When I was younger, an elementary student and an altar server, I would always feel so honored to assist the priest carrying the monstrance around the población in procession as the Feast of the Corpus Christi is being celebrated. People would stop, kneel, pray, and adore the Real Presence of Christ inside the monstrance. Well, that was decades ago, and now it is quite different. I wonder if processions like that are still being done in our communities today. Well, whatever the excuse is for our failure to do so, I will not give much attention because we invented so many excuses not to carry out the monstrance around the town.
Some of our excuses are: First, it is too heavy for the priest to carry the monstrance alone above his head. Second, people no longer show respect and veneration like our conservative grandparents did during their time. Third, our roads are so congested with too many vehicles, and processions are no longer popular unlike before. Fourth, there is the danger of catching an infectious illness, so it is better to stay at home and watch the procession of the Corpus Christi on TV and live streams from social media platforms. Sad to note because that tradition has fallen by the wayside today.
The Feast of the Corpus Christi is focused on reminding us that Christ is truly present to us every day in the form of the Bread and Wine. The historical Christ who was nailed on the cross is still the same Christ that we see in every Eucharistic celebration. The Real Presence of Christ is always there in the form of bread and wine to make us feel his real presence in this modern and topsy-turvy world we live in today. The challenge is how to make the real presence of Jesus in the eucharist, the bread of life which we partake of, be present in the world through us. “The Real Presence in the Eucharist is there to make us the Real Presence in the world.”
Our celebration of this feast, the Corpus Christi, may have taught us about the real presence of Christ in the blessed sacrament, in the altars, and in the monstrance showed around for all to venerate during the procession. But it must not stop in simply venerating and adoring the real presence of Christ in the form of the bread. Granting that we really believe that, indeed, Christ is present there, then we must be challenged to make him present to the world by being the Body of Christ to the world. We are members of the Church, his Body, and we are his Real Presence to the world.
The celebration of this feast is not passive, like people from all walks of life venerating him from afar and even through our modern gadgets. It must compel us also, as Christians, to show the Christ-in-us to the whole world.
When we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, let us always remember our faith, not only in the Real Presence in the Host, but also the Real Presence of Jesus in us! That is the reason why we are here. Jesus nourishes us through his Body, in the bread and wine, so that we can nourish others and make his presence felt by everyone because we are living the life of Christ, even in these trying times in our society.
We are the Body of Christ. How I wish we all realize that truth and live our lives embracing our Christian principles. If we can only do this, then we can also imitate the sacrifices of Jesus on the cross. Imitating him would mean sacrificing a lot for our marriage and families without the need for a VAWC intervention. As children, we will learn to listen to our parents unconditionally and without asking for the help of a Bantay-Bata 163 rescuer. And, of course, as married couples, we will not have to go to the court of law and ask for an Absolute Divorce from a valid marriage. Simple things like this can make the real presence of Christ felt by everyone because of our faith. We are the Body of Christ! Let us then live by that calling to make the Corpus Christi present in this world by clinging to our Christian principles.
If by this time you still do not know where to find that real presence of Christ in your life, I suggest you start looking around you. Maybe you will find Christ in those orphans, the homeless families, the abused, the elderly and the sick. Finding Christ in their lowly situation will always bring out the Christ in you, especially when you decide to do something good for them and when you start to treat them as real brothers and sisters. Afterall, we are brothers and sisters in Christ, and we all build up the Church, the Body of Christ.