Monthly Archives: June 2014

HOMILY

Preached at Holy Sepulcher Parish on June 21 and 22 on the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ at the 6:00PM (Vigil), 8:00AM, and 10:30AM Masses

On this important feast I thought that we should reflect on the question, “Why the Eucharist?” First, there are many ways that our Lord could be made present for us at Mass. For example, the Eucharist could be a simple religious ceremony where we are symbolically anointed with oil, sprinkled with dirt and ashes, or covered with the aroma of incense. Yet why does Christ come to us in a Eucharistic meal? Next, because this is a meal there are almost an unlimited number of different foods and beverages that our Lord could make himself present for us, everything from simple water to Father John’s famous pasta and sauce. So why does Jesus give us his body and blood in the form of bread and wine? Finally, we all have a number of ways that we can have an encounter with our Lord: in prayer, in the gospel (the word made flesh), in confession, and so on. But why does Christ give us the gift of his very self in the Eucharist? Today on this feast of Corpus Christi we reflect on our intimate encounter with the divine, with our Lord Jesus Christ, in the most holy Eucharist.

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