We are celebrating the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ today at Mass.
Jesus said in today’s gospel:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
These words are worth reading a second time, even if you have already heard them today at Mass. They are living words. These are the words of eternal life. Jesus Christ’s words should take root in our hearts and grow, when we receive him in word and sacrament each week at Mass. We have no life of our own without Him. In the end, our lives will have been built on air, if we have not loved Jesus and trusted in his Word.
What is your life built on? Religious practices, routines, living a good, moral life? Praying every morning before you go to work, or when the children go to bed? Donating money to the church or serving God’s people? Doing a good job at work? Taking good care of your family? Spending quality time with your family and friends?
Most of us believe these things are what being a good Catholic is all about. We go to confession, pray the rosary and the Divine Mercy, observe the Catholic devotions to Mary and the saints, and go to adoration or to pray before the tabernacle at church on a regular basis.
But what if these things were taken away from you? What would be left? There are people who are prisoners of war or refugees, or live in nursing homes, hospitals, in jails or in prison, or they are homeless. Some people are paralyzed and confined to their beds and some are on life support in intensive care right now.
Sometimes the elderly have dementia and can not attend mass. There are also many mentally ill people suffering with schizophrenia or other serious mental illnesses that affect their ability to interact normally with other people in public. They are secluded and unseen by the rest of the world and often have no one to bring them communion.
There are also people in the world who live in very remote areas and have very little contact with the larger Catholic community, except for an occasional visit from a traveling priest.
There are also those who are fortunate enough to be able to go on vacation aboard a cruise ship, but they will not have an opportunity to attend Mass because they are traveling in the middle of the ocean.
We are never alone though. Even if these things should happen to us one day, and we can not receive Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, the Lord will never leave us. He is already a part of us. We are part of Him. He lives in us. He is with us every moment of our lives, until the end of time, even if we are cut off entirely from practicing our faith. Remember this, if you are ever in a situation where the Catholic church is not there. It does not mean that Christ is not there with you.
Jesus loves you. You are his own. You belong to Him and you always will. He is never more than a breath away, because he is so much a part of you, that he is the flesh of your flesh, and the heart of your heart. When your heart beats, his does too, with love for you.
We take this precious treasure for granted so often in our lives. The bible says that our bodies are temples and we are, because we contain Jesus himself within us. We are holy, because He is holy. He is the one who gives us life, and makes us worthy to enter into the kingdom of God. This is nothing we can achieve on our own, through all the religious practices we do.
Did you eat His flesh and drink His blood today at Mass? If so, rejoice for Who it is that lives within you! What a great gift we have been blessed with today. This communion with the Lord Jesus, and with one another is the holiest hour of our lives. We are so fortunate to be able to receive Jesus in communion. May we always treasure and appreciate this beautiful gift that he has given us.
Daily Mass Readings:
Deuteronomy 8: 2-3, 14b-16a / Psalm 147 / Corinthians 10: 16-17 / John 6: 51-58
