|
Pope Benedict XVI- Homilies |
"With
the Eucharist ... Heaven Comes Down to Earth"
Homily on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi
H.H. Benedict XVI
Square Outside of the Basilica of St. John Lateran
June 11, 2009
"This is my Body.... This is my Blood".
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
These words that Jesus spoke at the Last Supper are repeated every
time that the Eucharistic Sacrifice is renewed. We have just heard
them in Mark's Gospel and they resonate with special power today on
the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.
They lead us in spirit to the Upper Room, they make us relive the
spiritual atmosphere of that night when, celebrating Easter with his
followers, the Lord mystically anticipated the sacrifice that was to
be consummated the following day on the Cross. The Institution of
the Eucharist thus appears to us as an anticipation and acceptance,
on Jesus' part, of his death.
St Ephrem the Syrian writes on this topic: during the Supper Jesus
sacrificed himself; on the Cross he was sacrificed by others (cf.
Hymn on the Crucifixion, 3, 1).
"This is my Blood". Here the reference to the sacrificial language
of Israel is clear. Jesus presents himself as the true and
definitive sacrifice, in which was fulfilled the expiation of sins
which, in the Old Testament rites, was never fully completed.
This is followed by two other very important remarks. First of all,
Jesus Christ says that his Blood "is poured out for many" with a
comprehensible reference to the songs of the Servant of God that are
found in the Book of Isaiah (cf. ch. 53).
With the addition "blood of the Covenant" Jesus also makes clear
that through his death the prophesy of the new Covenant is
fulfilled, based on the fidelity and infinite love of the Son made
man. An alliance that, therefore, is stronger than all humanity's
sins. The old Covenant had been sealed on Sinai with a sacrificial
rite of animals, as we heard in the First Reading, and the Chosen
People, set free from slavery in Egypt, had promised to obey all the
commandments given to them by the Lord (cf. Ex 24: 3).
In truth, Israel showed immediately by making the golden calf that
it was incapable of staying faithful to this promise and thus to the
divine Covenant, which indeed it subsequently violated all too
often, adapting to its heart of stone the Law that should have
taught it the way of life.
However, the Lord did not fail to keep his promise and, through the
prophets, sought to recall the inner dimension of the Covenant and
announced that he would write a new law upon the hearts of his
faithful (cf. Jer 31: 33), transforming them with the gift of the
Spirit (cf. Ez 36: 25-27).
And it was during the Last Supper that he made this new Covenant
with his disciples and humanity, confirming it not with animal
sacrifices as had happened in the past, but indeed with his own
Blood, which became the "Blood of the New Covenant". Thus he based
it on his own obedience, stronger, as I said, than all our sins.
This is clearly highlighted in the Second Reading, taken from the
Letter to the Hebrews, in which the sacred author declares that
Jesus is the "mediator of a new covenant" (9: 15). He became so
through his blood, or, more exactly, through the gift of himself,
which gives full value to the outpouring of his blood.
On the Cross, Jesus is at the same time victim and priest: a victim
worthy of God because he was unblemished, and a High Priest who
offers himself, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and intercedes for
the whole of humanity.
The Cross is therefore a mystery of love and of salvation which
cleanses us as the Letter to the Hebrews states from "dead works",
that is, from sins, and sanctifies us by engraving the New Covenant
upon our hearts. The Eucharist, making present the sacrifice of the
Cross, renders us capable of living communion with God faithfully.
Dear brothers and sisters whom I greet with affection, starting with
the Cardinal Vicar and the other Cardinals and Bishops present like
the Chosen People gathered on Sinai, this evening let us too
reaffirm our fidelity to the Lord.
A few days ago, in opening the annual Diocesan Convention [of Rome]
I recalled the importance of remaining, as Church, attentive to the
word of God in prayer and in exploring the Scriptures, especially
through the practice of lectio divina, that is, through reading the
Bible in meditation and veneration.
