This year, we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ along with Father’s Day, a time in which we honour and thank those men who provide for us, protect us, and have sacrificed so much for us.
Pope Benedict XVI affirms that “in the Eucharist, Jesus does not give us a ‘thing,’ but himself; he offers his own Body and pours out his own Blood [Sacramentum Caritatis, 7].” Today’s feast is not merely a liturgical celebration of the Blessed Sacrament. It challenges everyone who believes in Christ to be alter Christus – another Christ. St. Paul makes it categorical when he says, “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it [1 Corinthians 12: 27].” Hence, Corpus Christi Sunday is the celebration of our own identity as the Body of Christ.
What must I do to make Christ present in my life in the family, community and parish? When so many who do not believe in Christ surround me, what difference does being a member of Christ’s body make?
As Father Ron Rolheiser puts it: “If the person whom you love strays from the church in terms of faith practice and morality, as long as you love that person and hold them in love and forgiveness, they are being held to the Body of Christ and being forgiven by God because your touch is Christ’s touch!”
In a society such as Hong Kong, it is common to see God-fearing parents who have children who no longer pray or parents or spouses who don’t respect your faith. What can you do? The Solemnity of Corpus Christi is a reminder to keep loving and holding them together in love because they are receiving God’s love and forgiveness through you.
Blood and body are words that evoke a sense of suffering, bloodshed, and sacrifice. Bloodshed and sacrifices were also involved in the concept of celebrating Father’s Day. On 6 December 1907, over 500 men working in a coal mine in Monongah in West Virginia were killed in an explosion. A lady by the name Grace Golden Clayton organised an event to honour the fathers who died in the catastrophe. Almost at the same time, five siblings in Washington state wished to celebrate the sacrifices of their dad, who raised them alone after the death of their mother. The idea gained huge popular support, and the first Father’s Day was celebrated in June 1910.
So here we have two feasts, one secular and the other of the Faith, in which we celebrate love, caring, nurturing and sacrifices. The mission of every father on earth is to live out the words Jesus spoke at the institution of the Eucharist: “This is my body … given up for you.” The Body and Blood of Christ were broken and shed as the life-giving food for humanity. Similarly, a caring and nurturing father sacrifices his life—breaking his body and shedding his blood for his family’s life. Thus, they become alter Christus.
The role of fathers in the family and the priesthood has been severely belittled in our society. As we celebrate today’s solemnity, let’s pray for all the fathers—biological, adopted, spiritual, or ordained through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. To be a father is a vocation “to be another Christ.” jose, CMF
