Homily for Sunday of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) Year C, 19th June, 2022

 Homily for Sunday of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) Year C, 19th June, 2022

Reading: Gen. 14:18-20;Ps. 110; 1Cor.11:23-26; Luke 9:11-17

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

HOLY EUCHARIST: THE MYSTICAL PRESENCE OF CHRIST’S LOVE FOR HUMANITY

Today, the Church celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ also called the Corpus Christi celebration, an event that occurs every Thursday or Sunday after the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. It is a solemn celebration were we reaffirm with great joy our faith in the Eucharistic Mystery of Christ’s love for humanity. Reminding us of God’s infinite gift of love for humanity which was made present in the Person of Christ Jesus under the appearance of Bread and Wine.

The mystery of the solemnity of Corpus Christi, constitutes a very important aspect of our Christian faith, which is rooted in the historical and cultural context of the Jewish people's experience with God, of which Jesus is the fullest of this experience and revelation. Hence, St. Paul in our second reading today reminded us of what happened at the Last Supper when he said that on the same night that the Lord Jesus was betrayed, he took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’ Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming My death. 

With this statement Jesus instituted the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and gave his Apostles power and authority to do this in memory of him. This is a very important mission, which the Apostles had faithfully carried out and have passed on to all of their successors, the bishops and the priests of the Church, who have been ordained and have received the same power and authority from the Lord to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. 

So, at the Last Supper, Jesus presented the Bread and Wine as his Body and Blood which he offered on the cross as a sacrificial love for humanity and ask his disciples to do the same in memory of him. This is  very significant with the event of Jesus feeding about five thousand men  with five loaves and two fish in a miraculous way that expressed his deep love  for helpless humanity as we have it in our Gospel passage today. This great act of love as mandated by Christ is what the Church is doing at every celebration of the Holy sacrifice of the Mass, where Christ through the priest who act ‘in persona Christi’ by the power of consecration, transubstantiate the Bread and Wine into his Real Body and Blood and offer it to God His Father as an unbloodied sacrificial love for humanity. 

This means that the substance and essence of the bread and wine the priest blessed and offered to God at the celebration of the Holy Mass, have truly become the very Body and Blood of Christ Himself, under the appearance of bread and wine through the mystery of Transubstantiation. Thus, the word ‘transubstantiation’ from the two words ‘Trans’ which means ‘change’ and ‘Substantiate’ meaning ‘substance or essence’, we can explain the mystery of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, as the change of the whole substance of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ through the prayer of consecration by Christ through the priest in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, at every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, through the power of the Holy Spirit the substance of bread and wine become the real and most precious Body and Blood of Christ Jesus, just in the same way he spoke at the Last Supper saying ‘This is My Body, which shall be given up for you’, ‘This is the Chalice of My Blood, the Blood of the New and Eternal Covenant, which shall be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins’ of which he fulfilled at the Cross in Calvary, where he offered himself Body, Soul and Divinity for the salvation of humanity. Hence, we share in this grace of salvation when we participate fully in this sacrificial offering of God’s love for humanity. 

Little wonder in our first reading we heard that:  Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine; and as a priest of God Most High, who pronounced blessings. Therefore, Christ has come, as the High priest of all the blessings we have received and those that are yet to come. He has passed through the greater, the more perfect tent, which is better than the one made by men’s hands because it is not of this created order; and he has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats and bull calves as of old. But here, Jesus offers his own blood, having won an eternal redemption for us, purifies our inner self from dead actions so that we can offer our service to the living God. 

The fact remains that in the Eucharist, we are physically and spiritually fed much more than the Israelites in the wilderness, who were fed with manna as we have it in Deut. 8:2-3,14-16, they were given the manna to survive in the wilderness, but Christ gave us the Eucharist not just for us to survive in the wilderness of this passing world but for us to gain eternal life and come to share in his love, for the Eucharist is the real presence of Christ’s love for humanity.

Dear friends, what is our relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist? What is our attitude towards the Holy Eucharist? What is our experience of Jesus in the Eucharist? How has the Eucharist we receive almost everyday change our lives positively? How has the Eucharist influence our lives to sacrifice for the good of humanity? How often have we abuse the Eucharist and treat the body of Christ without due reverence? How often have we received the Eucharist unworthily? Do we still have that strong desire to receive Christ in the Eucharist? Do we still believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist? Do we still feel the love of Jesus in the Eucharist? The answer to these questions is blowing in the wind.

So, today we are called to embrace the love of God present in the Holy Eucharist, the power of God’s mercy for sinful humanity. We are called to deepened our understanding of the rich mystery of our faith in the Eucharist. Today we are called to change the way we relate with Jesus in the Eucharist. We are called to strive to worthily receive the Holy Eucharist. We are called to be grateful for this Sacrificial love of Christ in the Holy Eucharist and form the habit of adoring Christ our Lord present in the Holy Eucharist. We are called to let the love of his presence to transform our souls into that purest love that will renew our families, societies and the world at large.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, through the sacrificial love of your Son Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist, grant us the grace to constantly experience your presence within us especially in the midst of doubt, ignorance, persecution, trials and uncertainties of life. May the Eucharistic Power of love fill our hearts once again and so renew the hatred, greed and corruption in the hearts of sinful humanity. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday to you all.