I know that in this respect many initiatives which enrich our
diocesan community have been promoted in parishes, seminaries and
religious communities, in confraternities and in apostolic
associations and movements.
I address my fraternal greeting to the members of this multiplicity
of Church bodies. Your numerous presence at this celebration, dear
friends, highlights the fact that God moulds our community,
characterized by a plurality of cultures and by different
experiences. God moulds it as "his" People, as the one Body of
Christ, thanks to our heartfelt participation in the twofold banquet
of the Word and of the Eucharist.
Nourished by Christ, we, his disciples, receive the mission to be
"the soul" of this City of ours (cf. Letter to Diognetus, 6: ed.
Funk, i, p. 400; see also Lumen Gentium n. 38), a leaven of renewal,
bread "broken" for all, especially for those in situations of
hardship, poverty or physical and spiritual suffering. Let us become
witnesses of his love.
I address you in particular, dear priests, whom Christ has chosen so
that with him you may be able to live your life as a sacrifice of
praise for the salvation of the world. Only from union with Jesus
can you draw that spiritual fruitfulness which generates hope in
your pastoral ministry.
St Leo the Great recalls that "our participation in the Body and
Blood of Christ aspires to nothing other than to become what we
receive" (Sermo 12, De Passione 3, 7, PL 54).
If this is true for every Christian it is especially true for us
priests. To become the Eucharist! May precisely this be our constant
desire and commitment, so that the offering of the Body and Blood of
the Lord which we make on the altar may be accompanied by the
sacrifice of our existence.
Every day, we draw from the Body and Blood of the Lord that free,
pure love which makes us worthy ministers of Christ and witnesses to
his joy. This is what the faithful expect of the priest: that is,
the example of an authentic devotion to the Eucharist; they like to
see him spend long periods of silence and adoration before Jesus as
was the practice of the Holy Curé d'Ars, whom we shall remember in a
special way during the upcoming Year for Priests.
St John Mary Vianney liked to tell his parishioners: "Come to
communion.... It is true that you are not worthy of it, but you need
it" (Bernard Nodet, Le curé d'Ars. Sa pensée - Son coeur, éd. Xavier
Mappus, Paris 1995, p. 119).
With the knowledge of being inadequate because of sin, but needful
of nourishing ourselves with the love that the Lord offers us in the
Eucharistic sacrament, let us renew this evening our faith in the
Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
We must not take this faith for granted! Today we run the risk of
secularization creeping into the Church too. It can be translated
into formal and empty Eucharistic worship, into celebrations lacking
that heartfelt participation that is expressed in veneration and in
respect for the liturgy.
The temptation to reduce prayer to superficial, hasty moments,
letting ourselves be overpowered by earthly activities and concerns,
is always strong.
When, in a little while, we recite the Our Father, the prayer par
excellence, we will say: "Give us this day our daily bread",
thinking of course of the bread of each day for us and for all
peoples. But this request contains something deeper. The Greek word
epioúsios, that we translate as "daily", could also allude to the
"super-stantial" bread, the bread "of the world to come".
Some Fathers of the Church saw this as a reference to the Eucharist,
the bread of eternal life, the new world, that is already given to
us in Holy Mass, so that from this moment the future world may begin
within us. With the Eucharist, therefore, Heaven comes down to
earth, the future of God enters the present and it is as though time
were embraced by divine eternity.
Dear brothers and sisters, as happens every year, at the end of Holy
Mass the traditional Eucharistic procession will set out and with
prayer and hymns we shall raise a unanimous entreaty to the Lord
present in the consecrated host. We shall say, on behalf of the
entire City: "Stay with us Jesus, make a gift of yourself and give
us the bread that nourishes us for eternal life! Free this world
from the poison of evil, violence and hatred that pollute
consciences, purify it with the power of your merciful love".
"And you, Mary, who were the woman "of the Eucharist' throughout
your life, help us to walk united towards the heavenly goal,
nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ, the eternal Bread of life
and medicine of divine immortality". Amen!
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