The Real Presence

We have now returned to our observance of Ordinary time, following the 90-day liturgical season of Eastertide. We begin with two Sundays dedicated to the Holy Trinity and The Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). These two feasts are followed by two more which fall on weekdays: the twin Feasts of The Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These are all movable feasts, connected, as they are, to Pentecost. As it was, I celebrated my First Mass on Corpus Christi, 40 years ago next Sunday.
 
The dogma of the Holy Trinity was revealed as “theophany” (manifestation of God) as differentiated from an “epiphany” (manifestation of Jesus). This was entirely new thinking for the Chosen People, to whom this whole idea sounded like a form of polytheism, a type of religion favored by pagans in their worship and fear of many gods. To say that “God is three, and God is One" was the beginning of the Jewish hierarchy’s desire to be rid of this troublemaker Jesus. Jesus, presented as the Second Person of this Trinity, sounded blasphemous, for Yahweh was the singular God of the heavens who manifests Himself to Abraham, Moses and the Prophets in an invisible voice, but never enters into humanity.
 
Our belief in God as Holy Trinity was revealed by Jesus Himself, who spoke of the First Person as “Father” and the Third Person as “Holy Spirit,” a triune manifestation of the One God. We speak this mystery sometimes speedily and thoughtlessly when making the sign of the Cross, yet each time we do, we renew ourselves in our Baptismal Promises as we recall in reciting the Creed at Mass. It was said that St. Bernadette of Lourdes was so intensely pious when making the Sign of the Cross, that the other Nuns in her convent were often brought to tears.
 
The Feast of Corpus Christi, recently renamed in English, “The Body and Blood of Christ” celebrates our belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist: Body and Blood, soul and divinity. Other Christians may have a Communion Service, and some of them even similar to our Holy Mass, but they see the Presence of Christ as symbolic, more of a remembrance than a “making present” as we do at Mass.  Therefore, the entity of their communal service is not the same as that of Catholicism, which is why we do not practice inter-Communion. Each time the Priest-Celebrant utters the words of Consecration, the miracle of transubstantiation takes place: the sacrifice of Calvary is extended through time to the present, so we’re not re-enacting, but participating in the Lord’s actual Crucifixion as an “unbloody sacrifice" beyond the limitations of time and space.
 
This leads us to the Feast of the Lord’s Sacred Heart this Friday and the Immaculate Heart of Mary this Saturday. These images are depicted iconically first, as Our Lord’s heart, surrounded by a crown of thorns, topped by a flame and a cross. The Blessed Mother’s Immaculate Heart looks similar: a heart surrounded by a crown of roses, topped with a flame, but pierced with a sword, as prophesied by St. Simeon. We reverence these images of Sacred and Immaculate Hearts as a goal to which we aspire: the self-sacrificing Heart of Jesus, and the heart open to the Will of God of Our Blessed Mother.
 
If we remain open in mind to the central mysteries of our faith of the Holy Trinity and The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and allow our hearts to be aligned with the hearts of Jesus and Mary, our faith will accompany us throughout whatever the world can throw at us, and bring us peace. O Sacred Heart of Jesus, make my heart like unto Thine.