Fr Joe has written this short reflection on the Gospel passage for the solemnity of Corpus Christi.
Jesus does not give us his mortal flesh as it was during his ministry and life on earth but his glorified humanity, as it was after He had risen from the dead. This is really understood in the words that Jesus uses about himself, how he identifies himself as the Eucharist “I am the living bread, which has come down from heaven”. The life that Jesus shares in the Eucharist is his supernatural life. It is through this gift of the Eucharist that we share in the Divine life and develop the life of grace that began in our Baptisms. Just as a child needs care and nourishment to grow to maturity, we also need Jesus as food to nourish our souls, to increase our grace and receive the gift of eternal life.
We then should approach the Eucharist with a proper and respectful disposition and in a spirit that has adequately prepared itself for such a wondrous gift. We should examine our conscience to discern if indeed we are in a state of grace to receive such a guest into our souls.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1385: To respond to this invitation [to receive Holy Communion] we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. (1Cor 11:29) ‘Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.’ Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion.
“The Eucharist is too great a gift to tolerate ambiguity and depreciation.”
–Pope St John Paul II
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