Church of Jesus Christ of the Universe

by Mauro

(translated audio)

01.06.2024

Corpus Christi

Ex 24: 3-8; Psalm 115; Heb 9: 11-15; Mr 14: 12-16/22-26

Here in Italy we are on the eve of the Feast of Corpus Christi, Body and Blood of Jesus.

To think of Jesus Eucharist, to think of this Feast, brings me back a little to the words of St Paul, when he says: «The Lord Jesus, though He was of divine nature, did not regard His equality with God as a treasure, but humbled Himself by becoming obedient, obedient unto death on a cross»¹. These words could be continued by saying: and then He rose again, but He decided to remain with us in the Eucharist, and to celebrate with us the memorial of the New Covenant, where He continuously offers Himself.

These words lead me to ask – and I think it is the same for all of us – where does this love come from? I cannot find the answer, I may be a bore, but a love that even though He knows our weaknesses, our difficulties, not only redeems us, gives us life, gives us the possibility of returning to the Father, opens up a road on which we need only set out, but precisely because He knows us, He remains in this prison. The Eucharist really is a prison for Him, He is there offered up, defenceless. He is there as a protection.

Consider, in the past churches were not built in random places. First, they were for sure placed where contemplation was encouraged, but the intention was also to allow those who walked, who travelled, by shifting their gaze, to always be able to find the Eucharist, to reconnect with God.

St Francis, who was not able to receive communion every day, but when he caught a glimpse of a bell tower, he knelt down and lingered. He forgot about time; he knew that there was his Lord in prison for love.

I think that contemplating this love automatically reminds us of the importance of our life – from the point of view of eternity. Because if a God has come to do so much and continues to do so – I repeat, a God –, if He has recognised that we deserve so much, it means that our life is worth so much, that it must be truly important from the point of view of eternity. I say in the perspective of eternity because He said so. The whole Gospel explains it. He died, He suffered what He suffered, He continues to remain and to suffer out of love, but always to bring us back to that eternity, not for this life. Everywhere in the Gospel we read: «He who loves father or mother more than me…². And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out…³. It is better to lose your life … He who finds his life will lose it.⁴» It is clear that He is not talking about this life.

I believe that if the Second Person of the Holy Trinity must do all this for us, He must force us to understand: so, how much do we count? What is there in this eternity? What is it worth? What does it mean for us to re-enter that love we came out of? Perhaps it helps us to detach ourselves a little from the earthly dimension. Maybe it helps us get our values right. What is it that counts? Do we really have to use the New Covenant that the Lord has made for us, to live better here on Earth, or do we have to think a little bit more about what our eternity is, and live here on Earth in view and for eternity?

I say this because I do not think it is either easy or obvious for Christians to take this attitude for granted. This week, by the way, we will have the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday and the Immaculate Heart of Mary Most Holy on Saturday: there too, examples of this love. We Christians live the entire liturgy of the year always centred on this dimension. The risk for us is always to celebrate rites, but not to enter into this mystery, not to enter into this love, to remain always on the surface, to let ourselves be touched at times but not to embrace it completely. We do not let ourselves be possessed by this love.

Actually, Jesus and also Mary Most Holy desire to share this love with us, it is their greatest desire. They desire to be one with us. Jesus asked this of God the Father at the Last Supper: «That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us»⁵. It is a prayer He made at the Last Supper when He instituted the Eucharist. So this love is at hand for us, It cannot remain a mystery.

I believe that penetrating this mystery also explains the word “love”, which on Earth has taken on many different meanings. That is the love of a God who becomes man to recover us, of a God who remains in the bread to recover us, of a God who enters into us to recover us; that is Love. But recover us in what?

I believe that to make sense of things, of life, and to understand this love, there are steps to take. The first is to give time to God. And when I say “give time to God” I do not mean to go and pray because I need something. It means to give Him time to explain this love to us, a time where we stay in silence and where we just desire to know Him. I do not desire something for myself, I desire to give Him the opportunity to make Himself known because He wants it; but we do not give Him the opportunity.

This has a premise, which the Psalm I read to you now explains very well: «O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsts for thee, my flesh faints for thee as in a dry and weary land where no water is»⁶. If there is this within each one of us, God reveals Himself; if there is this and we give Him time, God explains everything to us, everything, He leaves nothing hidden about Himself, He reveals all of Himself. He does not come and explain just any situation to us, He explains Himself, but I say to you: if we have an encounter with God where He explains Himself, life changes.

«I have looked upon thee in the sanctuary. Because thy steadfast love is better than life»⁷. Let us check whether this applies to us and give God time. I guarantee you: He reveals Himself if this applies to us. «So I will bless thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands. My soul is feasted as with marrow and fat; and my mouth praises thee with joyful lips»⁸. But if we do not have this, true, sincere, burning desire and if we go to the Lord to pray, to do even ten hours of worship a day, without this desire, the Lord tells us only one thing. Before He reveals Himself to us, He asks a question: “If you answer, I too will reveal myself”. And the question He asks you is this: “Do you love me more than these?⁹ More than life? More than everything you have seen, touched, known, met?” If we answer that question He reveals Himself. If we remain vague, begin to reason “if I answer like this, it is no good, if I answer…”, He too will not answer us. Our worship will surely always be beautiful, useful, it will not hurt us, so keep doing it, but He will not explain His love, where It comes from.

The desire to enter into the mystery compels the Lord to reveal Himself, it forces Him. When there is that ever-increasing desire, in a certain sense it also touches God’s weakness, and God’s weakness is that love that perhaps gives us even more than we need, because He wants to love us. He gives us more graces than we need, He gives us more than we need, He gives it to us, He almost throws it at us and fills us up, and we overflow and we become a source of that love. And there begins the transformation, there begins true Life.

I think that in the face of all this, in the face of the mystery, in the face of what we do not know, we sometimes get scared; but we also know that fear does not come from God, any kind of fear. There is no fear that comes from God, none, not one. It is one thing when our legs are perhaps trembling, but because of the greatness we are facing. It is something else to be afraid of what He has said to us, afraid of what we will have to do, afraid of how our life will change. These fears do not come from God.

So I will conclude by saying: if we give God time, if we sincerely allow Him to act, if we are sincere, as I read from the Psalm, and in that sincerity wanting to know Him, He will not only reveal Himself, but He will do it quickly, He will do it immediately. With God there is no waiting, He will do it immediately and He will be generous, as I said before, in doing it. And this will give us peace and full joy as He has promised: «Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you¹⁰. That my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full¹¹». And that He wants this is, I repeat, His prayer to God the Father: «That they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us»¹². This is a prayer of Jesus, so it can only be answered. What I said is not theory, it is a prayer of Jesus. If Jesus’ prayers were not answered, things would be bad for us; but they are answered.

So please, this week, starting tomorrow, let us not do celebrations, devotions – going around the country with Corpus Christi, beautiful, with the band – let us try to enter, contemplate and know that Love.

And may Mary, who did just that throughout Her life and continues to do so in eternity, help us to live like Her, as true contemplatives, as true Christians, as true children of God, because only by living this way will we experience resurrection, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.