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The Eucharist, Sacrifice and Presence Homily Sunday, June 18, Solemnity of Corpus Christi
Zion, praise your savior! Holy Catholic Church of God, the more you can praise him, praise him so! For today is the solemnity of Corpus Christi, of the Body and Blood of Christ. Let us now hear, with an external silence trumped only by our interior silence, to the truth of this mystery: that the Eucharist is both the sacrifice and the presence. There was an ancient sacrifice, that of the sacrificing of the bulls, and the sprinkling of their blood on the congregated people, in accordance with the law of Moses (cf. Ex24:3-8). But this was only a ritual cleansing of the flesh (cf. Heb 9:11-15), and God had in mind for us a far superior cleansing, that of the soul. This superior cleansing happens through the Eucharist, for by communion we enter into union with the blood of Christ, which, through the eternal Spirit, truly cleanses not just our flesh but also our souls. The levitical priesthood had to consummate the sacrifice by eating the flesh that was offered; similarly, in the priesthood of Christ, we complete the sacrifice by eating it, by receiving Holy Communion. Do you see the saints portrayed in statues and stained glass? “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:15). That is why we represent them in this Church, which was built for the glory of the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist is the superior sacrifice, the eternal sacrifice of the Son of God, the sacrifice of the cross present among us in sacrament and not in manifest blood and brutality, a sacrifice that washes away our sins. If only we would let them go by confession and repentance! For forgiveness has been won for those who seek it. The Eucharist is not only the sacrifice, but the presence. There are many ways in which God is present in and to the world, but he far exceeds the whole universe he created. God is not “in” the trees, waters, valleys, stars and skies. They all cry out, “We are not him, He made us, look higher than us to find him.” He causes these things, and so is present to them as a cause is present to its effect. In the Eucharist, however, God is present in his very substance. When you touch the Eucharist with your tongue, you touch God. God enters your body, and sanctifies you. He is present in his body, blood, soul and divinity. You do not have to receive the Blood from the chalice to have truly received his blood, for it is in the Host, for the entire Jesus is in the Host, even the smallest particle of it. Treat the smallest particle of the Host as you would to Jesus himself, with love and adoration, for that particle is in fact the God who created you and redeemed you. If the Eucharist is both the sacrifice and presence of the Son of God, what should be our interior dispositions towards the Holy Eucharist? Let me start by discussing the chalice. See how we care for the chalice, how we clean it, we store it safe from thieves and from rough treatment? See how it is precious and pure? See how it is used for nothing else but God? It is so, because the chalice is that vessel that holds the Eucharist, in the species of wine. And now answer me, what is more valuable, a gold and bejeweled cup or a human being? A human person, of course. So if we care for the chalice that way, care for yourselves with even greater zeal. Remain clean from sin and defilement; separate yourselves from those things that lead you to love the world or human beings greater than God; remain precious in humility, and pure in chastity; know that you are God’s now, and you have been ransomed from the world by the price of Jesus’ blood, so don’t go back to the world as a dog might go back to his vomit. For you are more valuable than the lily in the field, than very many sparrows, than all the gold cups in the world, and by communion, you will be a vessel of God, and God will live inside of you. If only God could make you see what many priests see at Mass: the sacrifice of Jesus, the blood he took from Mary’s womb, the Sacred Heart burning with Mercy and Love, the glorious and blasting songs of praise from the army of saints, the perfect adoration and silent majesty of all the angels in heaven, the solitude of a priest who is Christ sacramentally in the midst of the Church, and offering alone the price of salvation in the name of God and the Church, the presence of the first priests, the twelve apostles, around the altar. Pray to God that he let you see these things, if not with your eyes, at least with your faith, so that your heart my throb every hour of your lifetime with burning love for Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Mary, in the Blessed Sacrament of his Body and Blood. Amen. |