it was just a piece of bread. To prove it to her
friends, she decided to secretly steal a Eucharistic host and destroy it, to
show that it was nothing more than bread.
The following Sunday, she attended
Mass and received Communion, but immediately took the Eucharist from her mouth
and hid it in a handkerchief. She took the Lord home and recklessly tossed Him
into pan of boiling oil, intending to fry It to make a mockery of it before her
friends. But when the Eucharistic Lord touched the hot oil, it began to bleed
most severely, so much so that the blood overflowed the pan and began flowing
across the floor. The woman was horrified, and her friends heard her screaming
and came to see the miracle. The local bishop was alerted, and came and
respectfully returned the Host to the church. As you can imagine, the woman was
instantly converted. To this day, you can still see the frying pan, and the
house has since become a chapel. In the face of nonbelief, Jesus Christ showed
His true presence to this sinful woman in a most miraculous way!
As St. John Vianney said, “There is
nothing so great as the Eucharist. If God had something more precious, He would
have given it to us.” But as it is, He gave us Himself. Not just to look at or
touch, but to consume, so that our union with God would be physical as well as
spiritual. But for this incredible gift of Christ’s True Presence to bear fruit
in our lives, it isn’t enough to receive Him – we must receive Him with faith
and with a clean conscience.
Our Scriptures today bear witness to the
connection between the Eucharist, faith, and a pure heart. In the first
reading, God has just led the Israelites out of the Promised Land, and as they
wait at the base of Mount Sinai, Moses receives the Ten Commandments. Coming
down the mountain, he presents these commandments to the people, and as our
first reading puts it, “They all answered with one voice: we will do everything
the Lord has told us to do!” So God swears a covenant by sacrifice, and the
people promise obedience to His commands.
But, alas, despite their good
intentions, they couldn’t keep the commandments. So God ultimately sent His Son
to forgive us for our sins, as we hear in the second reading. This forgiveness
comes through sacrifice – the ultimate sacrifice of Christ’s death on the
Cross.
And how do we participate in
His Sacrifice? Through the Eucharist. Jesus makes that explicit in the Gospel –
this Eucharist we receive is the same Body that was offered on the Cross, the
same Blood that was shed upon that tree. But notice something interesting –
Jesus does not say that His Blood would be shed “for all” but “for many”. Why?
Because the forgiveness and salvation that Jesus offers requires a response:
repentance and faith.
So let’s put these pieces together
and apply them to the Eucharist. Our Church teaches that the Eucharist forgives
all venial sins. But the Eucharist cannot be received with mortal sins on our
soul, because we must be spiritually close with Christ in order to receive Him
sacramentally. Receiving Communion
means that we are “in communion” with Him in our souls.
Right now there is a debate going on
in the Catholic Church in America – should pro-choice politicians receive the
Eucharist? The question is one of “Eucharistic coherence” – in other words, if
Communion is an outward sign of us living our lives in union with
Christ, then those who have chosen to live their lives in opposition to Christ
or some of His fundamental teachings would be hypocritical to receive Him on
Sunday and then deny Him at work on Monday. But this is not just a question for
politicians – it is a question for all of us.
St. Paul himself speaks of this in 1
Corinthians 11, when he says that “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks
the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty [of profaning] the
body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of
the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without
discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” St. Paul requires two
things: faith in the Real Presence (we must “discern the Body”) and a clean
conscience (an upright life).
If a person is sick to their
stomach, they have to eat only bland food like rice and applesauce. To eat
something strong like blueberries or cayenne pepper might harm them, even
though those foods are nutritious for healthy people. In the same way, if a
person is spiritually sick through mortal sin, receiving the Eucharist would
cause more harm than good, as it would be a sin of sacrilege to receive Him.
Do you wish for the Eucharist to
bear fruit in your life? We must make sure that our lives have “Eucharistic
coherence”. Do we approach the altar with a conscience first cleansed in
Confession? Do we receive Him on Sunday only to deny Him on Monday? If we wish
for the Eucharist to be a profound and true union with God, it must be
accompanied with faith in His Real Presence and repentance from our sins.
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