6 June 2021
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
The feast of the Body and Blood of Christ has its beginning in an historical incident. During the 12 century, a debate occurred as to whether the eucharist actually was the Body and Blood of Christ or did this action and the material used in the action in the celebration of the Eucharist point to a greater spiritual reality. Leading the charge towards a more “spiritual” understanding of the Eucharist was Berenger of Tours, a theologian who no doubt was motivated by good intention, thought that the “Real presence” was a both a philosophical and a theological impossibility. In order to secure the notion of the “Real Presence” of Christ in the Sacrament, Thomas Aquinas advocated for a Feast in honor of this teaching and the reality it professed. In 1264, encouraged by a Eucharist miracle in Bolensa, Pope Urban IV declared the feast. We can look at this feast as an historical event but more properly we should recognize how much this feast represents. It permeates and stands as the foundation of the Catholic Faith. Not wanting to stress what divides the Christian Community but at times clarity concerning difference is in order. For Catholics, the real presence has existed as one of its foundations. More than a foundation, it serves as a living source of encouragement to the community which embraces both saints and sinners. For Catholics, the reality of the presence of God in the Sacrament helps us to understand how this reality is real in creation as well. This reality does not argue for a type of pantheism, the idea that God is present in the eucharist just as much as in a sunset or a tomato plant. The eucharist reminds us that God is present and can sanctify creation, particularly that aspect of creation that bears his image, the human person. The great saints of our faith saw in the presence of Christ in the sacrament as a evidence of God’s providence and continued presence in the world, especially with and for the human community. The Adoration of the Eucharist is nothing less than the admonition of the words of Christ who identifies love of God which then moves the mind, heart, and hands to love of neighbor.