Homily for the Body and Blood of Christ

Even later, my homily for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ.

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“Offer it up.” How many times have you heard this in your life? How many times have you told this to someone else? This is a phrase that I have heard numerous times throughout my life from my parents, family and friends. It is also a Catholic expression that is extremely fitting for the solemnity that we celebrate today, that of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

On the Cross, Jesus offered His All for our all. This idea is most beautifully given to us through the image on our tabernacle. Have you ever stopped to really look at our tabernacle? On the door is the ancient Christian symbol of the pelican feeding her young. If a pelican cannot find food to support her offspring, she will pierce herself so that the young may receive nourishment. She will offer herself so that her offspring may live. Jesus offers Himself that we may live through the nourishment we receive through the gift of the Eucharist.

In the sharing of the Eucharist, we offer to God, in return, our all for Jesus’ all. This is most prevalent in the actions of the preparation of the gifts. During this portion of the Mass, as the gifts of bread and wine are prepared to be transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, we prepare to offer ourselves to Christ in our participation of the Eucharistic Mystery. This portion of the Mass is not simply an intermission in the ancient ritual; it is not a time to simply sing a “nice song” or to make sure our envelope gets in the basket, but it is a time in which we place before the Lord our intentions and our entire being to be joined with Him on Calvary for the redemption of the world. Pope John Paul II reiterates this in his first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis: By celebrating and also partaking of the Eucharist we unite ourselves with Christ on earth and in heaven who intercedes for us with the Father but we always do so through the redeeming act of his Sacrifice, through which he has redeemed us, so that we have been "bought with a price". The price: Jesus’ gift of Himself on the altar of the Cross.

In the offering of ourselves to God, we become like the bread that is to be offered: we are taken, blessed, broken and shared. We are taken: We are called from society to form the Body of Christ through our baptism and our share in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. We are blessed: Through our participation in the sacraments, we are given the graces we need to bring Christ to the world. We are broken: In our offering of ourselves through the Eucharist, we give our entire being to Christ so that our own brokenness may be healed, and that Christ may work through our broken lives to bring others to Him so that they may be healed. We are shared: We are sent from the Mass to be Christ to others, spreading the Gospel not only by the words we speak, but, ultimately, through the lives we live. When we live our lives as Eucharist – when we are taken, blessed, broken and shared – we offer to God our lives in service to Him, and share Christ with a world that is broken so that it may be blessed and taken back to Him at the end of time.

Yes, we come to Mass each week to join in the offering of Christ to the Father through the Holy Spirit by His sacrifice on the Cross. However, we also come to Mass each week to offer ourselves to the Father through Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. In a few moments, we will come before the altar, offering our all to Jesus, for He offered His all for us.