The Gift of the Eucharist
Homily for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi
The Catholic Church teaches that the bread and wine offered at Mass become, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. In other words, the Euharist is Jesus. It is all of Jesus. It is nothing but Jesus. It is not a symbol of Jesus. It is not bread and wine along with Jesus. It is Jesus. It is truly Christ on the altar. It is truly Christ given to us in Communion.
This is not a doctrine that has developed over time, but something that lies at the very heart of our faith. It is at the heart of our worship. It is at the heart of all we believe. In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul says that those who profane the Eucharist profane “the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Cor 11:27). This is an Apostolic belief.
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus gathered with the apostles to celebrate the Passover, the annual remembrance of how God freed Israel from Egypt and established a special covenant with them, ratified with the blood of lambs. But instead of sacrificing the customary lamb as a sign of God’s covenant, Jesus instead takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and says, “This is my body” (Mk 14:22). And taking the cup he says, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many” (Mk 14:24).
If anyone asks you why Catholics believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, this is what you tell them: Jesus said “this is my body” and “this is my blood,” and we believe him. Yes, the Eucharist still looks like bread and wine. It still tastes like bread and wine. But when Jesus says, “this is my body” and “this is my blood,” we know he has the power to make his words true. We believe in the Eucharist because we believe in Jesus. There is no other reason.
God made us body and spirit; God redeems us in body and spirit; and God gives himself to us both in body and spirit, coming to us not only spiritually but in a way we can receive into our own bodies. The Eucharist is the fulfillment of Christ’s promise to be with us until the end of the age. It is, as the Second Vatican Council calls it, the “source and summit” of the Christian life. Since the Eucharist is so central to our faith, I want to talk about the proper way to receive Communion. We teach these things to our children before their first Holy Communion, but sometimes we forget about them as adults. It’s always good to be reminded.
First, before we even come to Mass, if we plan to receive the Eucharist, we must make sure we are in a state of grace. We sometimes hear talk of receiving the Eucharist “worthily” and may wonder what that means. Are any of us truly worthy to commune with Almighty God? No. What makes us worthy is God’s free gift of grace. It’s not about us being good enough. God is good enough. God’s grace makes us worthy. We first enter into God’s saving grace by baptism. Baptism incorporates us into the Body of Christ, so that we may receive the Body of Christ. If you tried to receive the Eucharist without being baptized, it would be like trying to drive a car with no gas. You could go through all the motions, but nothing would happen; there’s no fuel in the tank. So baptism institutes us into the life of the sacraments.
But we need more than just baptism. We also need to be in communion with the Body of Christ in the Church. That’s why we don’t permit Protestants to receive Communion. It’s not that we don’t want them to receive it, but we want them to receive it honestly. So if you are baptized outside of communion with the Catholic Church, you must first be brought into communion with the Catholic Church before you receive Communion in the Catholic Church, so your communion is an honest act.
But there are other ways communion can be broken. We can break communion with God through our sin. This is what mortal sin is. It is called “mortal” or “deadly” because it breaks our communion with God. God gives his grace freely, but we need to receive it freely. We can refuse it, which is what we do when we choose to act contrary to the love of God. For this to happen, three things must be true: the sin you commit must be serious; you must do it knowingly; and you must do it freely. Not every sin rises to that level and so not every sin breaks communion. We call these lesser sins “venial,” which means “excusable.” We all commit this kind of sin, which is why we begin the Mass by first acknowledging our sins and praying for God’s mercy. But if we knowingly and willingly commit a sin that breaks communion with God, we need to be restored to communion before we can receive Communion. Otherwise, as St. Paul says, we eat and drink condemnation upon ourselves (1 Cor 11:29). We take this sacred gift of communion and turn it into a lie. And that’s not what Christ wants. But he knows the weakness of our hearts and so doesn’t leave us without a remedy.
The remedy given by Christ to forgive sins committed after baptism and restore us to communion is the sacrament of confession, or reconciliation. So part of preparing ourselves to receive the Eucharist is to examine our conscience and, if we are aware of committing any serious sin, to make a good confession first. Ideally, this should not be done five minutes before Mass starts. Father Paul is very gracious in hearing confessions before the Sunday Masses. But if everyone waited until just before Mass to confess, Mass would never begin. And Fr. Paul also needs time to prepare himself to celebrate Mass. So I encourage us not to take undue advantage of the availability of confession before Mass and, if we can, to go instead at one of the other available times during the week. After all, our preparation for the Eucharist shouldn’t be a last minute thing, but something we prepare for all week long.
When we do receive the Eucharist, our actions should reflect our beliefs. We ought to know and respect the directives of the Church regarding the manner that Holy Communion is received. The norm for receiving Communion in the United States is standing and on the tongue. The faithful are permitted to receive kneeling or in the hand. These options are all legitimate but they need to be exercised respectfully.
If you receive standing, you should first genuflect or make a bow as a sign of reverence; if you receive kneeling, no other gesture is required. The minister will hold the host up and say, “The Body of Christ,” to which you reply “Amen.” It is important that you say this. “Amen” is a word of affirmation. It means “it is true.” Your “Amen” says that you understand that what you are receiving is not ordinary bread but the Body of Christ. The minister of communion needs to hear you say this.
After you say, “Amen,” if you are receiving on the tongue, simply tilt your head back, open your mouth wide, and stick out your tongue. Don’t feel embarrassed. You want to make it easy for the minister to place the host on your tongue without having to put his fingers in your mouth. If you do this properly there is zero chance of accidentally dropping the host. Sometimes people only open their mouths a little bit, which makes it difficult. Open wide! You should be hungry for the Lord!
If you prefer to receive on the hand, extend your hands so the minister can see them. Place one hand beneath the other, holding them level and slightly cupped, making a little “throne” for Jesus so that the host doesn’t slip out of your palm. Then use your lower hand to take the host and place it in your mouth. The minister must see you do this. You cannot take the host back to your pew to consume. We need to see that it is being consumed when you receive it. The major reason why some disfavor Communion in the hand is because it makes it easier for abuse to happen if people don’t consume the host immediately, whether willfully or out of ignorance. The Church permits reception on the hand, but the host must be consumed immediately, in front of the minister.
After you receive the host, if you desire, you may also receive from the chalice. Receiving from the chalice is optional, and there are various reasons why it might not be offered. So it is important to understand that the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ is fully present both under the appearance of bread or the appearance of wine. You don’t get half of Jesus with one and half with the other. Jesus is not divided, so it isn’t necessary to receive both to receive the full Christ even though it has a greater sign value.
When you approach the minister of the chalice, you should again bow as a sign of reverence, but you should not kneel. Standing to receive the chalice reduces the risk of accidental spills. Plus since you have already received the Eucharist, you don’t need to kneel before the Lord because the Lord is in you at that time. The minister will present the chalice to you and say, “The Blood of Christ.” You say, “Amen.” They will give you the chalice. Take a small sip and offer it back to the minister of communion, treating the cup with reverence. Then return to your pew and take this time to thank God for his blessings, most especially the blessing of being able to receive Him in the Eucharist. Remember that the word eucharist means “thanksgiving.” Above all, this is the attitude the Eucharist should engender within us — thanksgiving. God gives us grace. We give him thanks. That is the heart of our relationship with the Lord.
I want to conclude with a brief word about Eucharistic Adoration. Looking upon the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is meant to fan the flames of our desire for Him, to make us more open to receive the grace He desires to give us. When I adore the Lord in the Sacrament, I often think of the words of Psalm 63: “O God, you are my God, for you I seek. For you my body yearns. For you my soul thirsts, like a land parched, lifeless, and without water. I gaze upon you in the sanctuary to see your power and glory. For your love is better than life. My lips shall proclaim your praise”(Ps 63:2–4). I encourage all of you to make time during the week to spend time before the Blessed Sacrament. Even if you cannot come during times of scheduled Adoration, Jesus is always present in the tabernacle, so any time you spend in church before the sacrament is a time of Adoration. I cannot overstate the blessings to be had by simply spending time with the Lord.
And while we usually think of Eucharistic Adoration as a quiet, reflective time in the church, it can also be a more active and public time. Today we will celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi with a Eucharistic Procession. That means we will take the sacrament out to the streets both to bless our community with the Real Presence of Christ and to publicly show our love for Jesus who says to us at each Mass, “This is my body which is given for you.” Let us never take that precious gift for granted.
