Holy Body and Blood of Christ

" For You, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good He has done for me? The cup of salvation I will take up and I will call upon the name of the Lord." [Psalm 116: 8-13].

This Sunday marks Corpus Christi, or The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

In this space, I speak the truth about all of the losses in my life. I speak of family who did not hug me or feed me or give me medical care. I tried my best to love this family who did not seem to love me.

I believe that one learns to more deeply appreciate, and long for, those things that one has lost.

When I was a young girl, my parents took me to church, where I learned to love God and emulate Jesus. We did not always attend church consistently. When we did attend church, my family tended to skip church on the first Sunday of the month, which was called "Eucharist Sunday".  Then, we stopped attending church altogether when I turned fourteen. When my family took church away, I "lost" the Eucharist.

So many, who call themselves Christian, skip going to church week after week. They are missing the soaring hymns. They are missing the gentle words in the sermon or the homily. They are missing the sunlight piercing the beautiful stained glass. They are missing the scent of the flowers, and the artistry of the majestic vestments.

Most of all, they are missing the Eucharist. In the Eucharist is Christ. In not receiving the Eucharist, they are not receiving Christ.

There are many today who would criticize the rituals of a Christian service. These are folks who call the rituals "empty". Then, I think of how Christ, at the Last Supper, breaks bread and offers wine, and tells His disciples, "Do this in remembrance of me!" The Eucharist cannot be an empty ritual! It is how we remember Jesus and all that He has done for us.

Some Christian denominations believe that the Sacrament of Communion is a remembrance of Jesus. Catholics believe that in receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus, we are receiving Jesus. Catholics believe that the Eucharist feeds the soul.

The Eucharist becomes, then, much more than a commemoration. The Eucharist soothes what hurts. It allows us to become more Christ-like.

There are times when I enter church not feeling very peaceful. But Jesus tells the Apostles, "Peace I leave you, my peace I give you." [John 14: 27]. After Communion, I feel such a healing inner peace.

Jesus was humble. How many times do I fall into the trap that I am the only one who is right, that others should recognize my special insight and follow me? Receiving the Eucharist is a humbling and awesome experience. It draws me closer to the divine and reminds me very much of my human frailty.

God is Love. Jesus, as the Son of God, sacrificed His life, out of Love for us. Their message in all ways is to love one another deeply from the heart. [1 Peter 1: 22]. Often, I enter church feeling unloved and unloveable. But after the Eucharist, I leave with a secure feeling of Love in my heart. Being so unconditionally loved, I can love others fully.

Jesus calls us friend. He calls us brother and sister. So often, I enter church feeling solitary and alone. But Jesus says, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." [John 14: 18].

By receiving Jesus, He is in us and we remain in Him. Jesus says, "[One day], you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you." [John 14: 20].  Receiving the Eucharist is the truest path to receiving Jesus and His Father.

By approaching the altar, we receive those qualities from Jesus that we require the most: His peace, His humility, His Love, His friendship. We also receive each other!

For the Body of Christ is also represented by the body of the church. Christians collectively approach the altar "in Communion", as a unified body of believers.

In reunion with each other, in Communion with Jesus, we express our highest aspirations as Christians, and as human beings: to love and to be loved.

When I finally began going back to church, I began receiving Communion again. I so deeply appreciate today what I had "lost" for so many years. I pray that everyone will regain that feeling of awe, of peace, of love, of humility, of community, of holy grace that is an integral part of receiving Christ.

[Related Posting: "Corpus Christi", June 27, 2011].

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