Corpus Christi, C                 June 10, 2007

Today we celebrate the presence of God among us, the Body and Blood of Christ, appearing to us as bread and wine.  This presence is so special, so deep, so full, that the Church calls it the Real Presence.  Now, this is not to say that other modes of God’s presence are imaginary.  For, Christ is truly present in the Scriptures proclaimed, in the waters of baptism, in the anointing of confirmation and of the sick, in the words of forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. No, we do not believe that the water is God, or the holy oils are God, or the spoken word is God.  However, we do believe that bread and wine actually becomes the risen Christ.  So, the sign itself not only conveys the divine presence, it is the divine presence.  In light of this, the Church calls the presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist the source, the center, and the highpoint of our lives as Catholics. 

Indeed, when you receive Holy Communion, when you encounter the source, the center, and highpoint of your life, you are supposed to experience the Divine presence so deeply, so fully, and so really, that you are changed, radically transformed.  You are to become a new person, inwardly taking on new attitudes and perspectives on life, seeing things differently.  Outwardly, your behavior also is supposed to change.  You are to act differently.  Even your emotions should be affected.  The poet Dante centuries ago recognized this.  He wrote that as a result of the Divine encounter, the first sound heard out of heaven was laughter.  More recently Georges Bernanos, the French Catholic author of Diary of a Country Priest, wrote that “the infallible sign of the presence of God is joy.” 

But, when we look around us for this infallible sign of God’s presence, we don’t always see it.  Indeed, many people seem quite bereft of joy.  50 years ago the American artist Norman Rockwell sketched a humorous scene depicting this.  Imagine the scene.  A pastor is standing atop the front steps of what looks like an urban cathedral, looking down on the crowds of pedestrians on the sidewalk below.  Each one looks something like this.  [demonstrate]  And, up on the sign on the wall of the church is the title of the pastor’s Sunday sermon, a quote from the Bible, “Lift up your eyes.”  Parenthetically, from this sign you can tell that it’s a protestant Church.  Catholic priests of the past weren’t supposed to know the title of their sermons until about a half hour before the first Mass started!  At any rate, in this sketch Norman Rockwell offered a stark reminder of the joyless state of so many people missing out on God in their lives.

Now, where is the joy, the infallible sign of God’s presence, in your life?  You enter here into deepest communion with our Savior as you receive His Real Presence.  If you encounter God here, do you show it?  Does joy characterize your meeting with God? Do you radiate joy as you turn to your neighbor and offer Christ’s peace?  Do you exude joy as you are singing?  It’s quite a trick to look gloomy and irritable at the same time you are belting out a hymn like “Joyful, Joyful We Adore You,” but, some folks can manage to pull it off.  Would a visiting stranger conclude by looking at you that you have just encountered God?  Do you leave Mass with a joyful smile on your face or with a furrowed brow, anxious and worried about some worldly care?  Is your joy evident?

Soon we will again receive into our hearts the living God, the Body and Blood of Christ.  In receiving Christ, the source, center, and highpoint of your life, may you be filled, not just inside, but outside, too, with real joy!