Reflection for 7 June 2026: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
“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” (John 6:56-57).
Dear Marian Helpers and Members of our Marian Family,
I suppose a non-Catholic — or even a cultural Catholic, for that matter — might wonder why the Church places such emphasis on the Eucharist. Surely there are other important aspects of the Christian life: Scripture, prayer, study, and good works?
Of course they are … all of these are important and necessary!
Yet without the Eucharist, they are not the same. They are not the same at all! The reason we read Scripture, pray, study, and serve others is because we have first been strengthened and blessed by God. It is the same God whom we receive every time we receive the Eucharist, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. In the Eucharist, we receive that strength and blessing.
This is because the Eucharist is not a thing; it is a Person: our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In Holy Communion, we receive the fullness of Jesus and all the grace and love He longs to give us. His Sacred Heart burns with love for us and desires to be united to our hearts. He longs for and delights in our communion with Him in Holy Communion.
We adore His Holy Face in Adoration. We process with Him through our streets on Corpus Christi, proclaiming to the world that Jesus is Lord and that His promise to remain with us always is true. We receive Him with faith and thanksgiving, knowing that in doing so we receive eternal life and deeper communion with Him even now.
When we partake of the Eucharist, God comes to us and increases within us His grace and love. It is through this grace and love that we are able to live lives of holiness and goodness. It is through the Eucharist that we find the strength to face the difficulties and opportunities of daily life. Hidden beneath the appearances of bread and wine, the Lord gives us nothing less than Himself.
In response, we give ourselves to Him. We strive to spread the Good News and to live lives worthy of the gift He has given us: His very self.
I strongly encourage you to participate in a Eucharistic procession this Corpus Christi. It is a powerful and public witness to our faith, proclaiming that Jesus in the Eucharist is the centre of our lives and of His Church. In this heavenly gift, we find love, grace, and communion with God and with one another.
May God bless you now and always!
Fr Alex Pumphrey, MIC
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Contact Father Alex at info@divinemercy.org.uk
Please send us your prayer intentions! (click here). We will place them at the foot of our altar in the Divine Mercy Apostolate’s Chapel here in West Ealing, London and will remember them in our daily Chaplets of Divine Mercy.
