THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST (C) About two weeks ago I received a good email about Memorial Day. It had some cartoons of Memorial Day… hot dogs, bratwurst, hamburgers, is there anything I forgot? After this there is a drawing of a man who was playing golf and when he passes by a Memorial Garden (many crosses were easily seen) he took off his cap. The text says: “in memory of all who have sacrificed” or “Memorial Day is a day when we pause to give thanks to the people who fought for the things we have”. There is drawing of an elderly veteran who shows a tomb to a young man and says to him: I’d like to introduce you to a real American idol.

It is important not to forget good deeds. It is important to remember what is great and remarkable. Today Saint Paul wrote to the Corinthians what the Lord Jesus said during the Last Supper: “Do this in remembrance of me”. Here we have a commandment. We are supposed to remember, “That the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."

What does remembrance mean? If the Lord Jesus asked us to remember this, He wants us to come to Mass and receive His Body. Remembrance means all the time. Remembrance is having Jesus as a part of our daily routine. This is what remembrance, a good remembrance, is.

But there is something else. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. It is not only about remembering something great. This is also about a real presence. What presence? The Divine Presence. Here we have to stop and meditate about this silent and eloquent presence of God among us. Where? The Divine Presence is in the tabernacle. Where else? Upon hearing my voice; God, the all-powerful God, is obedient. In a few minutes, once again, when I say His divine words He will come again to be present in the bread and wine. What is the purpose of all this? What does it mean to us? The Lord Jesus said: take and eat, take and drink. God feeds us with His own Body and Blood.

The first reading quotes Melchizedek who said to Abram "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who delivered your foes into your hand." I think that these words can be applied to all of us. Blessed are we for this great blessing. The book of Genesis said that Abram gave him a tenth of everything. He gave something because he understood what he was receiving. There had to be a reaction, an answer from him. So, what is going to be our reaction, our answer, what are we going to give?

In the same way you celebrated Memorial Day last week, a day for all those men and women who died for your country, today we celebrate our Catholic Memorial Day. Corpus Christi is the opportunity to remember this sacrifice of life, to celebrate HIS death for us. It is a sacrifice not only because the Lord Jesus died on a cross for us but also because He is still giving us His life everyday. If you want you may come every day to Mass and receive this divine gift. The gospel says that “they all ate and were satisfied”. By receiving this divine meal, by coming to Mass every Sunday, more often if possible, we give God the opportunity to renew us, to strengthen us, to love us.

And how are we going to celebrate this remembrance? Let us not do something just in order to fulfill a Sunday duty. Let us do it well. This means, to receive the gift of the Eucharist and to spend time with Him at Mass, with punctuality, devotion, adoration, reverence, and love.

On this the Solemnity of Corpus Christi let us have a wonderful remembrance of this divine gift by thanking the Lord and offering our deepest and truest love to His real presence among us.