"Jesus Hugged Me and Kissed Me!"

Feast of the Body & Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
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One of the most charming stories in the life of Jesus is the one where Christ takes a little child in his arms. The apostles had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. Jesus said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all” (Mk 9:35). Then he took a little child, and had him stand among them. The Lord wrapped his arms around the boy and said to the apostles, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me” (Mk 9:37).

According to the Church’s ancient tradition, that youngster grew up to become the great St. Ignatius of Antioch, the holy bishop and martyr who gave his life for Christ in the year 107. The story goes that while he was still a boy, Ignatius often took his friends to the spot where Jesus held him and pointed out, “Look, here’s the place where the Lord Jesus took me in his arms and hugged me and kissed me.”

Call this a just a legend if you want, but we do know positively that Jesus did embrace a little child. In fact, it’s good to think about that gospel story today as we celebrate the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ… the feast of the Holy Eucharist. That’s because when we receive Holy Communion, not only do we embrace Jesus, but he also embraces us!

Maybe you never thought about Holy Communion that way. When we ingest something—whether it’s food or drink or even medicine or a pill—we consider ourselves the “active agent”—the one doing the eating or drinking. That applies to communion, too. So it’s entirely correct to say, “I received Jesus in Holy Communion.”

Now, we also know, of course, that Jesus is a living presence in the Eucharist. He’s not just an “ingredient.” So it’s also correct to say that in communion, Jesus comes into our heart. In other words, we might speak of communion as embracing the Lord. Again, that expression shows us as the active agent: we do the embracing.

But think about this: communion also means that Christ embraces us. Jesus takes us into his heart in a special way. Not only is Jesus in me; I am also in Jesus. That’s one meaning of what Our Lord tells us in today’s gospel: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him” (Jn 6:56). Just like St. Ignatius, we can say, “Here is the place where the Lord Jesus took me in his arms and hugged me and kissed me!”

What’s it like to be hugged and kissed, or embraced, by the Lord? St. Cyril of Alexandria, another spiritual and mystical bishop and doctor of the early Church, said that receiving Holy Communion unites us with the Lord just as if two pieces of wax were being melted together. St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower, gave a similar explanation. She said her First Holy Communion was a fusion with Christ—a melting together. Isn’t that a beautiful image? We become so totally attached to the Lord that it’s like we melt together inseparably, each losing our individual identity.

What love and what bonding! Picture a child running to meet his father. He throws little arms around his father’s neck, hugging him with all his might. Daddy responds by sweeping the child up in his big, strong arms, hugging him even more lovingly. Or imagine two lovers merging together in their loving union. Communion is like that. We embrace Jesus. We take him into our heart. And even more, Jesus embraces us and takes us into his heart.

As you reflect on this simple truth, you’ll begin to realize that it is not our love, our longing, or our prayers that are most important—although, of course, they’re very important. No, what’s most important is the limitless love of Jesus Christ: his burning desire to hug us, kiss us, embrace us… his passion to share his very life with us. Christ wants us to remain in him, just as we want him to remain in us.

This is the awesome truth we celebrate today on today’s beautiful feast day. And this has been God’s will since the very first time Christ gave himself to the apostles at the Last Supper on that first Holy Thursday 2,000 years ago.

Rejoice in this ultimate gift of loving union—of the Eucharist. Embrace the Lord your God with excitement and joyful delight… and let him sweep you up in his arms and hug you and kiss you today and always.