The Body and Blood of the Lord

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

Lord Jesus, make me your presence in the world through the Holy Communion I receive.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This annual feast offers an ideal time to reaffirm the church’s belief that the bread and wine are truly changed into the body and blood of the Lord. There should be no question that this is the faith of the church. The challenge is putting that doctrine in the proper context. There is always a danger that in emphasizing one tenet of the faith, other important beliefs are overshadowed. The result can be a distortion of the faith tradition rather than a strengthening of it.

With regard to belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the form of His body and blood, there are two major contexts that need to be maintained. The first is that He offers us His body and blood precisely as food and drink. His presence is not for its own sake so that we might adore the host or view Him as a prisoner in the tabernacle. He is present in the body and blood to feed and nourish us and to transform us more fully into His body in the world.

The second essential context is the various ways that Christ is present in the Eucharist. He is present not only in the bread and wine but also in the assembly, in the presider, and in the word proclaimed. These other forms of His presence are not in competition with His presence in the Eucharistic species, but work with that presence to enable us to encounter the Lord throughout the celebration of the liturgy and to be transformed more fully into His likeness.

Today let us concentrate on the richness of our Eucharistic tradition. Let us take pains to see the connections between the various modes of Christ’s presence and recognize the true purpose of the Eucharist as our own transformation. Once this is fulfilled, the goal of liturgical formation is achieved. Let us ask ourselves the following questions: (1) What is my experience when I say “I adore you Lord!” (2) Does that adoring attitude take its origin from the transformation I underwent and the satisfaction I got feeding on the body and blood of the Lord?