This is my Body…

We’ve just celebrated a significant Revival in honor of the presence of the risen Jesus in the Eucharist. The reason for this effort is a survey that revealed many Catholics are no longer believing that the consecrated host holds the real presence of the risen Jesus. They learned it when they studied their catechism, but now, as science has taken center stage on TV, how are they to explain it in conversation? What might we say to our families and friends when they ask us about this? How might this month’s readings help us with this?

We might begin by saying that the mystery of the incarnation really has three steps…down. First, our wild loving God in the person of the Word, stepped down into the Virgin’s womb. The Word fused itself with our DNA…our double helix. If that is not amazing enough, he took a second step…down. The Word in the humanness of Christ Jesus chose to enter the worst level of human suffering, death by execution by your very own kin. But there is a third step. The transformed human that is the risen Jesus took a third step…down. He figured out how to feed us with his own risen life by becoming a ‘thing,’ bread to be kept in a bread-box we call the tabernacle.

Catherine of Siena says it well: “Oh mad lover! It was not enough for you to take on our humanity: you had to die as well! Nor was death enough…I see your mercy pressing you to give us even more when you leave yourself to us as food to strengthen our weakness, so that we forgetful fools should be forever reminded of your goodness.” (Dial. 30, p. 72) Yes, three steps…down.

It would be wise too, for us to mention that we are dealing with an alternate physics here. We have no idea what a transformed humanness is like. We just know that this time-space body gets pretty exhausted by the end of the day. Jesus has a transformed human metabolism. Its limits are gone. It has been transformed by love…as ours will be, and he can be anywhere he pleases. In fact, he is the one presence that holds all the tabernacles that hold him. Our faith in the Eucharist holds the promise of our very own future. The Revival prayer by Bishop Andrew Cozzens says it well:

Jesus living in the Eucharist, come and live in me.

Jesus healing in the Eucharist, come and heal me.

Jesus sacrificing yourself in the Eucharist, come and suffer in me.

Jesus rising in the Eucharist come and rise to new life in me.

Jesus loving in the Eucharist, come and love in me.