Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 14, 2022 / 20:15 pm (CNA).
Corpus Christi Sunday, also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, falls this year on Sunday, June 19.
Originally proposed as a feast day by St. Thomas Aquinas, this liturgical solemnity honors the Eucharist, reminding all to recognize that it is the True Presence: the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.
Whether the Feast of Corpus Christi is celebrated through Mass or a procession of the Blessed Sacrament, it is important for Catholics to acknowledge the powerful, spiritual nature of the Eucharist. Here are 11 quotes from some beloved saints about the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.
St. Thomas Aquinas: “The Eucharist is the sacrament of love: it signifies love, it produces love. The Eucharist is the consummation of the whole spiritual life.”
St. Euphrasia: “To speak of the Blessed Sacrament is to speak of what is most sacred. How often, when we are in a state of distress, those to whom we look for help leave us; or what is worse, add to our affliction by heaping fresh troubles upon us. He is ever there, waiting to help us.”
St. Francis de Sales: “When the bee has gathered the dew of heaven and the earth’s sweetest nectar from the flowers, it turns it into honey, then hastens to its hive. In the same way, the priest, having taken from the altar the Son of God (who is as the dew from heaven, and true son of Mary, flower of our humanity), gives him to you as delicious food.”
St. John Chrysostom: “It is not the man who is responsible for the offerings as they become Christ’s Body and Blood; it is Christ Himself who was crucified for us. The standing figure belongs to the priest who speaks these words. The power and the grace belong to God. ‘This is My Body,’ he says. And these words transform the offerings.”
St. Cyril of Jerusalem: “Since Christ Himself has said, ‘This is My Body,’ who shall dare to doubt that it is His Body?”
St. Maximilian Kolbe: “If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.”
St. John Vianney: “I throw myself at the foot of the Tabernacle like a dog at the foot of his Master.”
St. Pio of Pietrelcina: “A thousand years of enjoying human glory is not worth even an hour spent sweetly communing with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”
St. Angela of Foligno: “If we paused for a moment to consider attentively what takes place in this Sacrament, I am sure that the thought of Christ’s love for us would transform the coldness of our hearts into a fire of love and gratitude.”
St. Francis of Assisi: “O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord of the whole universe, God and the Son of God, should humble himself like this and hide under the form of a little bread, for our salvation.”
St. Augustine: “What you see is the bread and the chalice; that is what your own eyes report to you. But what your faith obliges you to accept is that the bread is the body of Christ, and the chalice is the blood of Christ. This has been said very briefly, which may perhaps be sufficient for faith; yet faith does not desire instruction.”
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Sandra Miesel’s historical scrutiny regarding the origins of Corpus Christi and the blooded corporal displayed at the Orvieto cathedral is correct. The documents establishing Corpus Christi make no mention of the alleged miracle of the Czech priest who doubted the real presence and found mysterious drops of blood as he offered Mass at the hamlet of Bolsena. And, of course, they would not reference any private revelation, alleged miracle. They never do. Except Lourdes and Fatima though with reservation.
Although what’s often missed in historical research is the effect miracles real or invented have on the faithful. That aside, real appreciation, and adoration stems from faith seen in the saints quoted in this article. Aquinas for example called the Eucharist a miracle of love. Others strikingly offer adoration with unusual sentiment thought, in our day, unusual and excessive.
“21. In approaching therefore, come not with your wrists extended, or your fingers spread; but make your left hand a throne for the right, as for that which is to receive a King. And having hollowed your palm, receive the Body of Christ, saying over it, Amen. And while the moisture is still upon your lips, touch it with your hands, and hallow your eyes and brow and the other organs of sense. Then wait for the prayer, and give thanks unto God, who has accounted you worthy of so great mysteries” (St. Cyril of Jerusalem [c. 313-386], Catechetical Lectures, 23:21-22).
Man, physical as well as spiritual has a sentimental streak running through his frame that sophisticates and the staid abhor as childish. That abhorrence stifles that element of adoration that actually deepens our understanding. Why? Man is indeed a sentient creature. Where do we get the insults bleeding hearts [an allusion to the pierced sacred heart], Catholics dripping with rosary beads if not from the cynic. Where do we get the heroic missionary martyr [just for an example read the letter of Jesuit martyr Jean de Brébeuf on desire for martyrdom] if not from someone with deep sentiment.