May 29, 2005: Divine Nourishment

+FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI (THE BODY & BLOOD OF CHRIST)

Poor Moses had to put up with a lot from the people of Israel as they wandered through the desert for 40 years. Our first reading today explains that the Lord was testing the people by their afflictions. The Israelites often complained about their burdens and sufferings. Like a good priest, Moses spent a lot of time bringing their needs and prayers to God—and in return, bringing his people God’s consolation. One of the greatest of these consolations was manna, the bread from heaven, which God sent to sustain them and teach them that not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.

When you think about it, life’s not all that much different today. We all go through life—for 40 years, 60 years, 80 years, perhaps longer—having to face all kinds of bitterness, disappointments, losses, tragedies... One powerful prayer to Mary—the “Hail, Holy Queen”—calls this life “a vale of tears.” It’s true. And all of our misery is a result of original sin.

Yet, thanks be to God, we’re survivors. We may pick up a few scars along the way, but most of us manage to work our way through life relatively well. How do we do this? Basically, there are two approaches.

Some folks arm themselves to the teeth with what we might call “weapons of war”: things like bitterness, frustration, anger, resentment, miserliness, misery, addictions like drugs, alcohol or sex... things that let us vent our rage, or insulate us, or kind of dull the senses so things don’t seem so bad.

But there’s another approach. Wiser people arm themselves with the Lord. They trust in the truth of what God tells us. These people rely on the sacred body and blood of Jesus Christ to bring them true interior peace and joy—no matter what happens in life. I hope that all of us here fall into that category—or at least want to be in that category!

I saw a TV show a while back that was all about militia and survivalist groups in America. These folks retreat into the woods to train themselves and their children to use some pretty nasty weapons to attack invaders when the revolution comes. They’re convinced that the only way to get through life is to use bullets and bombs to destroy people who get in their way. It’s a frightening thing to see a line of 8-year-olds firing automatic rifles from the hip; what’s even scarier is that these people claim to be good Christians. I can’t help but wonder why, then, they don’t use the much more powerful weapons that Jesus offers: his body and blood.

Today we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Our Lord invites us to look through our personal arsenal and make a few adjustments in our stockpile—by tossing out our weapons of bitterness and aggression, and replacing them with his sacred body and blood.

Is this easy to do? Absolutely not.

You know, it wasn’t just the 12 apostles who followed Jesus around in the early days of his ministry. The Lord attracted a huge following—probably because he always worked wonderful miracles and healings and because he gave such uplifting sermons. But after delivering the sermon we heard in today’s Gospel—telling people that they needed to eat his body and drink his blood—many people were horrified and walked away from Jesus. They found this teaching just too hard to accept. Jesus turned to Peter and the apostles and asked them, Are you going to leave me, too? Peter answered, To whom would we go, Lord? You have the words of everlasting life.

It’s no different today. Can we Catholics profess the same belief as Peter did? Dear friends, we MUST—with every ounce of our strength.

We have to take Jesus’ words literally, because that is how he means them.

Listen to what Jesus says: I am the living bread. This living bread is the sacred host which we receive in Holy Communion. It is really and truly Jesus—his body, blood, soul and divinity. Through the mysterious and awesome power of the Holy Spirit, what was once ordinary bread is totally changed into the living flesh and blood of our Lord and God—hidden away under the simple and humble appearance of the host. This sacred host that will soon sit on this very altar is the God who created the world... created you and me... created your children. He knows everything you’ve ever done and he even knows your yet-unborn great, great grandchildren. He knows the moment he’ll call each of us home in death. And he loves each of us so much—reaching out to us, saying: If anyone eats this bread, he shall live forever. The living bread from heaven is a love letter from God.

Do you want to accept the Lord’s invitation to live forever with him in peace and joy? Then you must do as he commands: Eat my flesh; it’s real food. Drink my blood; it’s real drink.

If we don’t eat and drink the Lord’s body and blood, we deprive ourselves of divine nourishment. Spiritually, we starve to death—it’s like anorexia of the soul. That’s exactly why the Church recommends that we take communion often.

Of course, we need to eat and drink in a worthy manner. To open ourselves up to all the spiritual riches, it’s important to approach God’s sacred altar in a state of grace. We can do this by going to confession regularly and by always striving to amend our lives and live in more holiness today than we did yesterday.

The body and blood of Jesus Christ is without a doubt the greatest gift that the Lord has given us for our journey through life. So on this blessed feast day, let’s thank him for this awesome treasure and beg him for an ever-deepening desire to tap into its vast power.

May the Lord be forever praised.



Today’s Readings:
Deuteronomy 8: 2–3, 14–16
Psalm 147
1 Corinthians 10: 16–17
John 6: 51–58