Lec
# 167- Corpus Christi- June 22, 2014- Fr. Bresowar
One
of the most awesome things about being Catholic, my brothers and sisters,
besides the fact that we have Jesus Christ, present to us, in the Blessed
Sacrament, is the reality of the Eucharistic liturgy.
The
Holy Mass, that we gather at weekly, which Christians have been doing since
Holy Thursday night some 2000 years ago, is still the central mystery our Faith
today as it was then.
And
that we can go almost anywhere in the world where there are people, and if
there is a Catholic Church, even though the language may be different, the Mass
is the same.
Even
if you don’t speak French, you go to Mass in France, and you know it is the
mass. Why? Because the Mass looks the same everywhere. It’s beautiful being
Catholic. It’s glorious, it’s divine even. The Church is human, but it is also
divine because it’s founder is Jesus Christ who is divine and human.
There
is a unity in the Mass that you will not find in the worship of any other
religion or denomination of Christianity and it is because of the great
sacrament of Unity, the Eucharist, that we come here every week to be fed by
Jesus Christ, truly present, the bread and wine, become his body and blood.
This
is called Transubstantiation, the bread and wine become his flesh and blood. In
this, the reality that Jesus Christ has not left us as orphans but remains just
as present as he was when he walked the earth, hidden through the veil of the
Eucharistic species of his very body and blood.
What
does this mean? It means that in this consecrated Host we find the same Jesus
whom Mary brought into the world, whom the shepherds found wrapped in swaddling
clothes and lying in a manger; whom Mary and Joseph nurtured and watched over
as He grew before their eyes; the Jesus who called the Apostles to follow Him,
who captivated and taught the multitudes, who performed the most startling
miracles; who said He was the “light” and “life” of the world, who forgave
Magdalen and raised Lazarus from the dead; who for love of us sweat blood,
received the kiss of a traitor, was made one enormous wound, and died on the
Cross; that same Jesus who rose again and appeared to the Apostles and in whose
wounds Thomas put his finger; who ascended into heaven, who now is seated in
glory at the right hand of His Father, and who, in union with the Father, sends
us the Holy Spirit. Always the same in eternity, always the same in time, by
the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
That
reality, the central mystery, and source and summit of our faith is what the
Church emphasizes in today’s Solemenity called Corpus Christi, or the Most Holy
Body and Blood of Christ.
This
great sacrament of the Eucharist, Jesus is present with all His divinity and
all His humanity, here to be adored and to feed us with food that gives us true
life.
It
is great to be Catholic. This does not exist outside of the Catholic Church. In
fact, where there is division, there is no Eucharist.
There
is no division in Jesus Christ and his Church. Such a suggestion is heresy and
borders on blasphemy. In fact, the primary objections of Martin Luther and the
protestant revolt, was not against indulgences, but against the Mass. Luther
himself suggested that to root out Catholicism, it was necessary to suppress
the Mass. He tried to convince the nobility of Germany, and even the Monarchy
of England to ban the sacred liturgy. The word Protestant is born out of a
protest of the Mass. The nobility protested against the Holy Roman Emperor’s
decision to allow Catholics to continue to have Mass. Thus they were termed
Protestants.
This
is not for us to hold over the heads of our protestant brothers and sisters as
if to say, we are better than you. The inherent dignity of everyone is the same
by the fact we are all are made in the image and likeness of God. No, but it is
a historical fact that Protestantism is born out of protest of the Holy
Eucharist. And where there is no Eucharist there is division which breeds more
division.
And
so, we must work with our separated brothers and sisters toward unity which can
only fully be found in the Eucharist. So we need to invite them to Mass to
understand the history and beauty of the Church and the Sacraments which Christ
himself founded.
But
before we can begin to heal the divisions from outside the Church, we must heal
the divisions within the Church. Who is the Church? We are! Not simply the Pope
and Bishops and Priests and beautiful buildings, but you and I together, we are
the body of Christ, the Holy Church.
The
divisions that lie within each of one of us must be healed. Worldliness, sin,
lust for money, power, possessions, lack of faith, lack of trust, the idolatry
of worshiping sports, activities like hunting or shopping. All of this is not
the Eucharist. Gossiping, it’s the most popular past time. It’s killing us.
Pornography, the contraceptive mentality, is doing the same to families. These
wounds must be healed within us before we can ever heal outside of us.
And
what heals more than any other medicine or solution put forth by man? The
Blessed Sacrament. I’ve seen more lives transformed, my own including, by
devotion to Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
He
is the answer to the division that lies within each of us. He is the
fulfillment of our deepest desires. Nothing outside of him will fulfill us
ultimately. He is the bridegroom, and we are the bride. He is Heaven and we are
restless until we are with Him.
There
is no other answer. There is no other suitable solution. And we are missing out
big time, if we don’t run to him and adore him in the Blessed Sacrament.
The
answer is right in front of us; it’s perpetually present in Adoration chapel at
our Church twenty-four hours a day! He is always with us, and would we spend a
little time with him, our eyes would be open to a reality which most of us have
yet to see.
It’s
a hard thing to do here in Huntsville, Alabama where we have to fight against a
culture which is self-absorbed.
Nevertheless,
we always have a need of contact with Jesus, the Word made Flesh, the God made
Man, our Mediator, our Savior, our Brother, and we find Him present in the
Eucharist.
My
brothers and sisters, here on earth, we are never closer to Him than when we
are in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.
As
we approach to eat his very presence into our own bodies, may we firmly resolve
once again to adore Him and seek reconciliation from the division that lies
within each of us so that we may go out with undivided hearts and seek to draw
people to the Eucharist, which is the only food which has the power to overcome
sin and division, the only food which will give any one of us, including our
protestant brothers and sisters, eternal life. Yes, we must eat the flesh and
drink the blood of Jesus Christ. Consider yourselves blessed beyond
comprehension that you are Catholic and able to do that today, but don’t take
it for granted.
Having
received Jesus into our very bodies, let us go out and share the good news with
everyone. Christ is present with us everywhere and at all times, and
physically, substantially so, in the most blessed sacrament of the altar.
May
God Bless you and may we adore Jesus in the Eucharist now and into eternity.
Thank you Jesus, thank you for everything. Amen!
