This weekend the Church celebrates the feast of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. As Catholics, we firmly believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist ~ we refer to this as the Real Presence. In 1215 the Fourth Lateran Council decreed:
“Jesus Christ, whose Body and Blood are truly contained in the sacrament of the altar under the forms of bread and wine; the bread being changed (transsubstantiatio) by divine power into the Body, and the wine into the Blood, so that to realize the mystery of unity we may receive of Him what He has received of us. And this sacrament no one can effect except the priest, who has been duly ordained in accordance with the keys of the Church, which Jesus Christ Himself gave to the Apostles and their successors.”
That is a powerful statement to an extraordinarily powerful reality. Think for a moment . . . Jesus gave us, through the actions of the priest, the ability to call on heaven and ask God to send down the power of the Holy Spirit to change the ordinary elements of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. One crumb from that sacred Host and/or one drop of Blood from that sacred Chalice is enough for the salvation of the world. Let’s celebrate His presence today!