This weekend, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ or Corpus Christi. The teaching of Jesus is very clear: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds one me will have life because of me.” (Jn. 6, 53-56)

In the Eucharist, we receive the Body and Blood of Christ. How does this happen? During the Eucharistic Prayer, Christ, through the priest, takes the bread and the cup of wine, and changes them into his body and blood, just as he did on the night before he died. Although they still look like bread and wine, Jesus changes them into his real body and blood through his divine power. We call this transubstantiation. The appearance remains but the substance is changed. How can we know this? Through Faith. This mystery, along with the mystery of the Divinity of Jesus, the Trinity and the Resurrection, can never be fully comprehended but we know they are true because we believe in the words of Jesus. Hence, the reception of the Eucharist really is an act of faith.

Very often, we hear people say that going to Sunday Mass is not necessary because “we can pray at home or practically anywhere.” It is true that we can and should pray anywhere we go. But no prayer can ever replace the celebration of the Eucharistic Liturgy and the reception of Holy Communion. St. John Chrysostom addresses this: “You cannot pray at home as at church, where there is a great multitude, where exclamations are cried out to God as from one great heart, and where there is something more: the union of minds, the accord of souls, the bond of charity, the prayers of the priests.” (CCC, no. 2179, quoting St. John Chrysostom, De incomprehensibili 3, 6: PG 48, 725) Ultimately, one cannot receive the Body and Blood of Christ anywhere else but at Mass.

Also, very often we hear people say they do not come to mass anymore because the mass is boring. What they really mean is “the priest’s homily is boring” and that they are not getting anything out of it. While the homily of the priest is an essential part of the mass, and that its content and presentation play a crucial part in the understanding of the Word of God, the mass is more than just the homily. It is about worshipping as one faith community. It is about receiving Jesus’ Body and Blood in faith and love. It is about praying in hope for eternal life.

No doubt, there is an urgent need to deepen our understanding of the Eucharist. In fact, the Bishops of the United States are calling for a Eucharistic Revival. In our parish, we are offering a summer Ephphatha Program entitled “Presence: The Mystery of the Eucharist.” This three-part series being held in Maher Hall at 6:30 p.m. has already started last Wednesday, June 15th (God Is With Us), but will continue on July 13th (The Story of the Eucharist), and ending on August 17th (Bread for the Journey). I invite you to immerse yourself deeply into the beautiful and profound mystery called the Eucharist. Blessings!