My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,
I wish you a happy Solemnity of Corpus Christi or as we say today, the Body and Blood of Christ. On this great feast day, parishes throughout the world bring our faith in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist in processions into the streets, like the apostles and disciples did on Pentecost after receiving the Holy Spirit. It breaks my heart to read that in many places 60% or two out of three Catholics do not believe in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. How can that be? Our faith and the holy sacrifice of the Mass are focused on celebrating this revealed truth. In every Mass we hear the self-revelation of God’s love for us in Sacred Scripture throughout history, from the promise of a savior to Adam and Eve, the promise of blessing the world through the children of Abraham and Sarah, the freeing of Israel from Egypt through Moses, on down through the prophets and kings. We priests do our best to explain the readings and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We draw connections to daily life and encourage our flocks to personally encounter the fullness of God’s love in Jesus Christ.
What is all the fuss, why expensive vestments and chalices, candles, incense, and our signs of reverence as to a king by kneeling and genuflecting? Yes, even today when the tabernacle is present we should genuflect before entering our pew and kneel to recollect ourselves in prayer to prepare for the Mass. What is different about entering the church, we are just with our friends? God’s grace calls us to come to Mass, and Catholic tradition gives us physical signs that point to our encounter with the holy. As we approach church we see a cross, and as we enter the vestibule we transition into a quieter space before entering the worship space: statues, paintings and stained glass remind us of the lives of Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary and saints whose lives show us that simple human beings can live lives of extraordinary love. As we kneel in prayer we notice the light of presence reminding us that we genuflect or bow before entering our pew, because the Son of God, Christ the King is present before us. This is very much like a Jewish synagogue, which also has a light of presence near the scrolls of Sacred Scripture to remind the Jewish people that the scrolls are the living Word of God. We, however, have not a sign of God’s love, but the real presence of Christ the King in our tabernacle.
The presence of God in the tabernacle is the reason we lower our voices, why we genuflect or bow. It is why some women cover their heads with a veil and it is why we should dress in our “Sunday best”. Before Mass, we should think about coming before God who is Holy-Holy-Holy. We wear our best for Christ the King, not to attract attention, or to show off our bodies in the hope of attracting a husband or wife. Mass is a great place to make friends and find a faithful spouse, but God’s plan is for us to attract love through beauty, humility and modest holiness, not revealing and immodest dressing. Humility should be our response to holiness, as when Moses was told to take off his shoes as he was on holy ground. In church we are on holy ground before the same God, so we must show reverence to the holiness of God who wishes to bless and sanctify us, so that we can bring God’s love and peace into the streets, our schools, our homes and our places of work.
Do you know why the priest uses a veil to hold the monstrance? No, it is not because I am not worthy to touch holiness. I bless, break and give the Body of Christ in every Mass. I use the veil to emphasize that it is Jesus who is blessing. Warm weather is on the way, please remember to dress reverently. Shorts, too short skirts and bare body parts are distracting and not appropriate before God.
Your servant in Christ, Father Paul