“Eucharist: The Heart of Jesus” – Feast of Corpus Christi – 6.2.24

St. Mark the Evangelist Parish (Cranberry/Mars/Butler, PA)

Mass Readings- https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060224.cfm

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Also referred to as the Feast of Corpus Christi. Today, we reflect in a special way on the Eucharist truly being the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

This belief that the Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is the central aspect of our faith. If the Eucharist is not Jesus, then our entire faith collapses.

American novelist Flannery O’Connor once famously said about the Eucharist - “If it's just a symbol, to hell with it.”

Everything we believe, begins and ends with the Eucharist.

As we know, more and more Catholics do not believe that the Eucharist is Jesus. This is a growing problem within our Church today.

Even those that do believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, need to have their faith deepened, so they have a greater conviction of the Lord’s presence.

The only way we can develop a greater belief and conviction that Jesus is present in the Eucharist is by falling more in love with our Lord. We fall in love with the Lord by spending time with Him in prayer.

As we come to spend more time with Him, we will begin to sense His presence and His burning love for us in the Eucharist. We will come before the Lord in the Eucharist, and in the depths of our heart, we will have a greater conviction that Jesus is present in the tiny white host.

One of the things that we learn about the Eucharist is that it is the Sacrament of God’s love. It is in the Eucharist that we come to understand most fully Jesus’ love for us. It is in the Eucharist that we encounter the living God in an incredible way. So, if we want to get to know the Lord, we need to get to know Him in the Holy Eucharist.

What we discover about God’s love in the Eucharist is that the Eucharist is the heart of Jesus Christ. It is not just piece of bread and cup of wine. It is not a symbol. It is Christ Himself. It is His very heart.

Throughout the Church’s history there have been recorded a little over 100 Eucharistic miracles where the host began to bleed and develop human flesh. Every time this happens the Church examines this scientifically and rigorously because they want to make sure that it is a true miracle and not just some hoax. What they discover is that when they examine these Eucharistic miracles, that the flesh is cardiac muscle tissue or heart tissue. And that this heart, this human flesh, this heart tissue, reflects a hear that is under great distress and nearing death.

When we receive the Eucharist, we are receiving the heart of Jesus.

In the Eucharist, the Lord speaks to us heart to heart. He reveals the love He has for us. And He desires for us to respond by sharing our hearts with Him.

As our love for Him grows, so does our belief that He is truly present in the Eucharist. As our belief in His true presence grows, so does our reverence towards the Holy Eucharist.

If I were to place a precious diamond in your hand, I imagine that you would handle it very carefully. You would be so tender with it. You would protect it from the slightest mark. You would make sure it was well taken care of.

How much more precious is the Holy Eucharist? How infinitely more valuable is the Eucharist than a precious jewel? In other words, how infinitely more precious is the heart of God?

It’s amazing that Christ places so much trust in us that we will handle His heart with care. It is amazing how Jesus makes Himself so vulnerable to us knowing that we will mistreat His heart in our sin and our irreverence towards the Eucharist.

When we refer to Jesus’ heart, we refer to it as the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Fittingly, this Friday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is depicted with thorns around His heart that pierce it and cause His heart to bleed.

Christ opens Himself up to us so completely that He allows the thorns of our sinfulness to pierce His heart causing His heart to bleed.

It is this Blood that saves us. It is this Blood that is poured forth from His heart that cleanses us of our sinfulness. It is this Blood that reveals the depths of His love for us. A love that is willing to lay down His life for us.

The Eucharist is alive and active. It is not merely a piece of bread and cup of wine. The Eucharist is the heart of Jesus, and it is constantly beating with love for us.

He comes to us in the Holy Eucharist with great trust and great love saying, “Here is my heart. Here is all of myself. Here is my love.”

Today, let us ask the Lord for greater faith and conviction that the Eucharist truly is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. And may we approach the altar of our Lord with a deeper reverence and love as we receive the very heart of God in the Holy Eucharist.