Corpus Christi 2026

John 6:51-58

When I was about five, I remember being introduced to the idea of Holy Communion.. Because my birthday was in December and I could read a little bit, the sisters of Charity put me in first grade rather than kindergarten, a choice that affected my whole life, because all my classmates were six months to a year older than me, and let me know it. But I remember that I lived in my body -- I thought my soul was sort of like a balloon tied to my body with a thread -- I didn’t pay much attention to it. When I received my first communion I could feel Jesus presence in my body, sort of like a warmth radiating from the host all through my body. This went on for a very long time. Somewhere, probably when I begin to live in my soul and considered my body as that which caused me to sin, I lost that sensation -- but was reassured that the body and blood of Jesus, which I really consumed in Holy Communion, had all the accidents of bread and wine, so not feeling Jesus was pretty normal, I guess. My body was where I sinned, my soul where I encountered Jesus.

But today we hear Jesus astonishing words -- Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you shall not have life in you. And John the gospel writer translates the word “eat” with a greek word that describes the kind of eating that a starving animal might exhibit -- not the mannerly eating we expect of our children and ourselves.

If you go back to Genesis, God said, Let us make man in our image and likeness. He went on to say that we would be given dominion over all other creatures. And afterwards God looked at his creation and saw that it was good. Someone once said, “why did God give us bodies, which cause us to sin, which get sick and grow old and eventually die?” and someone else answered, “because he thought we’d like them.” The bodies God gave Adam and Eve were indeed bodies we would like -- never sick, never aged, no pain, no rebellion -- these two, a perfect man and a perfect woman -- could stand naked in front of each other and control all their feelings and impulses. It says, “they were naked but not ashamed”. When they chose to disobey God, he took away a lot of those good things about the body, among them the gift of immortality. And in a way, that was as mercy, because to live forever in rebellion against God is the very definition of hell.

And after the fulfillment of time, the word of God became a body. God took on a body in the womb of Mary, was born, nursed at the breasts of his creation -- lived a totally human life, including an agonizing death. In doing so, he glorified the human body and restored its immortality.

We Catholics and many other Christians believe that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. When we partake of this it is our bodies which digest this heavenly banquet. Jesus chooses to nourish our flesh and blood with his own. But Jesus is nourishing us with his resurrected body, his immortal and unlimited body.

I was thinking about all this when I asked myself the question, why do I know people who are good Christians who do not receive the body and blood of Jesus? It’s clear that you don’t need to receive Jesus to be a good Christian. I can accept that the reception of the Holy Eucharist, given the right disposition, can be an occasion of grace, a channel of God’s power to assist us in carrying out his work and helping us avoid sin. But probably all of us can think of a protestant brother or sister who shares our baptism, who clearly has the makings of a saint, but never receives the Eucharist.

We can certainly argue that God is not limited by our rules and is clearly at work outside our Church. But why do we say you have to receive the Eucharist at least once a year, and it’s a great thing to receive weekly, or even greater to receive on a daily basis. So here are some reasons to receive the Eucharist as often as possible.l

First, Jesus really wants to show us that he is concerned about bodies -- our body and that of our neighbor. So we should be concerned as well. As James the apostle tells us “If a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is that?”

Second, Jesus reminds us that he wishes to make us into other Christs -- and we can pray as we receive, “Let my hands be your hands, my heart be yours, let my love be your love”. So the eucharist is a reminder of what being a Christian is all about.

Third, we know that receiving the Eucharist does not make a person a Christian. We know that receiving the Eucharist unworthily can be a cause for eternal punishment, if we go by Saint Paul. But think of it this way. YOu’ve probably known people who show their love by offering food. I had a grandmother like that. The Eucharist is the way Jesus shows his love to his people by offering them his resurrected body and blood for our food. To receive this offering is a sign that we recognize his love for us.

On this Sunday of the body and blood of Christ, let us approach the Eucharist knowing that Jesus loves everything about us, including our bodies, which are destined to become like His own resurrected Body.