Homily Notes Corpus Christi 2019
Corpus Christi (Authentic Eucharist)
“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are” (Carl Jung)
The Eucharistic ritual is what makes Catholics Catholic. In the early church there were three things that identified Christians. The first thing was that a Christian was one who was baptized. The second thing that identified a Christian as a Christian was that the Christian shared the common meal on Sunday every week. The third thing was that the Christian lived in imitation of Jesus with charity towards all. All three things were intimately wound together.
When a priest prepares a couple for marriage, he asks the question, as he fills out the marriage affidavit, “Are you a practicing Catholic?” Many times, a prospective bride or groom will say they are. But they will qualify their answer, they will say, “Well I do not go to Mass, but I still try to be a Christian in my everyday life.”
One could ask, “Are not both Eucharist and charity necessary to be a practical Catholic?” St. Paul would certainly say that they were.
Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians was really a letter of pastoral correction. We have a sanitized version of what he was saying to that early Christian community in the second lesson today.
If we read the full letter that Paul writes he is disappointed by the fact that the Corinthians were fighting amont themselves. A political struggle going on in that church. He was also angry because of the sexual immorality among the Christians in Corinth. The Christians were little no more ethical than their pagan neighbors.
But Paul’s biggest criticism was saved for how the Corinthians were celebrating the Eucharist. The Corinthians were dividing up into groups when they came to Mass. The wealthy people sat in one section of the Eucharistic assembly. The slaves, the poor, the widow, the orphan, were relegated to a lower place. The needy were like children sitting in the kitchen while the adults sat around the dining room table. Paul was furious.
He reminds them twice that Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Jesus did not mean that Christians should simply say the right words. Jesus did not want a Christian community to go through the appropriate gestures. We can get the impression that this is what Eucharist is about, simply being here and going through the motions.
Eucharist is about being in communion with Jesus who saw every person as important. When he fed the multitude, it was because they were hungry. He also cured the sick who were present. For Jesus Eucharist was about pouring oneself out in service of others.
Many times, we Christians are more concerned with how the gestures we make at Mass. We worry about whether we receive communion on the tongue or in the hand. We argue over whether Mass is in Latin or English. We worry about when we kneel and stand. Sometimes people are considered better Christians if they say the right words, if they are more careful with their gestures when they pray. The church can seem more concerned with that than whether migrant children are inhumanly housed, the innocent are aborted or whether ministers are guilty of child abuse.
One of the most traditional Eucharistic hymns it the Panis Angelicus which translates, the bread of angels. The last lines of that hymn remind us of what Eucharist is to be about. The hymn says in English,
All on earth can see what we are called to be:
Hope for a world in need, signs that loved can succeed
Where true justice and peace endure.
Whenever Christians advocate for peace and justice, then, we have the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
Please note: rough draft...grammar may not be perfect