June 22, 2025: Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ: Fr. John Edmunds, ST (@10:20 in the video)

THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST (CORPUS CHRISTI) – C
Genesis 14:18-20
I Corinthians 11:23-26
Luke 9:11-17

Do you like presents? We like Christmas and birthdays because on those days we get presents. People get presents on anniversaries and retirements, on Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day, at graduation and for a promotion. You might get a present at the birth of a child or for a wedding. You might even get a present at First Communion! Presents are fun to get but they can also be fun to give. We like to give presents because they provide the opportunity to show someone that we care about them, that they mean a lot to us, that they are important. That is why choosing the right present requires some thought and consideration. You want to give a present which fits the person, fits the occasion. Giving the right present is an art.

At the Last Supper Jesus wanted to give a present to his disciples. It was a going away gift. Usually it is the one who is going away that gets the gift but on this occasion those who were being left behind were given a gift. You can be sure that Jesus wanted to give exactly the right gift to his disciples, to give the present that would signify all that they had meant to each other. St. Paul describes the scene. Jesus gave them bread saying “This is my body that is for you.” He handed them some wine saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” Jesus gave his very self, his body and blood, as the going away present to his disciples. But he wasn’t really going away from them, just apart from them. Jesus left them a present so they would know he was always with them. Jesus gave them the present (nt) of his presence (nce).

Today’s feast day, The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (or Corpus Christi to use its old Latin title), highlights the present Jesus gives us in his presence in the Holy Eucharist. We use the term Real Presence to stress that we aren’t just remembering Jesus today, we are participating with Jesus as we offer our prayers. He is really present as we break the bread and share the cup as he did. Jesus is not like some hero of the past who we fondly remember. Rather, because of his presence in the Eucharist, he is with us and within us. The Eucharist is the gift that keeps on giving.

We can look at today’s feast from three different perspectives. The first: transformation. By receiving the Body of Christ in Holy Communion, we become the Body of Christ as the Church. Think about why the present Jesus gave us of the Eucharist involves eating. We take some food into our bodies and the food becomes part of us. We are what we eat. Or better, what we eat is transformed to become us. In receiving Holy Communion we are transformed into what we eat. The fourth century African bishop, St. Augustine would hold up the host and say, “Behold who you are. Become who you receive.” We are the Body of Christ because we are willing to become transformed into the Body of Christ. St. Paul captured this succinctly when he said, “It is now no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

The second aspect this feast emphasizes is unity. Today our three First Communicants are receiving the same Body and Blood of Christ as Pope Leo is in Rome, as a soldier is in the Ukraine, as Zoe’s mom is in Mauritius. Immigrants in Chicago receive the same Holy Communion as their families in Venezuela. The Eucharist is the same in the United States, in Europe, in Africa, in Asia, in Oceana. The Eucharist is a force that binds all of humanity together in one bond of peace and love. Since we all receive the same Holy Communion around the world we are all the brothers and sisters of Jesus. The walls and barriers and borders that tend to separate us are not as important as the One Eucharist which unites us. When an astronaut looks down on planet earth from above they can only see one world. Whatever differences we might possess of culture or nationality pales to insignificance compared with the one body we become as those who share in the Real Presence of Christ.

Finally, the Eucharist is not our personal possession, something we clutch to our bosoms as ours to keep. Rather, transformed as the one Body of Christ we are meant to pass on what we have received. In the story of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish, there is a larger crowd that the disciples don’t know what to do with. Their needs, their problems are more than they can handle. Send them away. Dismiss the crowds. Let them fend for themselves. Jesus answers very simply, “Give them some food yourselves.” Grocery shopping for 5,000! We’re going to need a bigger cart. Jesus did not, of course, mean that. He meant, give what you have, your little bit, your five loaves and two fish, and God will supply the rest. Which reminds us that receiving Holy Communion is also about giving. We must give our little bit. Do you have a little bit of time? Give it away by visiting those who are sick or shut it. Do you have a little bit of patience? Give it away by listening to someone who is feeling lost or alone. Do you have a little bit of wisdom? Give it away by mentoring a young person to steer them on the right path. The problems of this world can seem overwhelming, too much for the likes of you and me. But as a Eucharistic People, if we give away the little bit of Jesus that we possess we find that God will multiply it to feed multitudes.