Sunday Reflection | The Solemnity of Corpus Christi

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ; Corpus Christi. It is a celebration that invites us to reflect on the nature of the Eucharist – the True and Abiding Presence of Jesus; but it also invites us to reflect on how fervent our own belief in the Eucharist is. This feast invites us into the wonder, the awe, the amazement – the miracle – that is the Body and Blood of Christ.

This ancient feast comes to us from the 13th century; an era in the history of the Church that was plagued by disbelief or incorrect belief about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. It was the experience of a priest, Peter of Prague that would make this a universal feast for the Church. In 1263, Fr. Peter was on pilgrimage to Rome. He was a good, pious priest who strived for holiness, but struggled with doubts about the Holy Eucharist. He agonized over whether, at the words of consecration, the bread and wine became really the true Body and Blood of Jesus.

During this time, he was celebrating Mass at the tomb of St. Christina and as soon as he said the words of consecration – “This is my Body” – the host in his hands began to bleed down his arms and onto the altar cloth below. He was awestruck and began to cry. Pope Urban IV was in the nearby town of Orvieto and he went to him. After investigating, the Pope declared a miracle and had the corporal brought to the cathedral in Orvieto. You can still go and see that blood-stained corporal in Orvieto’s Cathedral – almost 800 years later. One year after this miracle, the Pope extended the Solemnity to the universal church.

So, how can we renew our own fervor for Jesus in the Eucharist today and come to understand its value in our lives? We begin by remembering a few things. First, the Eucharist is nourishment for us. Jesus gives us food for our souls. In John’s Gospel Jesus says, “If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” By receiving regularly and with fervor, we thrive spiritually on the body and blood of Christ. Second, through the Eucharist Jesus unites us with Himself. This union began in our Baptism, was strengthened in Confirmation, but reaches its peak in Holy Communion; a peak we return to every time we receive Holy Communion. Third, in the Eucharist Jesus makes us one with each other. The Eucharist embraces the whole community. It is not just my personal communion with Christ; it is our shared communion with each other in Christ. As St. Paul said, “As there is one bread, so we, although there are many of us, are one single body, for we all share in the one bread.” This is a social sacrament, a circle that includes Christ, yourself and all of your brothers and sisters. When we approach the altar, it is a sign of our love for each other, a pledge of kindness and compassion towards each other – a love that finds its source in the Eucharist. Finally, the Eucharist gives us assurance of our Heavenly destiny. Jesus said, “Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise them on the last day.”

Saint Thomas Aquinas’ love and reverence for our Lord is expressed in the famous hymn Pange Lingua composed for the Feast of Corpus Christi when it was first instituted by the Church in 1264. The hymn "Sing, my tongue, the Savior's glory," from Vespers of the Feast of Corpus Christi. It is used as a processional hymn on Holy Thursday, Corpus Christi, during Forty Hours' Adoration, and generally in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. This hymn is still sung universally. The first stanza beautifully captures the gift received:

Of the glorious Body telling,
O my tongue, its mysteries sing,
And the Blood, all price excelling,
Which the world's eternal King,
In a noble womb once dwelling
Shed for the world's ransoming.

And so, we pray today that through the great gift of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus, that we may all be nourished, that we may be united with our Lord, united with one another and assured of our eternal home in Heaven. May God increase in us our love, our belief, our fervor for the Most Holy Body and Blood of His Son.

At the very heart of our communal life at Saint John’s Seminary is the Eucharist. We gather in prayer around the Eucharistic Table daily to pray for the needs of the world and your intentions. We thank you for the many ways in which you support the Seminary and its Mission. May each of us be rooted in Christ and fed by Word and Sacrament.