06/07/2026
THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST (CORPUS CHRISTI)
This Sunday the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ…Corpus Christi. We focus our attention on the greatest gift Christ left His Church: the Holy Eucharist.
In the Gospel, Jesus speaks with remarkable clarity: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” His listeners were shocked. They thought He must be speaking symbolically. But Jesus did not soften His words. Instead, He repeated them even more forcefully: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”
For Catholics, these words are not merely symbolic. In the Eucharist, Jesus Christ is truly present…Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. At every Mass, through the power of the Holy Spirit and the words of Christ spoken by the priest, bread and wine become the Lord Himself. What appears to be bread and wine remains in appearance only; the reality becomes Christ. The Church teaches, and the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council reaffirmed, that the Eucharist is the “source
and summit of the Christian life.” Everything we do as Christians flows from the altar and returns to the altar.
The Eucharist does something even greater. Around the altar are officers and enlisted, civilians and military members, young and old, families and single service members. We come from different places and carry different burdens. Yet when we receive the same Lord, we become one Body in Christ. The Eucharist creates a communion deeper than any human organization can achieve. And finally, this feast calls us to gratitude and reverence. Every time we approach Holy Communion, we are approaching the King of Kings. The same Jesus who was born in Bethlehem, who walked the roads of Galilee, who died on Calvary, who rose from the tomb, and who reigns in glory comes to us under the humble appearance of bread and wine. What an extraordinary privilege. Many Catholics throughout history risked imprisonment, persecution, and even death to attend
Mass and receive Holy Communion. In deployed locations, some service members have traveled long distances, crossed dangerous terrain, or gathered in makeshift chapels simply to participate in the Eucharist.
Their example reminds us never to take this gift for granted. As we celebrate Corpus Christi, let us renew our faith in the Real Presence of Christ. Let us approach the altar with reverence, gratitude, and love. And let us ask the Lord to strengthen us through this heavenly food so that we may faithfully accomplish the mission He has given us. For as Jesus promises in today’s Gospel: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” That is the heart
of the Eucharist: Christ dwelling in us, and we dwelling in Him, until the day He brings us to the eternal banquet of heaven.
