June 2012 Children's Adoration Meditation

The Feast of Corpus Christi translates to “body of Christ”.  It is a feast of the Holy Eucharist.

 It seems sort of strange that we would have a feast day for an event that we are called to do each day.  Why would we have a special day set aside just for taking communion?  We do lots of things every day; brush our teeth, take a shower, eat our meals, and try to be gentle, loving and kind to those around us, yet we do not have a feast day for any of those events.

 Well the Holy Eucharist is very different isn’t it?  At the Last Supper, on Holy Thursday, Jesus took the bread, blessed it and broke it saying “Take this all of you and eat it.  For this is my body, which will be given up for you”.    In the consecrated Eucharist Jesus is there!  Jesus gave us the gift of himself. 

Well the Holy Eucharist is very different isn’t it? At the Last Supper Jesus took the bread, blessed it and broke it saying “Take this all of you and eat it. For this is my body, which will be given up for you”. In the consecrated Eucharist Jesus is there! Jesus gave us the gift of himself.

We have to opportunity to celebrate the Holy Eucharist on Holy Thursday (also known as Maudy Thursday) as Lent ends and during our Easter season on the Sunday after Holy Trinity Sunday. The Feast of Corpus Christi began because Jesus wanted another day for us to give loving attention this wonderful sacrament.

 When we go to communion—our walk up the aisle is our walk to meet Jesus.  We need to be mindful and focused on meeting this awesome friend who makes our lives so much better.  Sometimes it is hard to not be distracted during the Liturgy of the Eucharist but it is really important to get ourselves back on track when we find our eyes drifting or our minds wandering and thinking about what we might be doing after church . . .

 When we hear the words “the body of Christ” and we say “amen” we are saying “yes” to Jesus.  At that moment Jesus is in us.  Jesus lives in us!  Jesus becomes part of us!  Just like Mary said “yes” to God—we can say “yes” to Jesus.  (Next time you take communion think about it as the body of Christ—try not to just pop it in your mouth and keep moving—but for one moment—thank Jesus for this gift).

How long does Jesus stay?  Jesus will stay with us until WE give him a reason to leave.  Jesus has been very clear about what he expects from his disciples.   If we can follow in his ways he will be with us.  If we make a mistake his is with us to help us figure things out.  We can ask for forgiveness, go to confession and then go back to “the body of Christ” and begin new.

Adoration is another time that we can seek Jesus and he is physically with us.  Adoration is such a wonderful time to spend with Jesus to share with him our life at this time.  He helps us figure out what happened in the past, what we might do in the future but really he wants us to be with him—in this moment.  Just be.  Just be with Jesus and enjoy your time.