Benedict XVI's Homily on Corpus Christi
"God Created Us Free But He Did Not Leave Us Alone"
ROME, JUNE 13, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican
translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave May 22
during the Mass for the solemnity of Corpus Christi,
which took place in the square of the Basilica of St.
John Lateran.
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
After the strong season of the liturgical year which,
focusing on Easter spreads over three months -- first
the 40 days of Lent, then the 50 days of Eastertide --
the liturgy has us celebrate three Feasts which instead
have a "synthetic" character: the Most Holy Trinity,
then Corpus Christi, and lastly, the Sacred Heart of
Jesus. What is the precise significance of today's
Solemnity, of the Body and Blood of Christ? The answer
is given to us in the fundamental actions of this
celebration we are carrying out: first of all we gather
around the altar of the Lord, to be together in his
presence; secondly, there will be the procession, that
is walking with the Lord; and lastly, kneeling before
the Lord, adoration, which already begins in the Mass
and accompanies the entire procession but culminates in
the final moment of the Eucharistic Blessing when we all
prostrate ourselves before the One who stooped down to
us and gave his life for us. Let us reflect briefly on
these three attitudes, so that they may truly be an
expression of our faith and our life.
The first action, therefore, is to gather together in
the Lord's presence. This is what in former times was
called "statio". Let us imagine for a moment that in the
whole of Rome there were only this one altar and that
all the city's Christians were invited to gather here to
celebrate the Saviour who died and was raised. This
gives us an idea of what the Eucharistic celebration
must have been like at the origins, in Rome and in many
other cities that the Gospel message had reached. In
every particular Church there was only one Bishop and
around him, around the Eucharist that he celebrated, a
community was formed, one, because one was the blessed
Cup and one was the Bread broken, as we heard in the
Apostle Paul's words in the Second Reading (cf. I Cor
10: 16-17). That other famous Pauline expression comes
to mind: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor
female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:
28). "You are all one"! In these words the truth and
power of the Christian revolution is heard, the most
profound revolution of human history, which was
experienced precisely around the Eucharist: here people
of different age groups, sex, social background, and
political ideas gather together in the Lord's presence.
The Eucharist can never be a private event, reserved for
people chosen through affinity or friendship.
The Eucharist is a public devotion that has nothing
esoteric or exclusive about it. Here too, this evening,
we did not choose to meet one another, we came and find
ourselves next to one another, brought together by faith
and called to become one body, sharing the one Bread
which is Christ. We are united over and above our
differences of nationality, profession, social class,
political ideas: we open ourselves to one another to
become one in him. This has been a characteristic of
Christianity from the outset, visibly fulfilled around
the Eucharist, and it is always necessary to be alert to
ensure that the recurring temptations of particularism,
even if with good intentions, do not go in the opposite
direction. Therefore Corpus Christi reminds us first of
all of this: that being Christian means coming together
from all parts of the world to be in the presence of the
one Lord and to become one with him and in him.
The second constitutive aspect is walking with the Lord.
This is the reality manifested by the procession that we
shall experience together after Holy Mass, almost as if
it were naturally prolonged by moving behind the One who
is the Way, the Journey. With the gift of himself in the
Eucharist the Lord Jesus sets us free from our
"paralyses", he helps us up and enables us to "proceed
", that is, he makes us take a step ahead and then
another step, and thus sets us going with the power of
the Bread of Life. As happened to the Prophet Elijah who
had sought refuge in the wilderness for fear of his
enemies and had made up his mind to let himself die (cf.
I Kgs 19: 1-4). But God awoke him from sleep and caused
him to find beside him a freshly baked loaf: "Arise and
eat", the angel said, "else the journey will be too
great for you" (I Kgs 19: 5,7). The Corpus Christi
procession teaches us that the Eucharist seeks to free
us from every kind of despondency and discouragement,
wants to raise us, so that we can set out on the journey
with the strength God gives us through Jesus Christ. It
is the experience of the People of Israel in the exodus
from Egypt, their long wandering through the desert, as
the First Reading relates. It is an experience which was
constitutive for Israel but is exemplary for all
humanity. Indeed the saying: "Man does not live by bread
alone, but... by everything that proceeds out of the
mouth of the Lord" (Dt 8: 3), is a universal affirmation
which refers to every man or woman as a person. Each one
can find his own way if he encounters the One who is the
Word and the Bread of Life and lets himself be guided by
his friendly presence. Without the God-with-us, the God
who is close, how can we stand up to the pilgrimage
through life, either on our own or as society and the
family of peoples? The Eucharist is the Sacrament of the
God who does not leave us alone on the journey but stays
at our side and shows us the way. Indeed, it is not
enough to move onwards, one must also see where one is
going!
"Progress" does not suffice, if there are no criteria as
reference points. On the contrary, if one loses the way
one risks coming to a precipice, or at any rate more
rapidly distancing oneself from the goal. God created us
free but he did not leave us alone: he made himself the
"way" and came to walk together with us so that in our
freedom we should also have the criterion we need to
discern the right way and to take it.
At this point we cannot forget the beginning of the
"Decalogue", the Ten Commandments, where it is written:
"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land
of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no
other gods before me" (Ex 20: 2-3). Here we find the
meaning of the third constitutive element of Corpus
Christi: kneeling in adoration before the Lord. Adoring
the God of Jesus Christ, who out of love made himself
bread broken, is the most effective and radical remedy
against the idolatry of the past and of the present.
Kneeling before the Eucharist is a profession of
freedom: those who bow to Jesus cannot and must not
prostrate themselves before any earthly authority,
however powerful. We Christians kneel only before God or
before the Most Blessed Sacrament because we know and
believe that the one true God is present in it, the God
who created the world and so loved it that he gave his
Only Begotten Son (cf. Jn 3: 16). We prostrate ourselves
before a God who first bent over man like the Good
Samaritan to assist him and restore his life, and who
knelt before us to wash our dirty feet. Adoring the Body
of Christ, means believing that there, in that piece of
Bread, Christ is really there, and gives true sense to
life, to the immense universe as to the smallest
creature, to the whole of human history as to the most
brief existence. Adoration is prayer that prolongs the
celebration and Eucharistic communion and in which the
soul continues to be nourished: it is nourished with
love, truth, peace; it is nourished with hope, because
the One before whom we prostrate ourselves does not
judge us, does not crush us but liberates and transforms
us.
This is why gathering, walking and adoring together
fills us with joy. In making our own the adoring
attitude of Mary, whom we especially remember in this
month of May, let us pray for ourselves and for
everyone; let us pray for every person who lives in this
city, that he or she may know you, O Father and the One
whom you sent, Jesus Christ and thus have life in
abundance. Amen.
