Solemnity of Corpus Christi

I have baked bread all my married life. The ingredients so different in texture; flour, sugar, salt, butter, yeast, and water. I marvel at how so many distinct ingredients mixed together can produce a food so fundamental to humanity. 

In 2018 on this Solemnity, Pope Francis broke with tradition and went outside Rome to celebrate Mass in the plaza in front of the Church of Santa Monica in Ostia where there had been much violence against the poor, homeless and immigrants. In doing so, there was an accompaniment of the suffering Body of Christ.  The wounded found unity in this simple act. Here in our own country that accompaniment, unity is desperately needed. We are a suffering people.

But, we are also a Eucharistic people.  We become what we eat and having received the Body and Blood of Christ we are to go forth into the world to bring grace and healing as the “little Christ” we have become; the persona of Christ. It is our sacred responsibility; not to divide but to heal; to channel the grace of Our Lord. 

At Sheri’s funeral (I have shared her story before) I read these words from Pope Francis in the eulogy.  They are apt for today.

“ If we are to share our lives with others and generously give of ourselves, we also have to realize that every person is worthy of our giving. Not for their physical appearance, their abilities, their language, their way of thinking, or for any satisfaction we might receive, but rather because they are God’s handiwork, his creation. God created that person in his image, and he or she reflects something of God’s glory. Every human being is the object of God’s infinite tenderness, and he himself is present in their lives. Jesus offered his precious blood on the cross for that person.  Appearances notwithstanding, every person is immensely holy and deserves our love.  Consequently, if I can help at least one person to have a better life, that already justifies the offering of my life.  It is a wonderful thing to be God’s faithful people. We achieve fulfillment when we break down walls and our heart is filled with faces and names!” 

As the bread is consecrated on this Solemnity of Corpus Christi, becoming food for the journey, which will satisfy us for eternity; we can see in our Church just as we can see in the mixture of bread ingredients, a gathering of God’s people.  We are assembled across the world from different countries, languages, customs, and goals.  But, in this Eucharist we find commonality.  In this bread we find unity.