Sunday, June 22, 2014

Homily: Corpus Christi 2014 - St. Clare and the Blessed Sacrament



On the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, we are invited to renew our faith in the mystery and the power of the Holy Eucharist.

I’d like to tell a story from the life of our parish patron saint, St. Clare of Assisi.

St. Clare was born into a wealthy family in the town of Assisi around the year 1193.  She had an excellent upbringing, and was really a charming and beautiful girl; she had all of the social graces and her family wished her to marry a wealthy suitor.

But in the year 1212, she encountered a preacher who changed her life.  This preacher had himself embraced radical Gospel poverty and chastity for the sake of the kingdom.  Of course I’m speaking of St. Francis.  Clare, inspired by Francis, desired to dedicate her life completely to the Lord Jesus.  She put aside all worldliness and took the religious habit and became dedicated to a life of prayer, fasting, and penance.  

She soon attracted many young women to her way of life, including her own sister, Agnes.

The lives of Clare and her religious sisters revolved around a rhythm of prayer.  They did not go out on preaching missions like Francis and his brothers, rather, they spent their day falling in love with Jesus Christ in prayer—particularly, through contemplation of the real presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

Europe was flourishing economically through the rise of the merchant guilds and increased trade, particularly with the middle east.  However, many Christians began to make the pursuit of wealth more important than their faith; and Europe began to weaken in faith.  Francis saw the spiritual danger of this and went out to rebuild the Church through preaching and through the witness of Gospel poverty, calling people once again to center their lives on Christ.

St. Clare and her sisters, although they remained in the convent, supported this renewal of faith through their prayer and fasting.  They were the power source for the Franciscans preaching mission.  Their Gospel poverty and chastity were countersigns to a culture in danger of  losing its faith.

Anyway, about 30 years after her religious consecration, an enemy army invaded the town of Assisi.  Clare had fallen very sick as the army approached the convent.  Yet, in her illness and frailty she asked her sisters to retrieve from the chapel the blessed Sacrament in the monstrance and carry her to the roof of the monastery.  As the army approached, she prostrated herself before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and prayed for the protection of Assisi and the protection of her sisters.  As she lay prostrate before the Eucharist, she heard a voice from the monstrance saying, “I will always have you in my care”.  At that moment, she took the monstrance in her hands and raised it in front of the approaching army.  At its sight, the attacking army was filled with holy fear and fled the town.

This is why statues and religious art of St. Clare depict her holding the monstrance, as does our parish statue of St. Clare near my confessional, and the stained glass window in the choir loft. 

Clare believed in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and that Jesus Christ has the power to turn away armies, to transform cultures, to transform hearts.  Through our celebration of the Eucharist, souls are saved from hell, hearts hardened in sin are brought to repentance, unbelieving hearts are softened to receive the Gospel, timid hearts are emboldened for Christian service, and grieving hearts receive comfort.  

The Eucharist is our power source.  Vatican II even called the Eucharist the source and summit of our Christian life.  Attending Mass for the celebration of the Eucharist is the most important thing we can do on earth.  For Jesus Christ is made present here for the transformation of hearts, the glory of God and salvation of souls.

That 80% of Catholics in this country are not coming to Mass is a travesty; that Holy Mass is skipped in order  attend sporting events, go on shopping sprees, to sleep off hangovers , is very sad.  They are failing to participate in a fundamental element of Christianity.  This is why we believe missing Mass is a mortal sin.  Because it is so essential to being a Christian.

Saint Peter Julian Eymard  the founder of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers wrote, “It is necessary for the salvation of society to propagate the Eucharistic Reign of Christ.”  With so much violence in the world, with an abandoning of Christian values in our society, it is like an attacking army is at the gates.  And like St. Clare it is important for us to lift high the Eucharist, to lift high Jesus Christ as our shelter, our strength, our victor, our hope. 

To extend the Eucharistic Reign of Christ, Saint John Paul II to spend time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.  If you have never visited Jesus in our parish Adoration Chapel, please, spend time with him; fall in love with Him.  John Paull II said, “The Church and the world have great need of Eucharistic Adoration.  Jesus waits for us in this Sacrament of Love.  Let us be generous with our time when we go to encounter Him in adoration and contemplation, full of faith and willing to make reparation for the great faults and crimes in this world.  Let us never allow our Eucharistic adoration to end.”

Facing some of the greatest challenges the Church has ever faced since the ascension of Our Lord, we need ever more to draw strength from our power source. 

Sometimes people complain that they don’t get anything out of Mass.  They feel bored when they come here, they don’t experience the presence of God.  The saints teach us the more you put into the Mass, the more you get out of the Mass.  The person who spends time in prayer throughout the week, reading the scriptures, visiting Jesus in the tabernacle, will always get more out of the Mass than the person who just shows up to fulfill their obligation.

When we fail to come to Mass, we allow the enemy army to claim territory in our hearts and our world.  But when we actively participate at Mass with hearts well-disposed from prayer throughout the week and acts of charity, the victorious reign of our Eucharistic Lord is extended. 

In today's busy and superficial culture, it is easy for us to lose our sense of wonder in the face of this awesome gift, to take the mystery and miracle of the Eucharist for granted.


In just a few moments, Jesus Christ will once again offer himself to us in the Eucharist, when he does let us renew our commitment to him to spread his Gospel, to bring his presence, his light, and his love to a world grown dark, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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