Rome Newsroom, Jun 2, 2024 / 08:59 am (CNA).
In the Eucharist, Jesus offers himself for the life of the world, Pope Francis proclaimed from the window of the Apostolic Palace on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.
Speaking to a crowd huddled together under colorful umbrellas on a rainy Sunday afternoon in Rome, the pope underlined that the body and blood of Christ offered at every Mass is a gift from God.
“It is He who gives Himself for all humanity, and offers Himself for the life of the world,” Pope Francis said on June 2.
“Let us remember this: Jesus made a gift of all His life,” he added.
Pope Francis explained that just as Jesus “did not keep his life for himself, but gave it to us,” so too are Christians called to make their lives a gift for others.
Quoting Saint Leo the Great, he said: “‘Our participation in the Body and Blood of Christ has no other end than to make us become that which we eat.’”
Pope Francis added that “to become what we eat, to become ‘eucharistic,’” means to become “people who no longer live for themselves, in the logic of possession and consumption, but who know how to make their lives a gift for others.”
“Let us understand, then, that celebrating the Eucharist and eating this Bread, as we do especially on Sundays, is not an act of worship detached from life or a mere moment of personal consolation; we must always remember that Jesus took the bread, broke it and gave it to them and, therefore, communion with Him makes us capable of also becoming bread broken for others, of sharing what we are and what we have,” he said.
After giving a blessing to the crowd, Pope Francis asked people to continue to pray for those who are suffering in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, and Myanmar, appealing to leaders to “stop the escalation and to make every effort for dialogue and negotiation.”
The pope also asked for prayers for the African country of Sudan, where a civil war has displaced millions of people since the conflict broke out last year.
“May the weapons be silenced and, with the commitment of the local authorities and the international community, help be brought to the population and the many displaced people; may the Sudanese refugees find welcome and protection in neighboring countries,” he said.
Following the Angelus address, Pope Francis is scheduled to preside over a Corpus Christi Mass in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran at 5 p.m. local time followed by a Eucharistic procession through the streets of Rome to the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
The Solemnity of Corpus Christi, meaning the “Body of Christ” in Latin, is traditionally celebrated on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday or, in some countries including the United States and Italy, on the Sunday following that feast. The feast provides an opportunity for the Church to focus on the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
“May the Virgin Mary, who welcomed Jesus, bread descended from Heaven, and gave herself entirely together with Him, help us too to become a gift of love, united with Jesus in the Eucharist,” Pope Francis said.
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I pray that the Holy Father publicly retracts the “legalize homosexual civil union” – for the sake of God’s Holy Name.
All is said in its proper context. Christ we know would save all men. The reality is not all will comply with his commandments. When he offered the first Mass the night before his crucifixion, he raised the bread and [excerpted] said For this is my body which will be given up for you, then he took the chalice saying, For this is the chalice of my blood, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
The original Novus Ordo replaced many with all. That gave the impression that all, as His Holiness often repeats are to be saved, that all may receive. Benedict corrected this in the revised text. Do we then exclude all when we pray and offer ourselves for the salvation of others? No. Our intent is to seek the good of all, only God makes that determination. Does Pope Francis imply that we should dismiss any form of exclusivity when he says, “therefore, communion with Him makes us capable of also becoming bread broken for others, of sharing what we are and what we have”. That’s a beautiful statement in context of personal charity in bringing Christ to others.
Taken out of context of the commandments to form our lives after Our Lord’s it could be understood that there are no responsibilities in receiving Christ in the Holy Eucharist. As if, as implied in Amoris Laetitia, that the Eucharist is a remedy for the unrepentant sinner. A spiritual remedy takes effect when there’s compliance with instructions, as do medical remedies in accordance with prescriptions. There must be a willingness to please him, to become like the one we receive as our spiritual nourishment.
But the interposing of the “legalize homosexual civil union” is itself an act of hatred, a defiance, an assistance of defiance and error and a volunteered blockage and unholy helplessness.
As far as I know “rigidity” hasn’t been explicitly identified with those who won’t co-profess the “legalize homosexual civil union” and/or be co-responsible for it. Yet there does seem to be an attempt to make avoidance of (immoral) temporal exigence into a grave spiritual flaw -but that ought to be rejected positively not merely avoided as an otherwise “acceptable exigence”.
Or another side to it is the attempt to limit aspects or scope of transcendent encounter.
Again a further aspect, some encounters fail at transcendence but it is not the fault of the would-be rigid party. Making it the fault always of the one who is rigid is a fallacy.
‘ “The Eucharistic bread is the real presence,” Pope Francis said in his homily. “This speaks to us of a God who is not distant and jealous, but close and in solidarity with humanity; a God who does not abandon us but always seeks, waits for, and accompanies us, even to the point of placing himself, helpless, into our hands, subjecting himself to our acceptance or rejection.”
“Dear brothers and sisters, how much need there is in our world for this bread,” Francis said.
“It is urgent to bring back to the world the good and fresh aroma of the bread of love, to continue to hope and rebuild without ever growing weary of what hatred destroys.” ‘
https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2024/06/02/pope-francis-joins-in-corpus-christi-celebration-in-rome-for-first-time-in-years/
I had no idea of this nor any intimation of it, when I posted my comments above, not with the one yesterday and not with the one this morning.
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-06/pope-jesus-didn-t-just-talk-about-eternal-life-he-gave-it-to-us.html
Dying you destroyed our death. Rising you restored our lives. Lord Jesus come in glory.