Corpus Christi
Knights of Columbus State Deputies Meeting
New Haven, CT
June 10, 2023
Introduction
Last Thursday, I accompanied my fellow Chaplains on a pilgrimage entitled “In the Footsteps of Father McGivney”. Our pilgrimage took us first to Immaculate Conception Church, Terryville, a mission of St. Thomas Church in Thomaston, where Fr. McGivney was Pastor. Like today’s busy parish priests, Fr. McGivney shuttled between the two churches, but instead of using an SUV, he went by horse and buggy. Next, we went to the Opera House where our Founder staged parish plays, just as he had done at St. Mary’s in New Haven. Then we found ourselves in St. Thomas Parish, in Thomaston. This stone church was built in 1905, five years after Fr. McGivney’s death, but one could still sense the presence of this saintly priest within.
It was at St. Thomas Church that we were all completely taken by surprise. The chaplains were aware that a possible eucharistic miracle had occurred there. During the distribution of Holy Communion, the number of hosts ran low, but to everyone’s astonishment, the hosts in the ciborium were replenished, without anyone’s adding any hosts … it simply happened. This eucharistic miracle is under investigation, and no one knows whether it will be authenticated. Yet, as the pastor described what had happened, and invited me to bring the ciborium to the altar, a sense of reverence and awe came over me and my brother chaplains. Spontaneously, we engaged in eucharistic adoration, followed by an impromptu benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. We felt close to Fr. McGivney whose relic we had just reverenced, and wondered if this were a further sign of his spiritual presence with us. We also thought of the Eucharistic Revival now underway in the United States, and wondered if this were not confirmation of that wonderful initiative. Most of all, we felt especially close to our Eucharistic Lord and to one another. It was a “Cor” experience of Christ’s true presence that deeply touched our hearts.
The Reasons for Feast of Corpus Christi
This unexpected grace took place last Thursday, the very day when the Feast of Corpus Christi is celebrated in much of the world. We were reminded of this by brother knights from France, Poland, Mexico and the Philippines. Hearing this, I was also reminded of the reasons why St. Thomas Aquinas first proposed this feast day, and why Pope Urban IV instituted it for the whole Church: to strengthen the eucharistic faith of Catholics throughout the world, to confirm in them the beautiful and life-giving truth that the Eucharist is not a mere symbol of Christ’s presence but the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the crucified and risen Lord.
More than ever, faith in the mystery of the Eucharist needs to be confirmed. A world that deifies science and glories in ideology scoffs at this teaching, much as those who heard Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse scoffed. Sadly, the eucharistic faith of many Catholics is false, distorted, or incomplete, and many others simply do not see its importance in their lives. Often, it’s not that they have explicitly rejected belief in the Eucharist; they have simply gotten out of the habit of going to Mass on Sundays. They may send their children to Catholic schools but not bring them to Mass. Some say they feel awkward about returning to church, not sure what to say or do, but the longer they stay away, the weaker their attachment to the Eucharist becomes. And we should make no mistake: some of our brother knights and their families are among the unchurched. This should be of greatest concern to us as the leaders of the Order.
Evangelizing Catechesis
But it is also a challenge that we, in the grace of the Holy Spirit, can address. As we heard yesterday, a top priority of our Supreme Knight is evangelization, and the rekindling of faith among the members of the Order as also among those men and their families who should belong to the Order. This is why there was so much emphasis on launching the Cor Initiative this weekend. The prayer, formation, and fraternity of the Cor meeting – open to brother knights and to all the men of the parish – offers a way forward. Think about the powerful witness of a Knights of Columbus Council having a holy hour, or studying together the Bread of Life discourse in John’s Gospel, or watching and discussing one of the excellent CIS videos on the Eucharist, or listening as a brother knight bears witness to how he recovered his eucharist faith. As we heard, when husbands and fathers having a strong eucharistic faith, it is far more likely that their wives and children will be at Mass on Sunday.
As you have also heard many times, the word “cor” means “heart” – and the Cor Initiative is about going to the root, the heart of what matters. If we step back and look at everything the Church proclaims and teaches, we will readily see that the Eucharist is at the heart of the Church’s life. The Eucharist is where the Church unites in encountering the Risen Lord and in receiving afresh his gift of self on the Cross under what our senses perceive to be mere bread and wine.
The II Vatican Council calls the Eucharist “the source and summit” of the Christian life. At the Basilica in downtown Baltimore, we have Eucharistic Adoration 24-7, and among the adorers are young people, urban missionaries, who spend a year in formation and in service to those in need. After praying together, they go out into the streets to minister to the homeless. So, there is a direct link between the Eucharist and mission. The Eucharist is the source of our charity and the source of evangelizing mission. It is also the goal of all that we say and do, for it is in the Eucharist that we encounter the Risen Lord intimately and communally. And just as the Eucharist builds the Church, so too the Eucharist builds our Order.
The Lord’s Daily Invitation
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Come to me all you who labor and are weary”. Thanks to the great mystery of the Eucharist, the Lord remains with us, extending to us that same invitation: “Come to me!” The Lord invites us to come into his Presence, to find in him rest and new strength. The Lord invites us to share our burdens with him, to experience his merciful love, to share in his wisdom, and sometimes just to “be” with him, much as friends enjoy one another’s company without saying much of anything.
Leading the Cor Initiative throughout the Order requires of all of us a strong, vibrant, eucharistic faith and warm and loving eucharistic devotion. Daily Mass when possible, Eucharistic Adoration when possible – this is how we respond to the Lord’s invitation, “Come to me” – this is how we center our lives on the Lord Jesus and draw from him the strength we need to for the challenges that lie ahead. I can only tell you that prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and daily Mass are the heart and soul, the “cor” of my life and ministry, the source of the strength I need to live my vocation with all the challenges that come with it.
On Friday, we processed with the Blessed Sacrament along Hillhouse Avenue. Let us spend the rest of this fraternal year carrying the Eucharistic Lord in our hearts to brother knights and their families, to men and families seeking something better! Let us carry the Eucharistic to those who are poor and marginalized. Let us bring carry him in our hearts even when there is hostility and rejection, knowing and believing that the love of his Eucharistic heart is stronger than sin and more power than death. Vivat Jesus!