Praise be Jesus and Mary.
In the 13th century, a Belgian nun named St. Juliana received a vision that will eventually
lead to a very important change in the Church's liturgical calendar.
The vision she received was that of a full moon, and that full moon that she saw was
blotted by a dark spot.
In time, our Lord, through His grace, helped her to understand what that vision meant.
The full moon signified the Church's liturgical calendar, the liturgical year.
And the blotted dark spot was a missing feast that He ardently desired.
Our Lord wanted a feast, a solemnity, in the Universal Church where all of the faithful
dedicate an entire day to adore Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament and to make reparation
for the offenses being committed against the Most Holy Eucharist.
Thanks to St. Juliana, thanks to her holiness of life, and thanks to her ardent work, Urban
the Fourth would eventually institute the solemnity that we celebrate today, the solemnity
of Corpus Christi.
Urban the Fourth, in his bowl, when he institutes the solemnity, transiturus deoc mundo, he
actually alludes and he discreetly affirms the mystical experiences of St. Juliana.
And in that bowl, he repeats the purpose of this feast.
He wants all of the faithful to dedicate one entire day to celebrate, to adore this Great
Sacrament, the Most Holy Eucharist, and to make reparation for the offenses being committed
against this Blessed Sacrament.
So today we celebrate the solemnity of Corpus Christi.
We celebrate the source and the summit of our Christian life.
We celebrate what we call the mystery of faith.
If someone were to ask you, give me one reason why you believe in the Most Holy Eucharist.
There's plenty of reasons, but why do we, as Catholics, believe in the Most Holy Eucharist?
The first Christians believed in the Most Holy Eucharist.
That's a good reason.
Some of the greatest minds in the history of the Church believed in the Most Holy Eucharist.
St. Augustine, St. Thomas of Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, St. John Henry Newman, Benedict
XVI, just to name a few.
All of them believed in the Most Holy Eucharist.
That's a good one.
Many martyrs shed their blood and gave their life to profess their faith in the Most Holy
Eucharist.
That's a good reason.
Many of the mystics had specific Eucharistic mystical experiences.
Padre Pio, St. Faustina, etc., etc.
That's a good reason.
There are plenty of Eucharistic miracles.
Good reason.
But if you had to boil it down to one reason, why do you, as a Catholic, believe in the
Most Holy Eucharist?
Again, these are all valid and good reasons, but here's the best one.
Because Jesus said so.
Because Jesus said so, period.
In the Gospel of John, chapter 6, he says,
I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.
Jesus said so.
Our belief in the Most Holy Eucharist is based on what Jesus said, but not only.
Our belief in the Most Holy Eucharist is based not only on what Jesus said, but also on what
Jesus did.
When you read the Synoptic Gospels and St. Paul, they all recount the institution of
the Eucharist.
On the night he was betrayed, our Lord did something very specific.
He took bread, he took wine, and he said, This is my body.
This is my blood.
Words by which and through which he institutes the Most Holy Eucharist.
This is what our Lord did.
After that, get this now, he says, Do this in memory of me.
Words by which he institutes the Most Sacred Priesthood.
Key.
Do you see what our Lord is doing there?
He institutes the Most Blessed Sacrament, and then he instructs his disciples, his priests,
to perpetuate it.
God wills, our Lord wills, that he be present really, truly, substantially in the Blessed
Sacrament, but he also wills that that mystery of his real presence be perpetuated through
time.
Why?
Because he wills and he wants to be really, truly, substantially present in the Most Holy
Eucharist, and he wills and he wants to be really, truly, substantially present in your
life.
What a gift.
He institutes the Most Holy Eucharist.
He perpetuates it in time so that you may adore him.
So that you may love him.
So that you may visit him often.
You see, what a beautiful gift.
He is really, truly, substantially present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
How often do we go to Mass when we can, especially during the weekdays?
How often do we visit our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament?
Do we carve out time to adore him in the Blessed Sacrament?
Do we make spiritual communions?
You see, our Lord is truly present, and hence the blasphemies, the sacrilegious, the offenses
committed against the Most Blessed Sacrament need reparation.
When I was a seminarian in North Italy, I still remember, I still remember, I will never
forget it, a certain time in the year where there was a group of Satanists who publicly
promoted, and were publicly promoting, that there was a week where they were going to
celebrate black Masses.
I will never forget it.
All over town there were posters, and despite the fact that the Catholics protested, they
still obviously went through it.
After that week, that whole town was struck by an earthquake.
I was there, never forgetting.
Seemed like a train was coming by, and my cell was rocking, I was like, this is not normal.
Turned the lights on, there was a humongous crack on the wall.
An earthquake hit that town.
Since our Lord is really and truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, the offenses, the
sacrilegious, and the blasphemies committed against the Most Holy Eucharist should move
us to make reparation.
And brothers and sisters, it's not very hard.
All we need to do is be in the state of grace and receive Him in Holy Communion with that
intention, and that is so consoling to the heart of our Lord.
Today we celebrate this great solemnity, and we always need to remember that our Lord took
human nature from the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Ave verum corpus natum de Maria Virginae, healed true body, born of the Virgin Mary.
Let me end by saying this.
Notice how Our Lady herself, in her approved apparitions, Fatima, Lourdes, Guadalupe, notice
how Our Lady herself always requests for something very specific.
She always requests for a chapel to be built.
Why?
Because in the chapel there is the Blessed Sacrament, where our Lord is really, truly,
substantially present.
She always leads us to our Lord Jesus Christ.
May the Blessed Mother help us adore our Lord.
May she guide us and help us to grow in our love for our Lord.
He is really, truly, substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament.
And may she help us, through her grace, make Him really and truly the source and the summit
of our life.
If you would like to grow in love and knowledge of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, consider a
subscription to the Missio Macalate magazine.
The Missio is a bimonthly magazine published by the Franciscans of the Immaculate for over
15 years.
Every issue of the Missio features articles about Our Lady's privileges and her mission
in the Church and world for the sanctification and conversion of souls.
The Missio takes to heart the ancient saying of the Church, De Maria Numcam Satis, of Mary
you can never say enough.
You can subscribe online at missiomagazine.com, that's m-i-s-s-i-o, magazine.com, or go to
the homepage of airmaria.com.
Back issues of the Missio are also available upon request.
The Missio is a practical way to behold your mother and take her into your home.
Ave Maria.