Vatican City, 5 June 2015 (VIS) –
Yesterday, on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus
Christi), the Holy Father celebrated Holy Mass before thousands of
people at the Basilica of St. John Lateran. The Eucharist the
procession began, led by Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar of His
Holiness for the diocese of Rome, along the Via Merulana to the
Basilica of St. Mary Major, where the Pope imparted his solemn
blessing with the Holy Sacrament.
In his homily, the Pope recalled that
during the Last Supper, Jesus gives us His Body and Blood in the
bread and wine, to leave us the memorial of His sacrifice of infinite
love, and by means of this 'viaticum', full of grace, the disciples
have everything that is necessary for their path through history, to
extend the kingdom of God to all. As the responsory of today's
liturgy shows, “See in this bread the body of Christ which hung
upon the cross, and in this cup the blood which flowed from His side.
Take His body, then, and eat it; take His blood and drink it, and you
will become His members. The body of Christ is the bond which unites
you to Him: eat it, or you will have no part in Him. The blood is the
price He paid for your redemption: drink it, lest you despair of your
sinfulness”.
Francis explained the meaning today of
being torn from Him and of despairing, as cowards. “We are torn
from Him when we are not obedient to the Word of the Lord, when we do
not live brotherhood between us, when we race to occupy the first
places, … when we find the courage to witness to charity, when we
are unable to offer hope. The Eucharist allows us to be not torn from
Him, for it is the bond of communion, is the fulfilment of the
Covenant … that we might remain united. … The Christ present in
our midst, in the signs of bread and wine, requires that the power of
love exceed every laceration, and at the same time that it become
communion with the poor, support for the weak, fraternal attention to
those who are struggling to carry the weight of everyday life and are
in danger of losing faith”.
To be cowardly, to despair of our
sinfulness, he said, “means to let ourselves be affected by the
idolatries of our time: appearance, consumption, the self at the
centre of everything; but also being competitive, arrogance as the
winning attitude, the idea that one never need admit to a mistake or
to find oneself in need. All this demeans us, makes us mediocre,
lukewarm, insipid Christians, pagans”.
“Jesus shed his blood as a ransom and
as a lavacrum – a cleansing agent, that we might be purified of all
sins”, he continued, “that we might be preserved from the risk of
corruption. … The Blood of Christ will … give us back our
dignity. ... We will be His eyes that go in search of Zacchaeus and
of the Magdalene; we will be His hand who helps the sick in body and
spirit; we will be His heart that loves those in need of
reconciliation and understanding. … In this way we understand that
the Eucharist is not a reward for the good, but rather strength for
the weak, for sinners. It is forgiveness, the viaticum that helps us
on our way”.
“Today, the feast of Corpus Christi,
we have the joy not only of celebrating this mystery, but also of
praising Him and singing in the streets of our city”, he continued.
“May the procession we will make at the end of the Mass, express
our gratitude for all the journey that God has allowed us to make
through the desert of our poverty, to take us out of slavery, by
nourishing us with His love through the Sacrament of his Body and the
Blood. Soon, as we walk the streets, let us perceive ourselves in
communion with our many brothers and sisters who do not have the
freedom to express their faith in the Lord Jesus. Let us feel that we
are united with them, let us sing with them, praise with them,
worship with them. And we venerate in our hearts those brothers and
sisters who have been asked to sacrifice their lives for their
fidelity to Christ. May their blood, united to that of the Lord, be a
pledge of peace and reconciliation for the whole world”.
