Corpus Domini

Today, solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, we are invited to celebrate in wonder the mystery of the true presence in the Eucharist of the Lord who gives us the food and drink of heaven to feed our earthly life and to face the path to heavenly life. Offering himself entirely, the Risen Crucified gives himself to us, who thus discover that we are made to feed ourselves on God. Our hungry nature bears the mark of an indigence that is satisfied by the grace of the Eucharist.

The fact that God loved men to such a degree as to send his own Son to redeem them from their miserable condition, is not a past event to regret as if now concluded. On the contrary, it is poured into the present. That love is present, alive and working today in an amazing way.

Today, the Church invites us to enter with wonder into this “mystery of faith” which the priest, each time he celebrates Mass, summarizes with the ineffable words of Jesus in:” Take and eat, this is my body. Take and drink this is my chalice of my blood. Do this in memory of Me.”

In his encyclical on the Eucharist John Paul II described this amazement:

“When I think of the Eucharist, and look at my life as a priest, as a Bishop and as the Successor of Peter, I naturally recall the many times and places in which I was able to celebrate it. I remember the parish church where I had my first pastoral assignment, and … in chapels built along mountain paths, on lakeshores and seacoasts; I have celebrated it on altars built in stadiums and in city squares. This varied scenario of celebrations of the Eucharist has given me a powerful experience of its universal and, so to speak, cosmic character. Yes, cosmic! Because even when it is celebrated on the humble altar of a country church, the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world. (Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia).

In the Mass and for the gift of Jesus in the Eucharist, each of us must live the same wonder, joy and gratitude spoken of by St John Paul II in this passage.

Living and life-giving, the Corpus Domini makes us, the Church herself, the Body of the Lord. For this reason, echoing the Apostle Paul (cf. 1 Cor 10:17), the Second Vatican Council teaches that :

In the sacrament of the Eucharistic bread, the unity of believers, who form one body in Christ, is both expressed and achieved. All are called to this union with Christ, who is the light of the world, from whom we come, through whom we live, and towards whom we direct our lives” (Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 3). 

Let us worship before this great and merciful Mystery. Christ could not do more for us. Indeed, in the Eucharist, the Redeemer shows us a love that goes to the "extreme", a love that knows no measure and no borders.

Corpus Christi: 7 June 2026