Feast of Corpus Christi Homily

“If it is only a symbol to hell with it!” That was Flannery O’Connor’s pithy defense of the Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist when she found it being challenged by the insinuation that it was only a symbol. Today as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, as throughout the history of the Church, we are being called upon to really examine our Catholic belief that Christ is present in the Eucharist.

The Church here in our country is in the third year of a Eucharistic Revival. This revival was initiated by the American Bishops because there is confusion among many American Catholics about the Church’s doctrine concerning the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist. This is an important issue because for Catholics the Eucharist is the sum and summit of our faith.

As Catholics we believe that true to Jesus’ word stated at the Last Supper, whenever we celebrate the Mass, Jesus reenacts his sacrifice on the cross. At the time of the consecration, during the Eucharistic Prayer, a miraculous change occurs in the bread and wine. The substance or essence of the bread and wine is replaced by the body and blood of Christ. Although the “accidents,” that is the physical properties like taste, shape, texture, and other qualities remain the same, Jesus comes into the Eucharist as flesh and blood to feed us with grace. 

That was the pretty universal belief about the Eucharist held by Christians for the first fifteen hundred years of the existence of the Church. Even after the Great Schism that divided the church between East and West, the doctrine of Transubstantiation still unites Orthodox and Catholic Christians. 

The Protestant Reformation brought that unity to an end. Martin Luther preached what Lutherans call consubstantiation. They believe that rather than a total miraculous change. The Eucharistic elements remain bread and wine and only become a spiritual reception of His Body and Blood. 

Some of the Protestant Reformers went even further and taught Communion is only a symbol of Jesus Christ. When they celebrate a communion service, they believe they are only reenacting Jesus action at the Last Supper. 

Our Catholic Eucharistic Revival now underway developed out of concern arising out of research on Catholic Eucharistic beliefs conducted by the Pew Center for the Study of Religion in America. Several years ago, they released polls reporting only about a third of American Catholics espoused the authentic Catholic teaching regarding Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist. According to the Pew research many others held the belief that Christ Presence in the Eucharist is only symbolic. 

Theses polls have been the cause of concern for many in the Church. It prompted the US Bishops to write a pastoral letter aimed at trying to eliminate any confusion about the Catholic belief in the real presence. They also initiated our current Eucharistic Revival that culminated in last summers Eucharistic Congress, the first in over eighty years that was held in Indianapolis.

Polls often elicit simple answers to complex questions, however. That might be the cause of much of what seems like a significant decline in Catholic belief in the Real Presence. Some commentators believe that to be the case with American Catholics’ Eucharistic beliefs. They point out that what might appear to be a crisis of faith is really a crisis of culture and a change in the understanding of what we mean by symbol. They proposes, for many American Catholics there is a deep reverence for symbol. For many in our culture the word symbol actually points toward mystery. Symbol in our culture has grown to mean something material which points toward something much deeper, which cannot be fully understood by the senses. For many Catholics that might be what they mean when they say the Eucharist is a symbol. They might be saying they believe Christ is really present in the bread and wine he has made a symbol.

The bishops take a similar tack. They say the Eucharist is a symbol in reverse. They state that Christ is really present and uses symbols of eating and drinking to illuminate what is being accomplished.

The Eucharistic Revival in our country seems to be working. Some recent polls report a greater number of Catholics responding to the Real Presence question in a way more in tune with Church teaching. As part of the development of small faith-sharing groups we used Eucharistic Revival materials. The response from parishioners was very positive.

If we really believe that Christ is present in the Eucharist then we need to become what we eat. If we truly believe Christ is present in the Eucharist, we must allow it to change us into the presence of Christ in our daily lives. That is what we hope to accomplish every time we receive the Eucharist. Our believe in Christ’s presence in the Eucharist needs to transform us. It need to produce a metanoia in us. Metanoia is a churchy word meaning a deep and penetrating change of heart. A change in heart that transforms us to be models of Jesus Christ. Prayer and faithfulness to the Eucharist and the other sacraments brings that about. 

Peter Kreft tells the story of a young Catholic student who had a friend who was a Moslem. The Catholic invited his Moslem friend to Mass one Sunday. At the end of the Mass the Catholic was interested in getting his friends reaction to the celebration. The Moslem stated that he was confused. The Catholic man said, “Yes, our Catholic faith is rich with signs and symbols that must be confusing to an outsider. The Moslem said that wasn’t what confused him. What confused him was the fact that if we believe Christ is present in the Eucharist and we become what we eat why did Christians treat each other so poorly?

The Moslem was right our Eucharistic spirituality calls us to imitate Christ. It calls us to allow God to take us, bless us, break us, and give us to the world as food just like Jesus did with the bread in today’s gospel. Really believing in the real presence means that what we do outside the church during the week is just as important as what we do inside the church each time we celebrate the Eucharist. 

In a few minutes we will come forward to receive the Eucharist once again. May we believe that Christ is really present with us. May that belief change us so wherever we walk, work, play, or study this week it will be a little less hungry because we have feed on and been transformed into the real presence of Christ.