HOMILY CORPUS CHRISTI YRC 2016 Today is the feast of Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ in Latin, so I want to talk about the Eucharist. A Pew survey of Catholics in 2008 found that 50% of Catholics did not believe in the real presence, that the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ during the Eucharistic Prayer. I was surprised by that at the time, but thought it really cannot be proven scientifically, you have to accept in on faith, so maybe this is something people have a hard time with. Then I read a 2013 study that wanted to investigate this a little further. They asked Catholics different questions. They found that 50% of Catholics said that they did not know what the Catholic Church teaches about the Eucharist. The vast majority of the 50% that knew the Church teaching also believed it. A small percentage of those who reported that they did not know the Church teaching, believed in the real presence. They kind of came to that on their own. This points to a different problem, not that people have a hard time believing the Church teaching but that they do not know the Church teaching. So I want to talk a little about the development of the theology of the Eucharist. Jesus gave us the Eucharist at the Last Supper, and the basis for our belief in the Real Presence if found in the Gospels. Jesus said this is my Body, this is my Blood. Do this in memory of me. He did not say this is like my body and blood; this is symbolic of my body and blood. He said this is my Body and Blood. This has always been the Church teaching. This will always be the Church teaching. The Roman Catholic Liturgy is dynamic, it changes and develops over time, but this basic belief has always been the same. In the early church, the liturgy was celebrated in people’s homes. There were no church buildings. They received the Eucharist at these celebrations and took the Eucharist to people who were sick or unable to attend. As the number of Christians grew, there was a need to have church buildings. The 1 liturgy became more formal. In the early Church, the Blessed Sacrament was not kept on reserve. That did not begin until the 8th century, when certain monasteries kept the Blessed Sacrament on reserve, mainly to take it to people that could not attend Mass. In the 11th century, a large faction of the Church began to question the Real Presence. There were priests that were teaching that the real presence was not possible. In order to combat that, the Church stressed the Real Presence. They added the elevation to the Eucharistic Prayer. This is when Eucharistic adoration and Eucharistic processions began. As time went on, churches became bigger and more ornate. The idea was that we should give the best that we have back to God in terms of art, architecture and music. The liturgy became more formal. As the churches get bigger and bigger, the priest got further and further away. The Church mandated that Mass be celebrated in Latin, and over time about the only person in Mass that understood Latin was the priest. People no longer actively participated. Some would be reading an English translation in a prayer book. Some would be praying the Rosary or other devotion. They started ringing the bells during the elevation so people could look up and see the Body and Blood of Jesus. Eucharistic adoration increased and almost replaced receiving the Eucharist. People felt unworthy of receiving the Eucharist. Priests would be hearing confessions during Mass so that people would not have an opportunity to sin before receiving the Eucharist. That is where Easter Duty came from. You had to receive the Eucharist and go to confession at least once a year at Easter. This is very different from what Jesus intended at the Last Supper. Vatican II took us back to our roots. The Church promoted active participation in the Mass and frequent reception of the Eucharist. There was also a marked decrease in Eucharistic Adoration. We still believe that the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ during 2 the Mass. Receiving the Eucharist frequently is what Jesus intended at the Last Supper, but Eucharistic Adoration is also an important part of our Eucharistic theology. You will have the opportunity to experience Eucharistic Exposition and Adoration after today. I will place the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance during the final hymn. If you wish to participate in Eucharistic Adoration, you can remain in church. If you do not wish to participate I would ask you to quietly and reverently exit the Church. Eucharistic Adoration is about having quiet prayer time in front of the Blessed Sacrament. You should genuflect when you enter and leave adoration as a sign of reverence. Sitting or kneeling are both appropriate prayer postures. If all you think about while kneeling is when you can get up, I would suggest that this is not a good prayer position for you. Any type of quiet personal prayer is appropriate. I suggest that you just silently have a conversation with God. You do some of the talking and spend some time in silence. See if Jesus places something on your heart. We have Eucharistic Exposition and Adoration every Tuesday in the chapel. It starts after 9:00 Mass and ends at 9:00 in the evening. Deacon Bob will be doing Benediction at the close of Adoration. This is a special blessing with the Eucharist. There is something very powerful about prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament and you have to experience it. We need to have someone present in the chapel during Exposition. If you would like to commit to coming for an hour each Tuesday, please call the Tom Rist or the Parish Office and let us know so that we can insure that all times are covered. 3.