Corpus Christi Sunday 2026
‘EUCHARIST AS OUR FOOD AND DRINK’
Today we celebrate God’s gift of the Eucharist, the source and summit of our life together as the Church. The Church teaches that by reason of the Transubstantiation of bread and wine, the body and blood of the God-made-man is substantially real and present (Council of Trent, 1551; CCC 1374).
There are two philosophies of life. One is the philosophy of the world, which says: "If you want to keep your life, you must consume everything around you." The other is the philosophy of the Cross, which says: "If you want to keep your life, you must allow yourself to be consumed."
Every single one of us is born with a dual hunger. We have a hunger of the body, which is satisfied by the fruits of the earth, and we have a hunger of the soul, which can only be satisfied by the King of Kings. The tragedy of modern man is that he is trying to satisfy an infinite hunger with finite things. He tries to fill the bottomless abyss of his immortal soul with wealth, with pleasure, with fame, and with power. But it is like trying to put the ocean into a teacup! We are empty, not because we lack things, but because we lack Him.
The Divine Response to Human Hunger
God looks down upon this starving world, and He does not give us a lecture. He does not give us an economic blueprint. He gives us a meal; His body.
In St. John’s Gospel, our Blessed Lord stands before a cynical crowd and utters words that shook the foundations of the ancient world, and continue to shatter our complacency today:
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
The crowd murmured. They argued. This is because, to ordinary eyes, no one would think of giving his or her body to be eaten, which amounts to cannibalism. They asked the very same question that the modern skeptic asks today in the laboratories of intellectual pride: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" They stumbled over the literal because they could not perceive the supernatural. They saw only the carpenter; they could not see the Creator.
The Law of the Wheat
But mark this well: nothing ever becomes a sacrament or a source of life unless it first passes through a crucifixion.
How is bread made? Grains of wheat must be gathered, crushed, and broken, and then they must pass through the agonizing heat of the oven before they can become bread to nourish men.
How is wine made? Grapes must be plucked, thrown into the winepress, and trampled upon, their juices squeezed out in total destruction before they can become wine to gladden the heart of man.
Little wonder our Lord Jesus Christ chose bread and wine precisely because they are symbols of passion. In the same way, His body was broken and poured out at the hill of Calvary so that He might become our food.
What happens at every single Mass? The priest takes the bread, blesses it, and then, before he distributes it, he breaks it (what Christ did at the Last Supper). Christ allowed himself to be broken, to be completely shattered, so that He could mend us. In the same way, Christ wants us, too, to be broken for others.
Because the human person hates the idea of brokenness, we prefer a whole, self-sufficient, and flawless nature. Yet, our brokenness for others can happen in the quite ordinary moments of life: breaking your time for others, breaking your pride, breaking your comfort, and so much more.
Over the centuries, hundreds of Eucharistic miracles have been recorded. Among them, two are prominent: the Miracle of Lanciano in Italy, and the miracle at St. Anthony in Sokółka, Poland (when a consecrated Host accidentally fell to the ground during Communion). To make this interesting, scientists—including pathologists, cardiologists, and geneticists—came to investigate and analyze what they saw under medical crucibles. Their findings revealed shocking revelations.
The Greatest Tragedy of Our Time
There is no greater heartbreak in Christendom than the spectacle of a Christian walking up to the altar rail to receive the King of Kings with an empty mind and an indifferent heart—that is, with unbelief. Today, we have many in the Church who receive the Eucharist, yet they do not believe that Jesus is truly present under the appearances of bread and wine.
Christ giving us Himself in the Eucharist is not humiliating Himself; rather, He is expressing His love for us. Can I ask you: DO YOU BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU RECEIVE? If not, you are not far from those in the Gospel today who murmured over the teaching of Christ.
Why Are We Celebrating This Feast After 2000 Years?
This is because Jesus told us, “Do this in memory of me.” It therefore means that to neglect this injunction would be total disobedience to His instruction and command. He did not say, "You may do this," or "Do it sometimes"; rather, He said, “DO THIS.”
Moreover, we Catholics must learn a few things from Christ, who gave Himself to us in the Eucharist. We must always prepare properly to receive Holy Communion. We must try to become like the Person whom we have received, cherishing Eucharistic Adoration just as Christ asked Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane: “So, you did not have the strength to keep watch with me for one hour?”
Finally, as we approach the altar today to say AMEN to the Body of Christ, let us sweep clean the rooms of our hearts. Let us lay down our doubts, our distractions, and our anxieties. The world says, “Seeing is believing,” but standing before the altar today, we know the truth: “Believing is seeing.”
May the Eucharist we receive today heal our fractures, satisfy our deepest longings, and send us forth as flaming torches of Christ’s love in a world that is walking in darkness.
Fr. Emmanuel Igwe
(The Voice in the Wilderness)