Homily for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi

 

The Solemnity of Corpus Christi

“We Become What We Eat”

Deut 8: 2 – 3, 14 – 16            1 Cor 10: 16 -17         Jn 6: 51 -58

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus!

There is a simple saying: “You are what you eat.” The food we eat becomes part of us and shapes our physical health.

Today, on the Feast of Corpus Christi, Jesus invites us to reflect on a deeper spiritual truth: “We become what we eat.” In the Eucharist, we receive not ordinary bread but Christ Himself, the Bread of Life.

As we receive Him with faith and love, He transforms us into His likeness.

The readings today help us understand how God nourishes His people and calls us to become the living presence of Christ in the world.

A little child once asked his mother, “Why do we eat food every day? Why can’t we eat once and be done forever?” The mother smiled and replied, “Because food gives you life, and life must be nourished every day.”

That simple answer helps us understand today’s feast. We need physical food every day because life needs nourishment. Likewise, our spiritual life needs nourishment.

Jesus knew this, and so He gave us the Eucharist - the food that nourishes the soul.

The theme that emerges from today’s readings is: We become what we eat.

The Journey from Manna to the Eucharist (Deut 8: 2 – 3, 14 – 16)

The first reading recalls Israel’s forty years in the wilderness. The desert was a place of

Hunger,

Thirst,

Uncertainty

and temptation.

The people often complained and even wanted to return to Egypt.

Yet God never abandoned them. Every morning He provided manna from heaven. The Israelites could not store it for months or years.

They had to gather it daily. In this way God taught them trust, dependence, and gratitude. The desert is also a symbol of our own lives.

Many people today are wandering through deserts:

the desert of loneliness,

the desert of anxiety,

the desert of broken relationships,

the desert of disappointment and suffering.

In the midst of these deserts, God still provides food for His people. Not manna, but something infinitely greater – (THE EUCHARIST) the Body and Blood of His Son.

Just as manna sustained Israel’s journey to the Promised Land, the Eucharist sustains our journey to heaven.

The Greatest Hunger

We live in a world of abundance, yet people remain hungry.

Not necessarily hungry for bread, but hungry for:

Love,

Meaning,

Belonging,

Forgiveness,

Hope.

No amount of money can satisfy this hunger.

No achievement can completely fill it.

No human relationship can perfectly answer it.

This hunger exists because the human heart was created for God. That is why Jesus says in the Gospel: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.”

“This reading helps us understand that Jesus not only gives us bread, but He becomes the Bread of Life. The Eucharist is the greatest sign of God's love for us.”

Communion Means Union (1 Cor 10: 16 -17)

The second reading from St. Paul emphasizes that the Eucharist is not only about our relationship with Christ; it is also about our relationship with one another.

“We who are many are one body.”

The Eucharist creates communion.

It is impossible to be united with Christ while remaining indifferent to our brothers and sisters.

A person cannot sincerely say: “I love Jesus,” while refusing to forgive a family member.

Nor can one say: “I receive the Body of Christ,” while ignoring the suffering members of that Body.

The Eucharist is both vertical and horizontal:

It unites us with God. It unites us with one another.

That is why every Mass begins with repentance and ends with mission.

We come together as sinners. We leave together as disciples.

Becoming What We Receive (Jn 6: 51 -58)

One of the great insights of Christian spirituality is this:

When we eat ordinary food, we transform it into ourselves.

When we receive the Eucharist, Christ transforms us into Himself.

This is God’s plan.

He does not simply want us to admire Jesus. He wants us to resemble Jesus.

He does not merely want us to worship Christ. He wants Christ to live in us.

The Eucharist is God’s school of transformation.

Yes friends, every Communion should make us:

more patient,

more humble,

more forgiving,

more generous,

more faithful.

If after years of receiving Communion we remain harsh, selfish, and unforgiving, then we must ask whether we are truly allowing Christ to change us.

The Eucharistic Challenge, the feast of Corpus Christi is not only about believing in the Real Presence. It is also about BECOMING the real presence of Christ for others.

People may never read the Gospel. People may never enter a church.

But they will meet us. Will they encounter Christ through us?

When they meet us:

Do they experience kindness?

Do they find compassion?

Do they discover hope?

Do they encounter mercy?

Do they experience love?

The Eucharist is meant to continue beyond the church walls.

The Body of Christ that we receive at the altar must become visible in the body of Christ that is the Church.

The saints understood this well. Many of them drew their strength from daily Mass and Eucharistic adoration.

They spent time before the Blessed Sacrament and then went out to serve the poor, teach the faith, care for the sick, and bring peace where there was conflict.

The pattern was always the same: Adoration led to transformation, and transformation led to mission. They became what they received.

Let me share a Story:

One day a volunteer asked Mother Teresa how she could spend hours caring for the poorest and sickest people.

She pointed toward the chapel and said, “Without Jesus in the Eucharist, I could not do this work for even one day.”

Every morning she attended Mass and spent time before the Blessed Sacrament before serving the poor.

What this story means to us

The Eucharist is not only for prayer; it is strength for mission. The same Christ whom we receive at the altar sends us out to love and serve others. Adoration leads to transformation, and transformation leads to service.

St. Francis de Sales reminds us, “We become what we love.” If we truly love and receive Christ, the Bread of Life, then little by little we become like Him - thinking as He thinks, loving as He loves, and serving as He serves.

Yes, dear Brothers and Sisters, today’s three readings reveal a beautiful progression:

In the desert, God gave manna.

In the Church, Christ gives the Eucharist.

In the world, Christians become the living presence of Christ.

 

The Eucharist is not the end of God's work; it is the beginning.

Every Mass asks us: What kind of people are we becoming?

If we truly receive the Bread of Life, then we should become people who give life to others.

If we truly receive the Body of Christ, then we should become the Body of Christ for the world.

May this Eucharist transform us so completely that our thoughts become more like Christ’s thoughts, our hearts more like Christ’s heart, and our lives a reflection of His love.

For we truly become what we eat.

LIVE JESUS!

FR. D. VIMAL MSFS

befiretoinspire151@gmail.com

+ 91 8300705382