Sunday, we celebrate the great Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. This celebration is also known as Corpus Christi. The Scripture readings for today suggest three basic points: the sacrifice offered by Christ in his Passion and Death, the redemption brought about by the sacrifice of Christ, and the abiding presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist and in us, the Church.
The Eucharist as Self-Giving Love
The Eucharist is the sacrament in which we encounter Christ’s total self-giving to us. The Eucharist is a sacrament of Christ’s real presence with us. In his lifetime, Christ gave of himself constantly. We see the self-giving of Christ in his teaching, his compassion, his miracles, and his faithfulness to his mission of proclaiming the Kingdom of God. His faithfulness to his mission ultimately brought him to his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. His faithfulness redeemed our unfaithfulness. His selflessness redeemed our selfishness. Christ’s total giving of himself on Calvary is made present to us in the Eucharist.
The Sacrifice Made Present
The Eucharist is a constant reminder of the great Redemption we have in the Death and Resurrection of Christ. At the celebration of the Eucharist, we believe that through the Holy Spirit, present in the Holy Orders of the priest, present in the community of the Church, and present in the memory of the Church, that sacrifice of Calvary is made present again for us in our time and space. We are not offering another sacrifice, but rather we make the sacrifice of Christ present again through the Holy Spirit. This great sacrifice is present to us sacramentally under the appearance of bread and wine.
We are Catholics who believe that the Risen Christ is really and truly present with us. The Eucharist is not a sign or symbol, but rather a real encounter between us and Christ. We meet the Lord in this sacrament. While we meet the Lord in the Eucharist, we are also in communion with all who are receiving Christ, thus making us the Body of Christ, or the Church.
The Body of Christ
In our society, which is growing in its appreciation of food and slowly coming to the realization that we are what we eat, the reception of the Eucharist transfigures us into the Body of Christ. This transformation of us into the Body of Christ makes us the Church, or the Mystical Body of Christ in the world. The Eucharist is amazing and awe inspiring. The Church celebrates the Eucharist, remembering Christ, every day except on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. On the days when we do not celebrate the Eucharist, there is a profound sense of absence felt by those who receive Communion every day.
A Call to Reverence
As you receive Holy Communion, do not take this sacrament for granted. Realize what you are doing and who it is you are encountering. Realize the price paid by Christ for your redemption. Know that you too are part of the Body of Christ in the world. This sacrament can and will change your life.
Pray before the Blessed Sacrament. Adoration and contemplation of Christ present with us gives us solace, consolation, and challenge. As we process through the streets of our neighborhood, may we today celebrate who we are: the Body of Christ in the world. May we also proclaim the Real Presence of Christ in this Most Holy of Sacraments.
Msgr. Guy A. Massie
Sunday, June 7, 2026