Corpus Christi Homily - June 11, 2023

 

Corpus Christi Homily

June 11, 2023

Do You Believe?

 

            A tightrope walker was once performing a stunt where he walked across a tightrope over Niagara Falls. Before beginning, he asked the crowd, “Do you believe that I can do this?” They all enthusiastically shouted, “Yes!” So, he walked across and back, to the wonderment of the people. He then lifted a wheelbarrow onto the tightrope and asked the crowd, “Do you believe that I can wheel this wheelbarrow across Niagara Falls?” They unanimously shouted, “Yes!” And he replied, “Great – now who wants to get into the wheelbarrow?”

            Faith is not just an intellectual exercise – faith means living as if all this is true. One of the most challenging things to believe is the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, because it goes against what we experience with our senses. But we believe it, because Christ Himself said it, and the Church has always believed it since the very beginning, and because Eucharistic miracles have revealed His True Presence to us. So, if we believe that He is here in the Eucharist, how must this truth impact our life?

            I’d like to point our four elements of a Eucharistic life, as we live what we believe about His True Presence. Conveniently, all four elements begin with P, so we can remember them all.

            First: Presence. As Woody Allen once said, 80% of life is just showing up. This is especially true with the Mass. While we can encounter God anywhere, it is only here at Mass that He is really, truly, substantially present. During Covid we all learned that there is no substitute for actually being with someone, live and in-person. During the lockdown someone suggested that I run youth group via Zoom…oh, Lord, please no! There is something deeply satisfying to the soul to be in the presence of others.

            Likewise, praying at home or on the golf course or even watching Mass online falls far short of the deep spiritual hunger to have a real, physical, tangible encounter with the Living God in His house. That’s why Our Lord gave us the commandment to “keep holy the Lord’s Day” – because He knows we need it!

            One might say that life is too busy, we need to be reasonable and practical and therefore sometimes we can’t make it to Mass. But God asks us to live by faith, which transcends the practical and the reasonable. Consider the context of today’s first reading. The Israelites, on the journey through the desert, were concerned about their lack of food – so they made the practical, logical decision to return to Egypt, where they knew there would be abundant food.

            Meanwhile, Moses is begging them to keep moving through the desert. “If you only trust God, He will show His faithfulness!” And, lo and behold, God gave them miraculous food in the desert – the food of manna, which was provided every single day for forty years. God then makes the point to the Israelites, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” In other words, one may think we have no time for Mass because we need to work, we need to take our kids to sports games, we need to rest…but it is in God that we find our deepest fulfillment, and when we give Him the first fruits of our time and energy every Sunday, He will give us all other things to bring us joy.

            Second: Passion. Are we enthusiastic about the Eucharist? Do we look forward to going to Mass? Or is it something we do out of obligation, even dreading it? Once in seminary I was complaining to a brother seminarian, “Oh yeah, I have to go to Mass later today.” He responded, “You don’t have to go to Mass, you get to go to Mass – it is a privilege!” In many sacristies (where the priest vests for Mass), there is a sign: Priest of God, Celebrate this Mass as if it were your first Mass, your last Mass, your only Mass. A sobering thought – if this were your last Mass before you died and met Jesus Christ, how would you attend it?

            In Ireland, you will often find two gigantic rocks, sometimes 6’ tall or more, standing upright with a small 6” slit in between them. These were called “Mass rocks” because during the time that the English were oppressing the Catholics, Mass was outlawed and had to be celebrated in secret. Priests used to celebrate Mass on rock altars, at night, behind the “wall” of the Mass rocks, and Holy Communion was passed to the communicants through the gap between the rocks, so that the priest could stay hidden. If people didn’t know the identity of the priest, they wouldn’t betray his identity if they were questioned or tortured. Despite the danger, the Irish treasured these beautiful, daring Masses. Even to this day, there are countries where attending Mass is punishable by death – and yet people still go, because they realize this is far more than an obligation, but an encounter with our Eucharistic Lord.

            Do we realize this is the Banquet Feast of the Lamb of God, a foretaste of Heaven, a front-row seat to the Sacrifice of Calvary, an entryway into the throne room of the King of All Creation? We should approach the Holy Eucharist with passion!

            Third: Purity. Did you know that St. Francis of Assisi only received Holy Communion three times in his lifetime? He was so in awe of the gift and he realized that he was unworthy. I don’t recommend his example (for Our Lord wants us to receive Him often) but I do recommend his sentiment. If you’ve ever been to a jeweler’s shop, you’ll see how everything is meticulously clean – knowing the valuable items contained within. Likewise, our souls must be cleansed in Confession before becoming the dwelling place of the God of the universe. We particularly need Confession before Communion if we are conscious of a mortal sin such as missing Mass or a sin of drunkenness or impurity or holding on to hatred in our heart.

            Fourth: Prayer. Jesus says in today’s Gospel that He gives us the Eucharist so that we can “remain in Him and He remains in us.” He literally does remain in us – if he caught someone leaving Mass early, St. Philip Neri used to send two altar servers with lit candles after them, because he recognized that when a person receives the Eucharist they become a living tabernacle! For fifteen minutes after receiving Jesus, He is physically present within you – what a beautiful time to speak your heart to Him, as He is literally dwelling right beneath your heart in your body. There was once a great saint who wanted to live a Eucharistic prayer life, so she would receive Communion on Sunday, and then spend Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in thanksgiving for the Eucharist, and Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in preparation to receive Him again. Truly, our Communion should lead us into intimate union with Jesus Christ!

            What a gift we have in the Holy Eucharist! Our belief should then translate into the way we live our life: being in His presence every week at Mass, hungering for Him with passion, living purity in our soul, and remaining united to Him through prayer. Only eternity gives us enough time to praise Him for such a gift as the Eucharist!