Homily for the Feast of Corpus Christi
Homily delivered by Fr Dominic Robinson SJ
Scripture Readings: Genesis 14:18-20; I Corinthians 11:23-26; Luke 9:11-17
The Body of Christ. We hear those words, in Latin or English each time we approach the altar to receive Holy Communion, and we say Amen. That is we say yes to the invitation to consume what our faith teaches us truly is Christ’s body for our salvation. But what does that really mean for us? Do we sometimes go through the motions? Are we always well prepared? Receiving the Body of Christ is not a once a week thing; rather it is saying yes to a way of life. Today we also have a procession with the Blessed Sacrament. Not just a once a year tradition we need to fit into the Church’s calendar. No, it is a sign to the outside world of who we are.
To say Amen to the Body of Christ is an invitation and a mandate. An invitation to work as a truly Catholic community to show how Christians are united as a vital force in our beleaguered society. Throughout the pandemic many have been so inspirational in living out the Eucharist – the well celebrated emergency selfless work with the homeless, the wonderful work of health professionals, all amid the pain of grief and suffering and loneliness so many have been experiencing. Many though feel cut off from Christ’s Body, for all sorts of reasons. They cannot come to belief in Christ or trust in institutionalised religion, perhaps because they feel on the margins and need to be invited in. Others in our city and society may today hear the message of God’s generosity in feeding his people and be on the breadline themselves, not paid a fair wage, without proper housing, excluded perhaps from God’s mercy they feel because they are different – a different class, race, sexual orientation, gender. The message today is the Body of Christ is not a tribe, is not a closed shop, but rather is a Body on mission to go to the margins and bring others in. That’s the point of celebrating today.
Today’s procession is also with our neighbours and friends at the Grosvenor Chapel. And here we live also the pain of separation between Christians and our desire for full unity in the one communion the Lord desires. What more important time than this for us to show how we are united as Churches to witness to what the Eucharist is all about. I think that to profess a faith in the Eucharist is quite an undertaking. This is a tough time to be a Christian. Because it is to commit oneself as a member of Christ’s Body to bring about what the Eucharist is all about, where everyone has a place at the supper. Pope Francis sums this up well in a quotation I particularly like – indeed I’ve used it before but I think it deserves repeating again and again: “The Eucharist … reminds us that we are not isolated individuals, but one body. As the people in the desert gathered the manna that fell from heaven and shared it in their families (cf. Ex 16), so Jesus, the Bread come down from Heaven, calls us together to receive him and to share him with one another. The Eucharist is not a sacrament “for me”; it is the sacrament of the many, who form one body, God’s holy and faithful people… Whoever receives it cannot fail to be a builder of unity, because building unity has become part of his or her “spiritual DNA”.
May we celebrate this feast today with renewed enthusiasm for our faith. May we be opened more widely to bring others to the Lord’s table. May we find peace and joy in living out our faith in the Body of Christ broken for the whole world.