Corpus Christi 2 June 2024 Sermon

Corpus Christi 2 June 2024 Worthiness

The Eucharist is God's main way of being present to us.

It requires faith as it goes beyond sense experience. Things can be true even if they are not seen or understood … where the feeble senses fail.

Earthly bread can sustain only the body. The bread from heaven will take us to a higher state. We will never die, promises Jesus (Jn 6,51). We will never die in the soul, that is.

We still have to endure physical death but we will have continuous life in the soul.

What is life in the soul? It means we share in God's eternal and perfect life, above all to be seen in the area of charity. We learn to love as God loves, at least to share in the burning intensity of that love.

We acknowledge we are unworthy. That implies that we will be making efforts to improve. We are becoming one flesh with Him, loyal members of His community. It cannot be less than that.

But becoming Christ like implies also that we will take on His generosity and readiness to sacrifice for the greater good. We will be braver and humbler and kinder etc.

We wish each other every possible blessing from this sacrament.

It is a great leveller as it puts us all on the same footing, aware of each other’s need.

It is above all a sacrament of charity, which includes all those qualities in 1 Cor 13, 4-7. Love is always patient and kind etc

Am I still unworthy? Strictly speaking we are all and always unworthy, but we can be worthy enough to be in the category of the sick who need the doctor (Mk 2,17) It comes to attitude. If I acknowledge my need I an worthy enough; if I deny that I have a need then I am too proud to benefit. More homework required.

We cannot lift up this human race by any other power than that which resides in the Eucharist.

It is in the nature of the sacrament that we should try to improve from one time to the next.

Or if we fail to do that we would have sincere sorrow for sin and a desire to be better, even if we cannot see our way to achieve that.

Total humility is the key. If we empty ourselves to be filled by Him, then we make progress.

The Eucharist is an interactive event whereby what we are and what we have mingles with what Our Lord has and does. Whatever good we bring can be seen as the loaves and the fishes, which multiplied miraculously.

And what we receive from Him can be like the wine at Cana, greatly improved through encountering the Lord.

Lowly though we may be we can improve and should be striving to do that.

We can reduce the sins we commit and ask pardon for those we have committed.

The more fervently we receive the Blessed Sacrament the more good it will do us.

This feast reminds us of the great gift we have in our midst. We can draw endlessly on the goodness of God. It is like wading into the ocean – there is always enough and more to spare.

Many will say they do not need the Eucharist, but everyone does need it. It is just that the benefits are more subtle and can escape the eye.

If we receive worthily we will see wonders. We will grow in our knowledge of God and that will bring more power into play.