Sunday, June 2, 2013

Homily: Corpus Christi 2013 - Adoration of Jesus' Body and Blood

Following Pentecost and Trinity Sunday every year comes the great feast of Corpus Christi.  Today we celebrate the Eucharist—that Our Blessed Lord is really present.  Through the Sacrament of the Eucharist instituted by Jesus himself at the Last Supper, he shares with us his real body and blood to nourish our souls just as natural food nourishes our bodies.

We believe that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist, not because some medieval theologian said so, not just because the Church has taught this from the very beginning, which she has, but because Jesus himself said so.  He said, this IS my body, this IS my blood. My flesh IS true food, my blood true drink.  And he commanded us to continue to celebrate 

the Sacrament of his Holy Body and Blood when he said, “do this in memory of me.”  He died on the cross to give us the Eucharist.

This doctrine is one of the main differences between Catholics and Protestants. Catholics have the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  Protestants do not.  Some Protestants may have symbolic representations of the Last Supper, where they pass around bread and cups of grape juice. But in no protestant service are bread and wine truly changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. 

The whole world really has a hunger for God.  And God is really present in the Eucharist.  As we heard in the Gospel today, Jesus’ desire to feed multitudes.  And he has fed the multitude, the Church, through the miracle of the Eucharist because he loves us and wants us to grow in holiness.  The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Jesus’ love. 

In 2007, Pope Benedict wrote to the whole Church, “I encourage all of you to discover ever more fully in the Eucharist, the sacrament of Christ’s sacrificial love, the inspiration and strength needed to work ever more generously for the spread of God’s Kingdom and the growth of the civilization of love”

St. Therese said if we truly understood the Eucharist we would be flat on our faces because God is truly present here.  Not just as an idea, not just as a symbol; God, is here.

This is why, as Catholics we genuflect towards the tabernacle as we enter and leave a Church.  The end of Mass doesn’t end Jesus’ presence with us; Jesus is truly present in the tabernacles and monstrances of the Church around the world so that the Eucharist can be brought to the sick and dying, and also, that the Eucharist might be adored by the faithful.

This weekend, we commemorate, here at Saint Columbkille, the one year anniversary of the opening of our chapel of perpetual adoration of the Eucharist in the parish center chapel.  
For our anniversary, we asked our adorers to submit a short testimony about what the chapel has meant to them.  And I’d like to share some of what your own fellow parishioners have received from their time in adoration.

Many of the adorers described the peace they receive which helps them in their busy life.  One parishioner wrote, “Adoration has been a source of renewal…Everyday life has become so hectic, and at times, very stressful due to my job and the health of some of my family members.  When I go to adoration I feel as if a weight has lifted.  The tension is lifted and I feel peace in the presence of God.  It’s refreshing.”  Another parishioner said, “life, with its constant barrage of activities, distractions, and responsibilities, makes it hard to focus on the one necessary thing” but the adoration chapel makes that possible.  

Another parishioner wrote, “I have been given the gift of forgiveness.  I never thought it would happen because I am a stubborn person.  I have been praying about it for a long time, but I know that because I have been praying before the Blessed Sacrament for the past year, Jesus has blessed me and set me free.”  That is the power of the Eucharist, the power to set hearts free.

Another parishioner wrote, “I never entered an adoration chapel before.  So after St. Columbkille’s chapel was opened and I was asked if I was going to sign-up for an hour…I said no.  I offered excuses, some legitimate.  After receiving Holy Communion one day I was praying about wanting to do God’s will.  Well, at the end of Mass, a parishioner asked if I could cover her holy hour.  I was honored that she asked, or rather, God asked…God was asking me to join him, like I had a date with God the next evening!  That holy hour changed my life, and after that day, I signed up to be a weekly adorer, and after months of meeting weekly with the Lord I now often go daily.”

A year ago, you might remember Fr. Joe Daluca visited our parish to encourage us to volunteer for an hour a week.  There are 168 hours in a week, and we currently have 380 regular adorers and 40 people on the substitute list. 

That means every hour for the past year we’ve had at least 1 person adoring, sometimes 2 or 3, not to mention so many of you who just come to visit.  The Lord truly blesses our parish through the faithfulness of our adorers.

It is also important that we continue to have new adorers.  So today, there are volunteer cards in the pews.  If you are interested in volunteering, even taking just an hour every other week, or even once a month, or as a substitute adorer, please fill out the card, and place it in the offertory.  There is a core team of 28 people that help run and organize the chapel. They really do a wonderful job.  And they will help to find you a place among the adorers.

And here is a wonderful opportunity to fall in love with the Lord more deeply.  You won’t regret signing up for an hour.

Pope John Paul II said this, "The church and the world have a great need of Eucharistic worship. Jesus waits for us in this sacrament of love. Let us be generous with our time in going to meet Him in adoration."

Through the Eucharist, the Lord transforms us into the people he made us to be, as he nourishes us with his very life.  If you want peace like you’ve never known before, if you want freedom, forgiveness, love, like you’ve never known before, come and open your heart in adoration of the Eucharist for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 


So every pew should have the cards and pencils; please pass them down your pew, and we’ll now take a moment.  If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.

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