Diocese of GalwayKilmacduagh & Kilfenora

“The simple response “Amen” meaning “so it is” – is an act of faith! An acknowledgement that “Yes”, the risen Jesus himself - God himself – is present here for me in this piece of bread. I welcome him into my body, into my life and thank him for walking with me on the journey.” – Bishop Michael

Some of you might have heard me refer before to the story of the two young fish who were swimming happily along one morning when they met Jeremy – the grandfather of all the fish in that particular pond. Jeremy’s days of splashing aimlessly about were over. He swam slowly and determined. He always seemed to know where he was going. Glancing at the two young fish, he said. “Morning boys! How’s the water today?” Looking a little bewildered, one of the young fish turned to the other young fish and asked: “What is water?”

Like those two young fish, I think that we too can often take for granted things that are part and parcel of our everyday lives. The same is also true when it comes to faith -when it comes to the things of our day-to-day religious life. A little like that wise old fish – today’s feast draws our attention to something that is so much part and parcel of our Catholic lives- that there is a real risk that we might take it for granted. The Feast of Corpus Christi – puts centre-stage the long held catholic belief in the real presence of Jesus among us under the signs of bread and wine. His body and his blood – as spiritual food for the journey of life. A journey that as we all know -has its ups and its downs – its good times and its challenging times – its joys and its sorrows.

The belief that Jesus is truly present with us in this way – has deep roots in our Christian story. The Gospel today portrays the intense desire of God to feed his people on their journey of life. Although the crowds were large and the people had little, Jesus took what little they had -five loaves and two fish – and transformed it into even more than they could have hoped for. The second reading from St Paul’s letter to the Christians at Corinth – written very close to the time of Jesus – explains how, on the very night before his arrest, Jesus “took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said: “This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.” In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it do this as a memorial of me.” (1Cor 11) Very early on, it was clear that with this ritual – the bread and wine used became, in and through themselves, the risen Jesus powerfully present in the midst of his people.

If you ask me to explain how this can be so – how God himself can dwell in bread and wine -I can try as others have tried. However, I will always fail to some extent. Just the same as we cannot empty the ocean with a bucket, so too our limited human minds are incapable of defining the indefinable immensity of God. The presence of God in this bread and wine -can only be sensed with the heart – seen with the eyes of faith, experienced when we come to realise that we are on holy ground and bow down before Jesus himself there present with us and for us on the road of life.

I sometimes wonder do we take all this for granted. As priests and people has the celebration of Mass, the presence of Jesus in the Tabernacles of our churches- the reception of Holy Communion become too familiar with us? We seem to treat our churches like any other place – like any hall or gathering space. We often enter without giving the tabernacle a thought. Genuflect with a wabble. We chat and talk and carry on without any thought to the fact that we stand on holy ground. Our celebration of Mass can become routine, habitual -on auto pilot with little preparation and slight engagement. Instead of becoming a privileged personal intimate moment with the presence of God. A sharing of time with our brothers and sisters in the faith. Going to Mass, at times can seem, no different to picking up a carton of milk or a loaf of bread from the shop.

What of our reception of communion. Do we ready ourselves for this moment? What of our actions, our reverence, our respect? Our postures, our movements, our words? I frequently say: “The body of Christ” to get the response “Thank You “or even “and also with you” or recently “Good on ya man!” The simple response “Amen” meaning “so it is” – is an act of faith -an acknowledgement that “Yes”, the risen Jesus himself -God himself is present here for me in this piece of bread. I welcome him into my body, into my life and thank him for walking with me on the journey. After communion – how we often rush. We often ignore that unique moment – that can be a time of intimacy with God. He, sharing with us. We, sharing with him. We brining to him our lives with their joys and sorrows. He bringing to us his wisdom and his strength.

The young fish didn’t even notice the water. They took for granted that which keep them alive. The older wiser fish did not. He alerted them to the reality of its existence. Perhaps, today, the Feast of Corpus Christi – the Feast of The Body and Blood of Christ will knock us our of our complacency. Perhaps it will help us never to take for granted- the infinite mystery of God that dwells in the tabernacles of our Churches, at each and every Mass and every time we receive communion. There God is among us, with us and for us under those simple signs of bread and wine. Amen