The Body and Blood of Christ
I love this great feast day. As a child I loved the procession around the streets and all the houses with the bunting and the flags and the people thronging the pavements and I was always moved when I saw everybody kneeling down and blessing themselves and bowing their heads when the Blessed Sacrament passed them. The people sang all the Eucharistic hymns and when I was a senior altar server I was leading the procession with the thurible and continuously incensed the Blessed Sacrament. Great times indeed.
It was great, therefore, when I came to Borehamwood and we started the Corpus Christi Procession with all the children who had just made their First Holy Communion leading the way in their special celebration clothes. Sadly in this crazy time we cannot get together and process from Ss John Fisher and Thomas More in Rossington Avenue St Teresa’s in Shenley Road for Benediction and a Thanksgiving Party. Fr Antonio has composed a lovely slideshow from last year’s procession and I certainly intend to spend some time of Sunday watching it over and over, and in the privacy of my living room I shall play the hymns and attempt to sing the songs. Do the same!
Today’s Readings point to three aspects of this core mystery of our faith: the Real Presence, the Eucharist as the source of our unity and the Eucharist as nourishment for our souls. When we come to church, we don’t have to hope that the Lord will be here. His presence doesn’t depend on our mood, our feelings, our holiness or even on our faith. Christ is truly present in the Eucharist by his promise and power. The Lord also gave us the Eucharist to draw us together. When we receive Holy Communion we all receive the same Jesus to bind us all in unity as the Church. The Eucharist nourishes us like the manna in the desert. The Eucharist nourishes the soul. The Eucharist is our manna, our food for the journey which gives us grace and which promises us future glory. Christ lives in us.