Today is the feast of Corpus Christi; the Body and Blood of Christ.
Occasionally I’ve talked with someone who says they aren’t getting fed at Mass and have been worshiping elsewhere, typically at a Protestant church. I always question how someone could leave the Eucharist in the Catholic Church and go somewhere else to a church that doesn’t have what we have. I think the answer must be that the person doesn’t believe Christ is really present in the Eucharist.
Today’s Gospel, like the year B July/August readings from John 6, and the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper, is about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
People take what they want from Scripture. They claim to believe but sometimes their actions betray their real beliefs. We’ve all heard the statistics, that somewhere between a quarter to a third of self described Catholics actually believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Jesus’ words could not be more clear about eating His Body and drinking His Blood. Some people say He was speaking symbolically but a close examination of His words in Scripture really precludes that as a possibility. Maybe we don’t think we can trust Scripture as Jesus’ commands to us. He said, do this in memory or me, and so the Church does.
We don’t have an Adoration Chapel like you guys at Blessed Sacrament have. We have certain hours of Adoration where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed on the altar. In the lead up to today’s feast this week our church had Adoration from Wednesday morning until Friday afternoon. I think Adoration participation is a good measure of the belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
In my work with college students I find many of them have a devotion to Adoration even before they actually become Catholic. In fact, we don’t do a Eucharistic procession today here like you guys do. We do a couple of them each year on campus. I think that speaks to the interest in Adoration by the students.
I think it’s a good exercise for each of us to really think about what we believe about the Real Presence and to consider why we believe what we believe. Sometimes the witness of others can be helpful in this. I frequently find the witness of our college students to be inspiring. I also sometimes see people who have various physical challenges making their way up to the priest to receive Holy Communion. I find that inspiring as well.
If you’re someone who doesn’t typically participate in Adoration consider changing that. You don’t have to sign up for a Holy Hour if that doesn’t work for you. Just stop by and spend some time with Jesus. Open your heart to Him and bring your concerns to Him. Connie and I have a lot of family medical problems going on right now. I’ve been bringing those concerns to Him in a special way in Adoration.
So, as we celebrate today’s feast I hope we will all grow closer to Christ.
After writing this this morning I read about Pope Leo’s great homily in Spain this morning their time. Here is a link to it. It’s excellent. https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/homilies/2026/documents/20260607-spagna-messa-madrid.html
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace, Bob
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