Pope Francis: Corpus Domini homily
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis
delivered the homily at Mass being celebrated on the steps of Rome's cathedral
Basilica of St. John Lateran on Thursday, to mark the Solemnity of the Most
Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord. Below, please find the full text of the Holy
Father's prepared remarks, in their official English translation.
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« Do this in remembrance
of me » (1 Cor 11 :24-25).
Twice the Apostle Paul,
writing to the community in Corinth, recalls this command of Jesus in his
account of the institution of the Eucharist. It is the oldest testimony
we have to the words of Christ at the Last Supper.
“Do this”. That is,
take bread, give thanks and break it; take the chalice, give thanks, and share
it. Jesus gives the command to repeat this action by
which he instituted the memorial of his own Pasch, and in so doing gives us his
Body and his Blood. This action reaches us today: it is the “doing” of
the Eucharist which always has Jesus as its subject, but which is made real
through our poor hands anointed by the Holy Spirit.
“Do this”. Jesus on a
previous occasion asked his disciples to “do” what was so clear to him, in
obedience to the will of the Father. In the Gospel passage that we have
just heard, Jesus says to the disciples in front of the tired and hungry
crowds: “Give them something to eat yourselves” (Lk 9:13).
Indeed, it is Jesus who blesses and breaks the loaves and provides sufficient
food to satisfy the whole crowd, but it is the disciples who offer the five
loaves and two fish. Jesus wanted it this way: that, instead of sending
the crowd away, the disciples would put at his disposal what little they
had. And there is another gesture: the pieces of bread, broken by the
holy and venerable hands of Our Lord, pass into the poor hands of the
disciples, who distribute these to the people. This too is the disciples
“doing” with Jesus; with him they are able to “give them something to
eat”. Clearly this miracle was not intended merely to satisfy hunger for
a day, but rather it signals what Christ wants to accomplish for the salvation
of all mankind, giving his own flesh and blood (cf. Jn 6:48-58).
And yet this needs always to happen through those two small actions: offering
the few loaves and fish which we have; receiving the bread broken by the hands
of Jesus and giving it to all.
Breaking: this is the other word explaining the meaning of
those words: “Do this in remembrance of me”. Jesus was broken; he is
broken for us. And he asks us to give ourselves, to break ourselves, as
it were, for others. This “breaking bread” became the icon, the sign for
recognizing Christ and Christians. We think of Emmaus: they knew
him “in the breaking of the bread” (Lk 24:35). We recall the
first community of Jerusalem: “They held steadfastly… to the breaking of
the bread” (Acts 2:42). From the outset it is the Eucharist
which becomes the centre and pattern of the life of the Church. But we
think also of all the saints – famous or anonymous – who have “broken”
themselves, their own life, in order to “give something to eat” to their
brothers and sisters. How many mothers, how many fathers, together with
the slices of bread they provide each day on the tables of their homes, have
broken their hearts to let their children grow, and grow well! How many
Christians, as responsible citizens, have broken their own lives to defend the
dignity of all, especially the poorest, the marginalized and those
discriminated! Where do they find the strength to do this? It is in
the Eucharist: in the power of the Risen Lord’s love, who today too
breaks bread for us and repeats: “Do this in remembrance of me”.
May this action of the
Eucharistic procession, which we will carry out shortly, respond to Jesus’
command. An action to commemorate him; an action to give food to the
crowds of today; an act to break open our faith and our lives as a sign of
Christ’s love for this city and for the whole world.
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