(Corpus Christi 1998 (C): This homily was given on June 14, 1998 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26.)

"Our attitude toward the Body of Christ (i.e., the Eucharist) has a direct influence on our attitude toward the Body of Christ (i.e., other people)."

Two weekends ago, I attended Sunday Mass at a church in Old Bowie, Maryland. Attached to the parish bulletin that day was the monthly newsletter from the Archbishop of Washington, D.C., James Cardinal Hickey. Looking forward to the feast we celebrate today, the feast of Corpus Christi, the cardinal devoted the entire newsletter to the subject of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. I won’t read to you all that he said, but I will share with you this morning a few noteworthy excerpts from the text. Now I dare say, you have heard most (if not all) of this before; but it certainly carries more weight when it comes from a prince of the Church, and not from your lowly assistant pastor! The cardinal writes:

Today many people are confused about the Mass and the Eucharist. They do not really understand that when the Scriptures are read and the Word of God is proclaimed, it is truly the Lord Jesus who speaks to us in the power of the Spirit. Nor do they realize the joy and deep spiritual value of actively participating in the Mass. Even more sadly, many others do not realize that the Mass puts them into living contact with Jesus and with his death and resurrection. [This, by the way, is what St. Paul is referring to in today’s second reading from 1 Corinthians 11 when he says, "Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes." The Mass is the unbloody re-presentation of the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross on Good Friday. So, in a very real sense, every time Mass is celebrated that past event becomes present to us. We are there! The cardinal continues,]

Saddest of all are the many people who don’t understand or accept the truth that the Eucharist is not bread and wine, but truly the Body and Blood of Christ. Recent polls have shown that only about 33 percent of Catholics say they believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. No matter what explanation is given for that figure—it’s appalling!

Sometimes people show a lack of understanding and acceptance of the Eucharist by how they behave in Church. For example, people sometimes forget to genuflect when they come in Church and see the tabernacle where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved. Others receive the Lord in a casual fashion, neither prayerfully nor reverently. Unfortunately, many use the time before Mass to chat with their neighbors instead of praying themselves—or at least giving their neighbors a chance to pray. [Obviously the good cardinal presumes that everyone is here long before Mass begins! An interesting presumption to say the least! Anyway, he continues,] We live in a busy, noisy world. Most people don’t have the luxury of a private chapel. We ought to give each other a chance to have a quiet moment of prayer before Mass begins. The better recollected we are before Mass, the better able we are to participate in it. Sometimes love means not saying anything!

As I read Cardinal Hickey’s reflections the other day, I began to think about the condition of the world in which we live. Is there a connection, I wondered, between what the cardinal is speaking about here--namely the lessening of faith in the Eucharist--is there a connection between that and the violence and discord that we see around us in today’s world? And what I came to realize is: yes, there is a connection between those two things. I think you can express the connection in this way: our attitude toward the Body of Christ has a direct influence on our attitude toward the Body of Christ! (Fr. Ray, you’re being redundant! No I’m not.) Our attitude toward the Body of Christ (and here I mean the Eucharist) has a direct influence on our attitude toward the Body of Christ (meaning other people). The cardinal says here that many individuals today fail to show proper respect for the Blessed Sacrament. That’s been a growing trend in the Church for the last 30 years or so. And what else has happened in that period of time? Respect for human life has also decreased dramatically, has it not? Abortion, euthanasia, race-related violence, so-called "road rage", sexual promiscuity (where people use one another for pleasure): all these manifest a lack of respect for the Body of Christ (that is, other people). So, lack of respect for the Eucharist has directly coincided with decreasing respect for human persons created in the image and likeness of God. Is that a coincidence? I don’t think so.

Or how about the boredom some people say they experience when they come to Mass?--"Father, I’m so bored when I come to church. I don’t get anything out of it." Bishop Sheen used to say, "You don’t get anything out of Mass because you don’t put anything into it!" Mass is supposed to nourish and strengthen our relationship with Jesus Christ. But no relationship is nourished and strengthened unless both parties are willing to give and put something into it. (Those of you who are married know this quite well: if only one party in a marriage is willing to give and put something into the relationship, that marriage is in trouble!) At Mass Jesus gives us EVERYTHING (his entire self, his very own Body and Blood!); he could not possibly "put any more into it!" All he asks us to give him in return is our weak, feeble love--through our attentiveness, our participation and our prayerfulness. Apparently some people are not willing to put that kind of effort into their relationship with the Lord. Nor are they willing to put a lot of effort into their relationships with other human persons! I think we all know: when things get a little difficult in the family or with friends, some people nowadays will give up almost immediately. Rather than working at the relationship, they quickly end it. By the way, I think that also explains why so many hard-hearted individuals still walk out of Mass early, even after being instructed and reprimanded dozens of times. You see, if we can "walk out" on our brothers and sisters so easily, then it’s not really that hard to walk out on Jesus. In fact, we can get pretty good at it.