By Rev. Fr. Daniel Tetteh Tackie
Theme: Jesus, the sustenance for our life’s journey
Today, we celebrate the solemn Feast of Corpus Christi. It is three Feasts in one: the feast of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the feast of the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the feast of the Real Presence of Jesus. It is a doctrinal feast established for three purposes:
1) to give God thanks for Christ’s abiding presence with us in the Eucharist and to honour him there;
2) to instruct the people in the Mystery, Faith and Devotion surrounding the Eucharist, and
3) to teach us to appreciate and make use of the great gift of the Holy Eucharist, both as a Sacrament and as a Sacrifice.
Today too, the world over, we commemorate the toils our fathers have experienced for us. Today is Father’s Day. May I take this opportunity to wish all Fathers Happy Fathers Day. May I humbly ask all fathers to reflect on the word FATHER as written below:
F= Forever with his family
A= Always there for them no matter what
T= The only one who’s there
H= He’s our hero till the end
E= Encouraging in everything we do
R= Really the only one…no one can beat him he’s the best!
The question is Can the above be said about you by your children? If YES, then blessed are you and HAPPY FATHERS DAY. If NO, then I invite you to examine your understanding of the word FATHER so you could also be celebrated by your children.
My brothers and sisters, in today’s readings, Jesus clearly told us that in order to inherit the Kingdom of God, we must receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Those who reject the life giving Bread from Heaven are spiritually dead and they will lose the final eternal glory that awaits the faithful! Jesus speaks of himself as being food for us, sent from the Father in heaven. Unlike ordinary food, which just sustains life, this food gives a life that is eternal.
In today’s Old Testament reading, Moses’ first word is “Remember,” which he repeats a few verses later with the negative phrase, “Do not forget.” The saving acts of God on behalf of his people were not to be taken lightly. The Passover and many other festivals were meant precisely to keep the memory of them alive. Jesus did not want to be forgotten. So he “left us a memorial,” as we heard in the opening prayer of today’s Mass. The memorial Jesus left us is unique, because it doesn’t point only to the past. It’s much more than a reminder. In it we believe that he is actually present among us. We believe that he gives himself to us, truly, as food and drink. As St. Paul reminds us, “The cup of blessing that we bless is a participation in the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a participation in the body of Christ.”
In Holy Communion, we unite ourselves to God, we encounter God. We are lucky that God offers Himself to us in such simple and undramatic circumstances. Moses and the people had to face thunder and lightning, dark clouds and pillars of fire at every encounter with God. Moses and the people were pioneers; they had to face an unknown God. We encounter a well-known God because many people have known him down the centuries and have left written testimonies and instructions on how to approach God and what to expect from Him.
God may be little known to us at the moment but all we have to do is walk the well trodden path of prayer and learning to get to know Him better. We are not pioneers like Moses and the people of Israel but we probably come to a point in our relationship with God when we need to choose to step outside our comfort zone, to break new ground in our own life in order to get even closer to God. It is a long and worthwhile journey and we are greatly helped and supported in it by the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Communion, the precious Body and Blood of Christ.
The central message of Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ, may be summed up in three points. 1) In the celebration of Eucharist, Christ reminds us of his enduring real presence in our midst to strengthen us as we give witness to him; 2) The Eucharist is a great sign of unity with Christ and with one another especially the less fortunate. Therefore we cannot receive the Eucharist and remain indifferent towards the poor; those without food and those without drink 3) In the Eucharist we become one with Christ, sharing in his life, his purpose and mission.
On the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, let us renew our faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Let this renewed faith inspire us to always come to Church every Sunday full of joy and eagerness to encounter Jesus, and to make our Eucharistic celebrations meaningful, lively and truly pleasing in God’s eyes. In this way, we will be duty-bound, to prepare ourselves properly in our physical, psychological and spiritual life; to actively and meaningfully participate in the celebration; and to worthily receive Jesus in the Holy Communion. The Eucharist is our life and in participating in it as it is celebrated, the work of our redemption is carried out. Amen.
