Every Eucharist is truly a privileged window to the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. If Easter showed us that Christ came to save us, then Corpus Christi reminds us that His desire to redeem and save is an ongoing operation. On this day, it might be a good time to ask what we truly believe in because small things mean a lot. For example, on Trinity Sunday, you were made aware that the replacement of just one word in the formula of baptism can have catastrophic consequences. The change from “I baptise” to “We baptise” invalidates a baptism and consequently nullifies the effects of subsequent Sacraments. Most devastating is felt when one of those invalidly baptised men becomes a priest.
In my previous posting as parish priest, when a host drops onto the floor, either the communicant or the minister nonchalantly picks up the host, either to consume or to “dispose” if it appeared to be soiled. “Nonchalantly” as if it were nothing. Over here in Sacred Heart Cathedral, the minister steps aside, covers the spot with a purificator and usually someone will go to the area where the host dropped, with water and purificator to purify and dry the place. Honestly speaking, when I first encountered this, it felt rather stupid or unnecessary.
Let me clarify where the feeling of non-necessity is coming from. We are lined up to receive Holy Communion and it is no big deal for a host to drop on the floor or ground. Simply pick it up and get on with life because life is short, life is busy. Do not make a big deal out of it.
But science makes us look stupid while it also helps us. How so? A surgeon in preparation for surgery goes through a stringent sterile procedure of hand-washing, vesting, putting on the gloves and masking. In this exercise, he or she is meticulously diligent that there should be no possibility of contamination traced to the process. What is the big deal? Imagine the surgeon half way through a surgery removes her mask, rubs her nose and blows it and then continues to operate. What is a few bacteria or viruses?
But when we watch the NCIS series, observe how painstakingly careful the laboratory technicians are when it comes to the collection of evidence. Even a micro-fragment can be used to prove a case. Like for example, paint transfer, no matter how light the contact between two vehicles—invisible to the eyes but not to the microscope, can yield evidence to convict.
Now it makes a bit more sense that purification takes place after a Communion mishap. It highlights the reality of not “what” we receive but “Whom”. I have read somewhere that a Protestant pastor expressing to his Catholic counterpart that if he were to believe what we Catholics believe in, he would not be kneeling but would fall flat on his face.
Why? Because small things matter.
At the end of the Eucharist, there is a purification that takes place at the credence table. Ordinarily, the priest should conscientiously purify the sacred vessels ensuring that all particles of Holy Communion are swept into the chalice which is rinsed with water and then consumed by the priest. Such minutiae indicate how important the Eucharist is to us but more than that, it expresses our deference and reverence toward Whom we consider to be our Lord and Saviour.
As I face you, what is behind me is the Sacristy. The name itself indicates a place where sacred vessels and holy vestments are stored. Within the Sacristy there is a sink called the Sacrarium. It leads nowhere because whatever water that flows into the Sacrarium, enters the ground beneath where no one steps on.
In the past, this was how they purified a chalice. It was rinsed first with unconsecrated wine which was poured into the Sacrarium. Then, it was rinsed a second time with water and again drained into the Sacrarium. The care that we put into the purification of our sacred vessels is indication of how highly we honour the Lord—that the bread and wine are truly the Body and Blood of Christ
Such a devotion is not alien to us. The Chinese have a term to describe a precious child. “寶貝” [“băo bèi” in Mandarin or “bou2 bui3” in Cantonese]. Whenever a precious child is hurt, the mother or the father will feel the same hurt and in terms of caring for the “bou2 bui3”, the parents will go out of the way to ensure that nothing should injure the child. Was that not the very temptation which Satan proposed to Jesus on top of the parapet? “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down; for scripture says: He has given his angels orders about you, and they will carry you in their arms in case you trip over a stone”.
If we believe the Eucharist to be the Body and Blood of Jesus, should our behaviour not mirror a parent’s protection of a “bou2 bui3”? In a way we ought to modify our behaviour according to our conviction. We should endeavour to move in that direction as you may be aware that at each weekend Mass, the first item for announcement is to invite you to the Thursday evening or 1st Friday 24-hour Adoration. Our devotional life is a concrete expression of what we believe of the Eucharist as the source and summit of the Christian life.
Perhaps you might understand why in the Cathedral, we have not made any announcements about a person’s choice of clothing. Not that that is not important. I sometimes remark crudely that I am not bothered by indecent dressing. There is a reason. The Parable of the Merchant and the Pearl highlights how a person would sell everything to acquire the pearl of great price. Jesus is the only treasure worth our lives and our sacrifices. When we have discovered Him to be the soul of our lives, our behaviour, which includes dressing, will slowly conform to what we profess in. A time-tested path to encountering or discovering Jesus is through beauty in our architecture and our liturgy. The embrace of beauty sets the soul on the road towards excellence in behaviour and nobility in spirit. Such a change can only be achieved through captivation and not through coercion, through conviction and not through compulsion. If a person is forced to dress up for Jesus, what happens when there is no force?
The Eucharist can only be the source and summit of Christian living because Jesus Himself is the source of sustenance for the ascent to the summit of eternity. Through the most sublime gift of His Body and Blood, He is not merely the food which nourishes our spiritual life. Instead, He is the only food Viaticum, that is, the singular sustenance for the journey to our eternal homeland. In conclusion, while the Solemnity of Corpus Christi highlights the centrality of the Eucharist as the presence of Jesus, truly, really and substantially, the reality is that He is the only food that can transform us to resemble Him. We are the only ones who can receive Him and benefit from receiving Him. As St Maximilian Kobe said, “If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion”.
