St. Paul of the Cross Monastery

A Sermon on the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

Homilist: Fr. Don Ware, C.P.

Updated July 2003
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What can we say about the Feast of the Body of Christ that will be meaningful to us 21st century disciples of Jesus, with our 21st century concerns, considerations and careers?
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First we can begin by recognizing that in our 21st century we are mostly concerned about “having it our way.”  So many people today lead their lives as though they we the stars in a movie about their life.  I am the star… other people are reduced to my parents, my brother, my sister, my friends, my spouse, my employer, my employee, my roommate, my teacher, my student and these other people play their roles in our lives, but “I” am the star.  And I am the director of my movie, wanting to tell people where to go, what to do, and how to do it.
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The problem is that many other people don’t want to follow my stage directions and in fact, don’t even want to be in my movie.  And we get frustrated and angry, or we get depressed and bitter.  Life never seems to go our way.  Others don’t want to do it my way.  The day doesn’t go my way.  And that great American anthem and dream is regrettably not realized in our lives, “I Did It My Way.”
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As Christians, disciples of Jesus, we are challenged to want to do it God’s way.  And for us that means “Christ’s Way”.  After all,  Jesus did say, “I am the Way”.  And in this Mass we remember the Way of Jesus, what He did, is doing and will do.
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In the Mass we Remember.  This is a prayer memory – a liturgical memory.  Liturgy means “public work” – and in the Liturgy of the Eucharist we people of Jesus are doing our public work of praising and thanking God as a body of believers… as a matter of fact, Paul in many of his epistles calls us the Body of Christ, the extension of Jesus on earth.  Jesus’ disciples are a continuation of his life and work on earth, we are the Body of Christ.
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In the Mass we gather to remember what Jesus said – Liturgy of the Word – and what Jesus did, especially his Passion, Death, and Resurrection.  And we remember that Jesus suffered because of evil and sin in the world.  And we remember that Jesus even faced the Powers of Death, for our sake, to save us, to rescue us, to bring us new life, lest we be caught up in this world only, and especially in the Powers of Sin and Death, lest we think that this life is just about having it our way, and then being frustrated, angered, embittered, depressed, envious, and resentful – because we didn’t get it our way, we weren’t fulfilled, we weren’t entertained enough – and happiness wasn’t ours as promised in our entertainment/consumerist society.
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In the Mass we remember that our lives come from God and go to God, and that while we are on the journey of our lives, life is about doing it God’s way, and Jesus has shown us God’s way, Love one another as I have loved you.  Be of service.  Care for each other.  Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick.

Or as St. Francis said:
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 Lord, make me a channel of your peace
 Where there is hatred let me bring your love
 Where there is injury, pardon
 And where there is doubt, true faith in you
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 Where there is despair, let me bring hope
 Where there is darkness, only light
 And where there is sadness, only joy
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 O Master, grant that I may never seek so much to be consoled
 As to console
 To be understood as to understand,
 To be loved as to love with all my soul
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Let’s get back to this feastday.  The Feast of the Body of Christ.
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In the Mass we remember what Jesus said, and what Jesus did.  Listen to how many times we use the terms “remember”,  and “in memory of”.  And in our “remembering”, Jesus becomes present in a most unique way, a most sacred way, a most powerful way.  Jesus’ own Body becomes present, this is what we Catholics believe.
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And why does Jesus own body become present?  So that we can receive it in communion. What looks like bread and wine -  now becomes the Body and Blood of Jesus, so that we can take Jesus into our bodies, into our hearts, into the very depth of our lives.
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Why?  Bread is food, nourishment.  Wine is refreshment.  Now Jesus comes to us for spiritual nourishment and refreshment.  Now Jesus comes into our lives to nourish us and refresh us so that we can leave this Church and live the Way of Jesus – God’s Way  – and not just our way. So that we have the power in our lives to live the Prayer of St. Francis.
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Life is not a movie in which we are the star.  Life is a journey, from God and to God. And we are called to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.  And in the Mass we recall the Way of Jesus, we who now are the Body of Christ in our world, and as St. Augustine says, “We eat the Body of Christ, to be the Body of Christ.”  “We eat the Body of Christ, to be the Body of Christ.”
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May we be Christ in our world this day, and every day.  Amen.

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