The Body and Blood of Christ ( CORPUS CHRISTI) , 6 June 2010,

First Communions, as we celebrated last month, always make a huge impression on me. There is something utterly special about Jesus coming to His children. I can vividly remember the day I made my First Communion in Ireland even though I have forgotten many other events. Thanks be to God for the wonder of children receiving their First Holy Communion.

As we grow older, we strive to appreciate more how special receiving Holy Communion really is. For me, Mass every day is a challenge in that I am always painfully aware of my unworthiness to receive Jesus. I try to spend as much time as possible in prayer before Mass as a tiny gesture of preparing for this most special guest, Jesus.

Today at Mass we hear of that ancient figure, Melchizedek, who was a priest of God and brought bread and wine to offer. He was also King of Salem (which means Peace) and blessed Abraham. He is seen as preparing the way for Jesus who will be the Priest and Prince of Peace. Today we are celebrating not bread and wine but the Body and Blood of Jesus. How fortunate we are to be called to be part of the gift of the Eucharist.

At Corinth, almost 2,000 years ago Paul was faced with a seriously divided community. Those divisions within the community even crept into the celebration of the Eucharist. Paul in his preaching and teaching goes back to what happened on the night of the Last Supper. He tells how Jesus took some bread, thanked God for it and broke it before saying, “This is my body, which is for you”. He blessed the cup of wine and declared it to be His Blood given for us.

Today in Paris we are in continuity with the Last Supper and Calvary. Every time Mass is celebrated, we offer the bread and wine and receive the Body and Blood of Jesus. What a privilege for us! This is why at every Mass we begin by repenting of our sins. We ask God’s forgiveness and promise to forgive others who have done wrong to us. Taking part in Mass is a wonderful but serious celebration. It would be a tragedy if the Mass ever became ‘ordinary’ or taken for granted.

Each Mass happens not only here on earth, but is part of the Heavenly Liturgy. We have a foretaste, a type of preview, of what will be ours for all eternity in Heaven. The worship and praise of God goes on without ceasing in Heaven. The signs of bread and wine will no longer be needed in the Heavenly Liturgy because we shall see God face to face. We will behold Jesus and the Spirit as last Sunday’s feast of the Trinity reminded us. The heavenly liturgy will have the choirs of angels, the presence of Mary, Joseph and all the Saints, including our relatives and parishioners of the past. We are given a glimpse of this at Mass.

I have been deeply impressed since coming to St Joseph’s how the Eucharist has been the context of reaching out to the needy. In today’s Mass, Jesus won’t allow the people to be sent away to get fed. He tells his Apostles to feed them where they are, listening to Jesus. In recent times, from the weekend Masses you have reached out to the poor and hungry through your support for Saint Vincent de Paul Society; Soup Kitchen to feed people; helping people suffering from natural disasters in the Philippines and Haiti; the homeless in Mandeville, West Indies; the Order of Malta and in so many other ways.

There is more good news – each Mass feeds our hunger for love and company. You hear at Mass how much you are loved by God and the joy and warmth of the people worshipping alongside us tell us that we are not alone on the journey. There are people around us who care and will feed our needs of the soul and spirit. Thanks be to God for them.

Aidan Troy, C.P. [Aodhn Troighthigh, C.P.]