His Excellency,
The Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., S.T.D.
Diocese of Belleville
June 2, 2024, 11:00 AM Mass
Corpus Christi, Shiloh
“Corpus Christi: We Become What We Eat”
(This is the text as originally written. During the actual delivery, some passages were omitted and other comments were added spontaneously. Nota bene: This text has not been thoroughly proofread. Therefore, there may be errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation.)
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
Luciano Pavarotti, the world-famous opera tenor, is renowned for his performance of the “Nessun Dorma” – “No One Sleeps” - aria from Giacomo Puccini’s opera, Turandot. Several years ago, I was searching for this performance on YouTube when I discovered something extraordinary - a video of Pavarotti and the famed rock singer, Sting, performing a duet of Belgian composer, Cesar Frank’s brilliant arrangement of St. Thomas Aquinas’s 13th century hymn “Panis Angelicus.” These two completely different, great voices created a deeply moving version of this eucharistic hymn, which I hope many of you know.
Panis angelicus; fit panis hominum: “The bread of Heaven has become the bread for mankind.”
Dat panis cœlicus; figuris terminum: “The Bread of Heaven reveals the God who is hidden.”
O res mirabilis! Manducat Dominum; Pauper, pauper, servus et humilis. “Oh, wonderous thing! The Body of the Lord will feed those who are poor, those who are humble, and those who serve.”
If you could see and hear this video, it would surely deepen your appreciation of today’s great Feast of Corpus Christi. The Body and Blood of Christ, this panis angelicus, this bread of angels, is Christ’s gift to each of us, uniting us with God in a “Holy Communion,” a communion of love with God and each other. When Jesus gave us the Eucharist, He did not call John aside and say, “John, since you’re my favorite, I have a special gift that I wish to give to you alone.” No, He gave the gift to the community of disciples, to the Church, to you and me, and ultimately to the whole world.
Christ feeds us this morning with the bread and wine which are, sacramentally, His Body and Blood. With this panis angelicus, we become what we eat! This wonderful and sacred mystery is the heart of our lives as Catholic Christians. In celebrating the Holy Eucharist, we are being obedient to Jesus of Nazareth, who, the night before He died, took, blessed, broke, and gave the bread, and took, blessed, and gave the cup of wine to His followers, saying, “This is ME. This is My very self!” When you consume this bread and wine, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you become what you eat, you become ME.”
This is why the regular celebration of the Eucharist was central to the life of the Christian community from the beginning. The Acts of the Apostles tells us the followers of Jesus “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the breaking of bread.” [Acts 2: 42] The members of the early Church believed that Christ was truly present when they gathered together, present when they listened to the Word of God, and present in the breaking of the bread. The leaders of the Roman empire thought the Christians were a secret society involved in cultic practices. The Romans heard that the Christians did strange and terrible things. They accused them of cannibalism, eating the body, and drinking the blood of their dead founder.
Jesus tells us in the gospel, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will not have life in you. Those who eat My flesh and drink My blood have eternal life.” But the Church clearly does not teach or believe that the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is literal, physical, biological flesh and blood. The Church fully acknowledges that from a scientific point of view, the bread and wine are STILL bread and wine. But the Church believes that from a spiritual and theological point of view, the substance of the consecrated bread and wine are, by Divine Grace, Christ truly present. This sacramental transformation is NOT a simple, easily explained, easily understood, or easily believed reality. It is a belief that is dismissed and ridiculed to this day. Recently, a leading atheist wrote, “Can you believe that in this modern age, informed by science, hundreds of millions of Catholics kneel before tasteless bread wafers saying they actually believe that an itinerant rabbi, who was crucified as a troublemaker 2,000 years ago, is somehow contained in a stale piece of bread for them to consume?”
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Perhaps you can understand why a secular atheist, who does not have faith, is unable to grasp the nuances of Catholic sacramental theology of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. You might find it more difficult to understand that growing numbers of Catholics in the United States no longer believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
A 2019 Pew Research Center survey found only one-third of American Catholics believe that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ. Nearly seven-in-ten Catholics (69%) said they personally believe the bread and wine they receive in Holy Communion are mere symbols of the body and blood of Christ. Fewer than one-third of Catholics (31%) said they believed in the Real Presence of Christ in the consecrated bread and wine.
Various surveys show that many Catholics are confused about Catholic beliefs concerning the Eucharist. Some of our priests think this confusion is one of the reasons why some American Catholics seem to show less reverence for the Eucharist by talking in Church, not genuflecting when they enter the pew, walking around during the consecration, and chewing gum when they receive Holy Communion.
These discouraging statistics have led the Bishops of the United States to initiate a National Eucharistic Revival, which will include a National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in July in the hope of inspiring Catholics around the country to renew their knowledge of and love for Christ in the Eucharist and share this knowledge and love with their family members and neighbors.
Catholics are now in the midst of a National Eucharistic Pilgrimage that is making its way to Indianapolis carrying and venerating the Eucharist. In San Francisco, where the St. Junipero Serra Route began May 18, more than 4,000 people walked in a Eucharistic procession across the Golden Gate Bridge. This Serra Route of the Pilgrimage will be moving through our Diocese July 7th and 8th, with Eucharistic Celebrations and other activities at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows and at the Cathedral of St. Peter. I hope that as many of you who can will join the Belleville portion of our national pilgrimage and share in this Emmaus experience of recognizing Jesus in the breaking of the Bread.
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
The feast of Corpus Christi and the renewal of our awareness of the Presence of Christ in the Eucharist are a reminder that the Eucharist is first and foremost spiritual food to be consumed. Panis angelicus. As you approach the altar for Communion, do so with the greatest reverence. You are preparing, as St. Paul teaches, to “Put on Christ.” Pray that you will become what you eat. Pray that you will become the Real Presence of Christ in the world. When you return to your places, spend a few moments with your eyes closed in silent discourse with Christ who is within you. Do you truly believe in His Real Presence?
“Lord Jesus Christ, give me the courage to share my faith in your Presence in the Eucharist with those around me the way the early Christians did.”
Listen to the silent voice of Jesus in your heart calling each of you by name:
I need your eyes to continue to see.
I need your ears to continue to hear.
I need your mouth to continue to speak.
I need your hands to continue to work.
I need your feet to continue to walk.
I need your body to continue to serve.
I need your heart to continue to Love!
And I need your spirit to continue to bring justice, reconciliation and peace to your family, your community, your divided country, and your troubled world.
Praised be Jesus Christ. Both now and forever. Amen!