Real Presence of Christ in the Consecrated Bread and Wine

CORPUS CHRISTI: SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST, YEAR A, ST. AUGUSTINE’S PARISH, SUN CITY, ABUJA. 11.06.2023. HOMILY BY ARCHBISHOP I. A. KAIGAMA.

Readings: Dt. 8:2-3, 14-16; 1 Cor. 10:16-17; Jn. 6:51-58.

Real Presence of Christ in the Consecrated Bread and Wine.

The three main gifts Jesus gave us before His physical departure from this world were the gift of Himself under the species of bread and wine, the gift of the ministerial priesthood, and the gift of His Blessed Mother. As Catholics, these gifts are central to our Christian identity and unity.This Solemnity of Corpus Christi which originated in France in the mid-thirteenth century and extended to the whole world by Pope Urban IV in 1264, gives us Catholics an opportunity to reaffirm our faith in the real and true presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist.

Eucharist, from the Greek “Eucharistia,” meaning “thanksgiving”, is the sacrificial and communal meal, offered to God by the priest on behalf of the community of believers. The Eucharist, referred to as the “Sacrament of sacraments”, is the greatest gift to the Church and the source and summit of our faith, from which all our spirituality flows and to which all our actions are directed (cf. CCC nos. 1211, 1324). St. Thomas Aquinas said: “No sacrament contributes more to our salvation than this; for it purges away our sins, increases our virtues and nourishes our minds with an abundance of all the spiritual gifts….”

In the first reading from Deuteronomy, God, by feeding the people in the desert with manna, demonstrated how He provides both physical and spiritual needs of His people. God’s nourishment with manna was a foretaste of our Eucharistic meal.

St. Paul in 1st Corinthians gives us an early account of the institution of the Eucharist and points to the unity which should exist in the Church through sharing in the one Body and Blood of Christ, regardless of distance, race, ethnic affiliation, gender, etc. Because we celebrate the Eucharist, we are urged to put aside everything that causes division, distrust and rivalry and sue for what unites and binds people.

In the gospel, Christ unambiguously proclaims: “I am the living bread. The bread that I shall give is my flesh…if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you” (Jn. 6:51-53). The Eucharist does for us the following things: It commemorates the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ; creates unity among all who take part in it; transforms us and our world at large; purifies us, strengthen us, and gives us the power to become more and more like Jesus. We are called to be true ministers and authentic witnesses to what we celebrate by alleviating the pains of those who suffer or lack the necessities of life.We are encouraged to receive Holy Communion reverently and with the right disposition, not as we take snacks or cookies. Catholics must not go late to Mass or dash out of the Church after receiving Communion. We must make the necessary spiritual preparations (including sacramental confession) to receive Jesus. Catholics should cultivate the regular habit of visiting Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for adoration and to attend benediction.

We live in a time of multiple needless deaths, increasing evil and hatred. Again, the recent brutal murder of a Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Charles Onomhaele Igechi, of the Archdiocese of Benin City, is very disheartening. May his soul rest in perfect peace. The authorities must ensure that Nigerians including Catholic priests are not kidnapped or killed just because they are agents of peace, unity, equity, dignity of life, etc.

Despite the atrocities experienced, our Christian faith still teaches us that life is sacred. Christians must not discriminate and look down on others or promote our interest at the expense of others, but to create a community of love. We cannot be partaking of the Eucharist and be living in resentment towards other Nigerians. If some Nigerians speak with reckless abandon and arrogant insensitivity, claiming they are better than other Nigerians, and are determined to keep those they call “outsiders” and “inferiors” under domination, we can never grow as a nation to maturity and progress, and measure up to other developed nations.

Unfortunately, presently Nigeria is not lacking people with egocentric, megalomaniac and exclusive tendencies, unconcerned about dragging the country into anarchy or hostile inter-religious, political, or ethnic relationships by their unmeasured utterances and actions. These were part of our concerns when the then Presidential candidate, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, met a group of Catholic Bishops during our conference in Abuja, a few days to the presidential elections. Our memo to him was very clear about many hurting issues. Now as President, he must find a way of taming Nigerians with paranoid dispositions who often blow the trumpet of disunity and hostility. He should promote better religious harmony as he promised us, by being fair and just to all religious groups and their adherents. The ball is in his court for now.

I was edified when invited by UFUK Dialogue Foundation, an Islamic Turkish Foundation, to join them to break the Ramadan fast and I saw this quote: “Reserve in your heart a seat for everyone.” Leaders, whether Muslims or Christians, must create a space for everyone in their hearts, in the spirit of equity, brotherliness and hospitality. We must learn to live under one canopy of love: sacrificing selfish ambitions for the common good. Uncontrolled venomous utterances will certainly generate unnecessary tension among Nigerians of whatever faith persuasion who want to live peacefully together, everyone pursuing his/her legitimate concerns.

I wish you the parish priest, Fr. Marcel Livinus, OSJ, your assistant, Rev. Fr. Cephas Asom, OSJ, your team of collaborators, the 51 candidates of confirmation, the 7 candidates for first Holy Communion, all the parishioners of St. Augustine’s Parish, Suncity, and indeed all Nigerians God’s unceasing blessings of love and peace, now and forever.