Corpus Christi celebrates the True Presence yet Christ cannot be truly present in our lives if we allow him to remain in the tabernacle. We were, fortunately or unfortunately, not present at the crucifixion where we gave his physical body and blood so that we may all live.

At every mass, we “do this as a memorial of me”, in which we believe that Christ is truly present in the form of bread and wine. Consecrated, we become truly present at the foot of the cross at every mass when Christ gives his body and blood to us just as he did on Calvary.

There was a point along my journey in life that I was caught rooted at the foot of the cross. Being Catholic equated to a life of suffering and that then did not fit into my grand scheme of things. My secular lifestyle, my unholy desires and my earthly priorities blinded any sight of Christ, truly Risen. The secular world took me away from my spiritual world. Gradually unworthiness crept along and I stopped taking and eating the Holy Eucharist. The presence of the Risen Christ disappeared from my life.

The homilist today shared that “we are what we eat”. Indeed.

When we received the Holy Eucharist, we have the opportunity to be like Christ. Through us, in us, he is truly present. But in turn, we cannot just be like a tabernacle containing him. We must give ourselves to others so that they in turn, will not be rooted at the foot of the cross.

Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, Tabgha

Each of us have in our possession, 5 loaves and 2 fish. But our loaves and fish are all different from each other’s. Our gifts are varied. In 1 Peter we find, “Each one of you has received a special grace, so, like good stewards responsible for all these varied graces of God, put it at the service of others”. Every loaf counts, every fish is called.

The true presence of Christ in us can only be fully expressed when we offer our 5 loaves and 2 fish for him to use. In fact, who we truly are: this wonderful child of God, chosen to allow his love to flow through us can only be beautifully expressed when we are fully extended, fully given. When we do so, the multiplier effect of God’s varied graces becomes immense.

We will see him truly present in our lives, along the miles on our journey.

(Solemnity of Corpus Christi, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, reflecting on 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Luke 9:11-17)

As a cradle Catholic, I grew up struggling to understand the “mystery” of The Holy Trinity. In and out of catechism classes, I hear that it is “impossible” to grasp a full ‘logical’ explanation. I never ever managed to get an intellectual grasp on it, and I suspect I never will.

But I grew in wisdom of The Holy Trinity as I grew in my service in RCIA and now in Landings. When I first returned to an active faith life, maybe 16 years ago, I joined the RCIA believing that our faith is passed on only through intellectual knowledge. I had no concept of a ‘personal experience of God’. I did not then have the wisdom that faith is experiential and that we could transmit it through one another through the power of the Holy Spirit by what we do for each other.

When I first reappeared in a ministry, I only received. I was welcomed, attended to, encouraged and supported. Through these little actions of others, I began to experienced “feeling loved”. Inside me, a light stirring made me feel like “I want to belong”.

Soon, as I received, I learned to give. As I gave to others, I began to grow and felt even more of everything. This was the initial, faint call to become a gift to others. This was my first conscious experience of the fulfilment of being a “giver”.

As I entered into this cycle of receiving and giving, I gained wisdom of The Holy Trinity. The more we selflessly give to one another, the closer we are to be the perfect union that The Holy Trinity desires us to be. The more we give to another, the more equal we become to each other. The more equal, the more alike.

The Holy Trinity is this endless flow of love given and received. And the more we commit ourselves into this cycle of selfless love, the more perfect our union with God and one another will be. We will experience communion.

Sure, The Holy Trinity is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the 3 Persons in one God. Evaluating the ‘logic’ to break the ‘mystery’ of The Holy Trinity only has fruitful value if it leads us to live our life as an instrument for God’s love to flow through us to bring others into a community to experience a common union with God and one another.

Challenging his disciples’ curiosity Jesus said, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, The Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all the truth”. (Today’s Gospel John 16:12-15. The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity)