Corpus Christi

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Solemnity of Corpus Christi (A8)

7^th. June 2026

Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.

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Homily

My dear friends,

Today we gather once again to acknowledge and to celebrate the presence of the Risen Christ with us in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Today as church organizations in the Caribbean, Africa, in the far east, in India, Paraguay the United States and in Rome, we celebrate the Eucharist. This celebration of the Eucharist takes place at a moment of unprecedented violence, but violence today appears to be normal. The war between Russia and Ukraine and the war with Iran no longer seem to disturb us, nor does violence between individuals, and we ask our Saviour, Emmanuel God with us, to accompany us on the journey of life, every day more fragile, as He did with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, so that our hearts may burn within us as he breaks and explains the scriptures to us, and as he calls us to harmonious ways of life.

We gather once again this year to celebrate this feast of Corpus Christi, at a moment of great hope for the Church and indeed for the world. The teaching of Pope Leo XIV, both in his words and in his actions provide for us a glimmer of light in this horribly divided and violent world. Before Him, Pope Francis reminded us; “Today in many places we hear a call for greater security.” But until the exclusion and inequality in society and between peoples are reversed, it will be impossible to eliminate violence.” Indeed, in many Caribbean islands, and other parts of the world, the call for greater security resonates in all our hearts but as said above by Pope Francis, until the exclusion and inequalities in our countries are reversed the insecurity our countries experience will only increase, it will not end.

What are some of these inequalities? The discrepancy between the salaries of executives and the salaries of workers; the inequalities in health care; the inequalities in educational opportunities; the inequalities in job opportunities, and the inequalities in legal representation are some of the inequalities which continue to plague our nations, despite the best intentions of many. Inequalities also exist unfortunately in religious communities, in which at times members are not treated in the same ways, and at times our workers do not receive a living wage. It is these inequalities which contribute in no small measure to the dismissal of religious life by many in the laity, and contribute to the violence, murders, and other forms of human degradation now so prevalent. When these disasters occur, we are quick, as a society to apportion blame. On the contrary, should not our hearts go out with the compassion of God to parents, grandparents and families? (Let us take a few moments to ask ourselves what if any help we have given and what can and should we do so that in these circumstances the compassionate love of God may be experienced)

It is in this scenario that we celebrate this Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, a Solemnity which celebrates the joyful unity of the Body of Christ. The second reading of this Eucharistic celebration reminds us: “Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” The image of the human body is very enlightening for us followers of Jesus Christ. St. Paul uses this image to explain the relationship which we the followers of Christ must have. St. Paul says to us: For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not an essential part of the body? And if the ear shall say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where is the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you….. And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness……. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it….. Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

In referring to the disciples as one body St. Paul, reminds us of the harmony which we are called to live. As many health care professionals tell us, sickness is caused when the various parts of a person’s body are not in harmony with each other. The Body of Christ, the Church can also be sick and the symptoms of illness are the lack of harmony amongst its members, in our parishes and communities, both religious and secular. The lack of respect given to those who think differently to us, the lack of attention paid to the old and infirm and to those ill in hospitals. This illness will not necessarily be fatal. However, the cure is in our hands. All of us here this morning have the remedy in our hearts, minds and body. We have to recommit ourselves to living as the Body of Christ in which all its members regardless of their function recognize and live with great care and concern for each other, suffering with the members who suffer, rejoicing with those who have cause to rejoice. This is extremely important for us for we cannot speak with authority to a world becoming increasingly bereft of truly human values if we ourselves do not live them?

Today my dear brothers and sisters, we celebrate these truly human values incarnate in Jesus Christ. The Theology of Eucharist has several aspects. One is of course that Eucharist is the representation of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ. Another aspect is Eucharist as a meal. These two aspects of the theology of Eucharist encapsulate the values which as a Eucharistic people we are called to live. The passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord show us the Master, thinking of others before thinking of himself, putting the good of others first, in spite of the consequences which would follow. The celebration of the Last Supper, a festive meal for the Jews, known as the Passover, shows Jesus adopting the attitude of a servant, in total humility washing the feet of his disciples, telling us his followers to do likewise. Eating a festive meal with one another is also a sign of family and friendship. It speaks about harmony between persons and the putting aside of differences because of family and love. Jesus lived the values inherent in these two aspects of the Theology of Eucharist. These values we are called to internalize AND LIVE EVERY DAY.

The internalizing of values is never easy however, because it entails the creating of habits rooted in values contrary to the value system of the culture in which we live. The culture in which we live is extremely individualistic and self-serving with an accent on upward mobility. It pushes us to seek one’s own interests before the good of others. The result of the acceptance of these values coming from the world in which we live, has been the greed which spawns so much of the corruption we hear about, the various financial meltdowns which have done such great harm to so many, the underground business of drugs and guns and the several inequalities mentioned above. I think that we would all agree that society is sick. This sickness will not necessarily lead to death as I have said above. The remedy is in our hands. The Gospel passage which was just read tells us; “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” Our faith tells us that in the bread and wine consecrated on this altar, Jesus Christ is truly present. It is He who, present in us, will transform us. It is in Him that we will find the strength to love as He loved, putting others first, seeking their good despite the consequences which may follow. It is through Him living in us that we will be strengthened to resist the temptation to get rich quickly, to engage in activities which though legal may be unethical; to use others as objects of pleasure, to pay less than a living wage to workers, to discriminate against others because of ethnicity, sexual preference, gender, shade or class. It is in Him that we become other Christs in these nations of ours.

My dear brothers and sisters, through our celebration of Corpus Christi this year, may we recommit ourselves to becoming a Eucharistic people, persons who find their strength in the Body and Blood of Christ, persons who spend time with our Eucharistic Lord in silent adoration and through this frequent and loving communion with the Lord take on his characteristics becoming other Christs in this our beloved countries. This is how the saints, our heroes in the faith, accomplished the great things which they did. This is also how we will do it. Pope Francis reminds us: “Without prolonged moments of adoration, of prayerful encounter with the word, of sincere conversation with the Lord, our work easily becomes meaningless; we lose energy as a result of weariness and difficulties, and our fervour dies out. The Church urgently needs the deep breath of prayer, and to my great joy groups devoted to prayer and intercession, the prayerful reading of God’s word and the perpetual adoration of the Eucharist are growing at every level of ecclesial life.” My dear friends let the habit of perpetual adoration grow in our lands. My dear friends, today I ask you, each one of you to spend one hour of adoration each week before the Blessed Sacrament.

My dear brothers, the Institute has developed the habit of Perpetual Adoration. As we read the scriptures and discover how Christ acted, may we commit ourselves to imitating him so that we encourage others to experience the peace and internal joy that living as Christ lived brings to us. May our communities be places of true peace and joy.

Prayer

All powerful and ever-loving God, let this Corpus Christi, given the circumstances in which we live be a special One. Let us commit ourselves to living the mystery of the Eucharist in such a way that our lives convince others of the need for community, the need for the common life of sharing and the need for prayer so that wars and violence be no more, so that families may live in peace, so that inequalities may vanish and families become schools of truly peaceful life. And may Mary, our Mother accompany us on our journey and obtain for us the graces that we need.