Today is the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the great Feast of the Body and Blood of Our Lord truly present in the Holy Eucharist. In our times, perhaps no doctrine has suffered from more confusion and neglect than the Church’s teaching on the Holy Eucharist, and yet it remains unchanged. Indeed it cannot change!

The Catholic Church has always believed and taught that JESUS Christ is truly and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament. It is not a symbol or a reminder or representation of Our Lord. It really is Him. When the priest pronounces the words of Consecration at Mass, “This is My Body” and “This is the chalice of My Blood”, the bread and wine cease to be bread and wine. Their appearances remain, but their substance is changed into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of JESUS Christ. The Church calls it “transubstantiation.”  This belief comes directly from Our Lord Himself Who said in chapter 6 of St John’s Gospel, “The bread that I will give for the life of the world is My Flesh … Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you have no life in you … My Flesh is true food and My Blood is true drink … Whoever feeds on this bread will live for ever.” The crowds understood these words literally and many walked away. If they had misunderstood, Our Lord would have corrected them, but instead He repeated the teaching even more emphatically.

Then at the Last Supper, He took bread in His hands and said, “This is My Body.” He didn’t say “This represents My Body” or “This is a symbol of My Body.” He said “This IS.” The Apostles believed Him and the early Christians and Fathers of the Church believed Him. St Ignatius of Antioch, writing around the year 107, condemned those who denied the Real Presence by describing the Holy Eucharist as, “The Flesh of our Saviour JESUS Christ.” St Cyril of Jerusalem in the fourth century instructed the newly baptised: “Since He Himself has declared and said of the Bread, ‘This is My Body’, who shall dare to doubt any longer?”

Do we realise what this means? It means that the same JESUS Who was born in Bethlehem, Who walked on water, Who fed the five thousand, Who raised Lazarus from the dead, Who died on Calvary and rose from the tomb on Easter Sunday, is present in every Catholic tabernacle throughout the world. This truth should transform the way we come into church and the way we participate at Mass. This is why throughout history, the Catholic Church has spared no effort in offering to God the very best possible. Beautiful churches, noble vestments, Gregorian chant, incense rising, well executed ceremonial, genuflecting, kneeling and silence, all make a profession of faith without saying a single word. It says: God is here. We don’t do it out of nostalgia or extravagance, but out of love. When the woman in the Gospel anointed Our Lord with costly ointment (Mark 14:3-9), some objected at the expense, and yet Our Lord praised her generosity. The opposite is true of casualness. People will eventually begin to think our worship is nothing special.

This afternoon (Sunday) we have our Corpus Christi Procession. This is a beautiful witness to our faith. As Our Lord passes under the canopy, remember it is not just a religious custom, but an act of adoration offered to the King of kings. I invite you all to join us and the First Holy Communion children this afternoon at 4pm in honouring our Eucharistic Lord, and give public testimony to our faith in His Real Presence.

Fr Paul Gillham, IC