CORPUS CHRISTI
THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
INTRO:
A high school student was walking down the street, past a house where a small child on a porch was S T R E C H I N G to reach the doorbell. No matter how hard the small child tried he couldn’t reach it!!! The teenager called out: “Hold on I’ll give you a hand.”
Then the teenager climbed up to the porch,
Picked up the child so that he could reach the doorbell.
When the small child rang the bell….he SMILED and said….
“NOW LET’S RUN!!!”
Cute story!
“Running away” is a temptation that COULD come to us. Our busyness, our anxieties, our over-extended activities ALL of these at one time or another could suggest…running away!
I don’t see that much in you and me…we pretty much face things head on, but we do:
RUN AROUND,
WE RUN HERE AND THERE AND EVERYWHERE,
WE GOTTA GET THIS IN AND THAT DONE!!
And doing this running around, could take our eyes OFF THE PRIZE! The prize of being Catholic!
Today, CORPUS CHRISTI, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is about,
NOT running away, running around, but for a moment,
S L O W I N G D O W N
P U T T I N G G O D F I R S T
And realizing the church food that sustains and strengthens you and me for the “run”.
This is our prize!
We had FIRST COMMUNION no too long ago. In the homily for them I asked the children;
“WHAT KIND OF BREAD DO YOU LIKE TO EAT?”
– WHITE
– SCHWEBEL’S
– -ITALIAN
– PITA
Came all kinds of answers!
I explained to them……………Catholics eat UNLEAVENED BREAD!! You know the reason, don’t you…..????
The Chosen People, who were slaves, were set free, and had to leave their place of slavery (Egypt) really fast. They were in a hurry and could NOT wait for the bread dough to rise!
That symbolic bread (UNLEAVENED) became the BREAD OF LIFE that nourishes you and me and sustains us.
God knows we all run around…and NEED Him to help us in that run!
CONCLUSION:
So, “run” if you will, but weekly SLOW DOWN, attend Mass; connect with the unleavened bread, with JESUS CHRIST, in the sacrament of his BODY AND BLOOD!