Taking communion for granted

Sadly, many among us take communion for granted.

Some of us take for granted our communion with the rest of the Body of Christ: we say we are Catholic, we even show up for Church regularly, and that is pretty much about it.

Some of us even take for granted the Holy Communion we receive.

The Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ, celebrated in many places today (and in many places last Thursday) reminds us of the beauty and the power of the Communion we take for granted.

In today’s second reading (1 Corinthians 10:16-17), Saint Paul gives us a simple and eloquent reminder: words that we would do well to remember as we come to Church and as we go forth from it.

The cup of blessing that we bless,
is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?

The bread that we break,
is it not a participation in the body of Christ?

Because the loaf of bread is one,
we, though many, are one body,
for we all partake of the one loaf.

And as we kneel before God, we do well to remember our Lord’s words in today’s Gospel (John 6:51-58):

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.

Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me.

On this day, may we recommit ourselves to Communion and to sharing more fully in the truth and life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.