Corpus Christi - Thank You Jesus For This Wonderful Gift!

While they were eating,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, gave it to them, and said,  
"Take it; this is my body."
Then he took a cup, gave thanks,
and gave it to them,
and they all drank from it.
He said to them,
"This is my blood of the covenant,
which will be shed for many"

Today is the Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.  Today we recognize the great gift that Jesus gives us in the Holy Eucharist.  Today we reflect on the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ in the form of the simplest things we can imagine, unleavened bread and ordinary wine which is changed from the ordinary to the supernatural in a process we call transubstantiation. 

We are fed twice at the mass we go to.  First, we are fed at the table of the Word where God's Word is proclaimed and broken open for us in the homily.  Then, the priest, acting in Persona Christi, says the words of consecration and the mundane is made miraculous as the bread and wine are transformed into the very Body and Blood of Christ.  We then leave our places and walk with our brothers and sisters and the Creator who created us enters into us personally and unites us communally to the those around us, to the entire worldwide Chruch, to the souls in purgatory and to the saints in heaven itself.  Jesus is truly present inside of you.  You cannot get any closer to Jesus than this.  The only place you will be closer will be in heaven.  Think of it!  Jesus and you on a one on one and He is ready to listen to whatever you want to say to Him.  What a loving God we have! 

Unfortunately, going to communion for some of us has become a ritual, a thing to be done so as to move the process of mass forward.  Some of us do not even take the time to pray.  We receive, we go back to our place and we read the church bulletin.  Or worse than that, some of us, without any special reason, receive communion and then walk out of the church, into our car, and we think nothing more of the Sacrament Most Holy that we have just received and we place our Catholicism back into the glove compartment until next week and congratulate ourselves for taking care of our Sunday obligation and we go off to the pancake house for a breakfast that can't be beaten at that price point. How sad if that is what we do.  If we receive and think nothing more of it than an empty ritual then we are better off, according to the Apostle Paul, not receiving it at all. 

I don't want to end this reflection on a sad note. Because for the vast majority of Catholics the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ as received in the Holy Eucharist is the centerpiece of their week and they draw from this holy meal the strength to let their Catholicism shine through in all that they do.  The presence of Jesus in their body created an intimate bond that they nurture through their prayer and actions during the week.  Further, they have shared an intimate moment with God, even if all that they did was to reflect on how wonderful God was to share Himself in this magnificent sacrament and spent a moment in thankful reflection.  Isn't it great to be a Catholic?  No other denomination can give what the Church that Jesus founded can give. 

Don't forget about the Poor Souls in Purgatory. You CAN offer the graces of your communion for their benefit today.