Corpus Christi

Sermon for Corpus Christi 2010

Dear Faithful,

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the eve of the His Passion, Holy Thursday, said to His disciples whom He loved: “O how long have I desired to eat this pasch with you before I suffer” (Lk 22:15). So great was the desire of Our Lord to give Himself entirely for love of us. So great was this desire that Our Lord predicted, prefigured and even wrote history itself in order to teach us the greatness of this sacrament.

We read in the book of Genesis, of how God planted a tree in the garden of Paradise. In fact there were two trees especially created by God: one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the other the Tree of Life [Gn 2,9]. Adam and Eve, created in the state of grace, were destined to eat of this tree of life in order to preserve their immortality. The fruit of the Tree of Life was not forbidden, on the contrary it was necessary for them, as it gave them life and immunity from corruption. It was the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that was forbidden, as it’s fruit led to the destruction of innocence and sin.

And alas, as we know, our first parents did not obey and instead of eating from that tree that was to give them life, they chose to believe the lies of the devil and lost their innocence. With their fall from grace they lost also their right to eat from the Tree of Life. The gates of paradise were closed, and mankind at enmity with God, subject to pain, suffering, sickness and death. God threw them out of paradise, that they should not eat of the tree of life lest they live forever [Gn 3,22].

And yet a promise was made, that there would be One who would come to restore this life once lost by sin. Our Lord, in the fullness of time, assumed our humanity and dwelt amongst us. And yet to restore this order that was lost by eating of the fruit of the tree, He Himself underwent suffering, pain and death, as they hung Him upon a tree. On the tree of the Cross Our Lord hang as a victim, and yet also as a teacher, showing us by example the true knowledge of love. Upon this tree Our Lord reestablishes friendship between mankind and God. Upon this tree Our Lord rules in His Kingdom, a Kingdom richer than paradise ever was. Upon this tree Our Lord offers Himself as victim, and it is from this tree that we are to eat if we are to receive eternal life.

And we read later in the book of Genesis, how the fruit of the tree would be given to us. The Patriarch Abraham would receive the visit of three guests under the shade of a tree [Gn 18,4]. These guests would speak of his son Isaac whom he would offer on that same mountain where Our Lord carried His Cross, the tree of life. Abraham had already made war against the people of Sodom and took all their substance away [Gn 14,11], and Melchisedech offered in thanksgiving for this victory a sacrifice. Being the King of Salem, that is the King of Peace, Melchisedech the priest of the most high God, brought forth bread and wine, and blessed Abraham. Our Lord, as a fruit of that victory over sin and death, offers for us upon this altar a sacrifice of His very own Body and Blood under the species of bread and wine.

And so my dear faithful, we honor today this great sacrament which is the fulfillment of all the promises of Our Lord. Our Lord is present in this sacrament: His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, real and substantially present though hidden under these signs. These signs of bread and wine are at once a symbol of their power to nourish our souls. They are also a sign of God’s infinite love for us, who had used these signs throughout history to announce the coming of this one sacrifice renewed upon our altars.

Thus after the Mass we will adore this sacrament, as therein Our Lord, true God, dwells amongst us. Our Lord is there, present, as a source of light and grace for us all. Each and every holy communion we make, dear faithful, is an enormous fountain of grace and also a promise, a promise that if we eat of the tree of life we will live forever, world without end. Amen.