WE have just celebrated that tremendous Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. Tremendous, because we can never have enough of the overwhelming truth and mystery that in spite of our natural limitations, not to mention, our infranatural defects due to our sins, Christ continues to be with us and to love us, offering himself as food to nourish us, heal us, save us.
We need to take time to savor and fathom a little this truth of our faith that should fill us with joy and hope regardless of circumstances. This is not an exercise at escapism and fantasizing, but rather a realistic gesture—indeed, a necessity—given our true dignity as persons and children of God.
May we never get accustomed to this great sacrament of the Holy Eucharist that contains the very body and blood of Christ! With it, we actually have God himself with us, offering everything that we need to be what we ought to be. With it, time and eternity are united, the natural and supernatural, the material and spiritual, our sinfulness and our salvation become one.
Yes, there are certain things, very fundamental and indispensable to know about ourselves, that we need to be more aware of and to be more consistent in. We are children of God, created in his image and likeness, whose lives just cannot be by ourselves but, by definition, lives lived in God and with God.
In other words, we are not meant to merely have natural human lives. Ours are also meant to be supernatural, a completely gratuitous privilege to which, with God’s grace, we are expected to correspond. Our life with God is something that we have to work out.
It is worthwhile to pause and meditate on this mystery. We should try to distance ourselves from our usual concerns, at least for a while, if only to enter into another level of reality—the spiritual and the supernatural—that we often take for granted.
Such effort, for sure, will do us a lot of good. It would help us to see things holistically and to put us on a track that is most proper to us. Truth is we very often miss what is truly essential in our life.
We just get entangled with the peripherals in life which, while unavoidable and in a sense also necessary, are not the most important. We get confused as to which is our true end and which merely are means toward that end.
The liturgical celebration of Corpus Christi that in some places is extended with an octave or weeklong solemn exposition of the Blessed Sacrament should lead us to ask questions like how am I nurturing my Eucharistic devotion, am I developing the urge to attend and actively participate at Mass, especially Sunday Mass, do I know what the Holy Mass really is, etc.?
Do I feel something special whenever I am in front of the Blessed Sacrament or even when I just happen to pass by a church where I know the Blessed Sacrament is reserved? Do I get to engage Christ in some intimate conversation when I receive him in communion or simply when I am in front of the Blessed Sacrament?
Do I make a pious genuflection whenever I am before the Blessed Sacrament? Do I feel good when I am there? There are many heart-warming anecdotes about how one’s piety before the Blessed Sacrament converted the most cynical and sceptical persons.
The Blessed Sacrament should be a magnet in our life. It will help us to have a supernatural tone in our outlook. It will remind us of the real purpose of our life. It will serve to organically shape our day.
It’s been said that the Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life, the center and root of our spiritual life. We cannot overemphasize these overwhelming truths. That’s why, we need to take time to meditate on them and draw concrete resolutions.
In fact, the resolutions we can get from our devotion to the Holy Eucharist can be endless. Especially at these times when we tend to be most harassed by temporal concerns, leading us to forget about the eternal goals of our life, we need to make this devotion truly vibrant.
Let’s take advantage of our preparation for the International Eucharistic Congress to spread this devotion, teaching everyone, especially the young ones, how to live it. Again, the family plays a fundamental role, with the parishes and schools giving valuable support.
Let’s never forget that with the celebration of Corpus Christi, we are presented with the truth that Christ continues to really be with us! He has not left us.
E-mail: roycimagala@gmail.com
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