Transcript of Abbot Clement’s Corpus Christi Homily on June 10, 2007

The first real perspective we should have on this Eucharist is in the context of the Liturgical year. We celebrate the whole mystery of redemption and fruit of redemption is really Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Meaning that Jesus won for us these great gifts to sanctify the world. If you have the Spirit you have all that you need. Because of Jesus we have access to the Trinity itself and because of Jesus= passion, death and resurrection he lives with us. What did Jesus do in this world? He gave us God in himself and the Eucharist and he gave us his heart.

So I commend to you the exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI as an exhortation after the bishops got together and discussed the Eucharist in which he talks about what we believe, how we should celebrate this and how we should live it. Obviously, I= m not going to be able to summarize or even give you an inkling of a sixty-page document.

But one of the truths that stands out in the Eucharist is precisely that Jesus draws us into the very hour of his mystery. That is his passion, death and resurrection as proclaimed in the gospel, especially John. We can see this reflected in the second reading. Paul tells us that every time we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. It just doesn= t mean A look, Jesus died@ , it means we have access to that powerful, profound, fundamental act of God to redeem the whole human race and unite God and man. That= s what we do here.

So we want to know and reflect on what does the Eucharist mean to us in daily life? How is it moving us and shaping us as we come Sunday after Sunday to the Eucharist?

There are four dimensions of the Mass. We have the entrance rite, we have the proclamation of the Word, we have the mystery of the Liturgy, the liturgical priestly prayer, and then we have communion. If we really look at these dimensions of the Mass those are the things that should shape our life. Because our life is basically, we live and everyone is called to worship, and everyone is called to serve or work. I prefer the word serve. That= s your life. And it= s the Mass that should shape that because if the Mass sanctifies everything.

So the first part of the Mass is the entrance rite. What do we do in the entrance rite? The first thing we do is ask for mercy. Not just because we= re sinners but because we realize that we need God and God= s gracious goodness is available to us and we ask for his mercy. Then the second thing is that we pray the Gloria because we also acknowledge that everything good that comes to us comes from the Lord. We worship him, we praise him and thank him.

Then the prayer. We start the day as we start the Mass with prayer asking God= s help to sanctify this day. Then we go into the proclamation of the Word of God. So the Word of God enables us, as time goes on, to read our life according to Scriptures, according to the mind of God. If we do this through our life time we should be growing in the mind of God over our life. And our life read in the light of Scripture and Scripture read in light of our life and pretty soon as we do this more and more we take on the mind of God. Then comes the Eucharistic prayer. We are the only people in this world who offer God perfect worship. Worship in Spirit and truth. Not because we= re perfect but because if you listen to the priestly prayer after the consecration every priestly prayer says something like this: we offer you the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the acceptable sacrifice... it= s the only gift to God that God is pleased with. And we join that gift so all of us offer perfect worship to God in Christ every time you attend Mass. So God is pleased and blesses us.

Then, of course, comes communion. Communion is the whole thrust of the redemptive action, God unites not only man to God but man to man and even ourselves to ourselves. Jesus is the union between the Father and the Spirit and therefore his whole thrust is to deepen communion. So every time we receive the Eucharist in faith, and in right dispositions, we deepen our communion not only with God but with ourselves and with our neighbor and we should be therefore walking out of here as a people that= s filled with hope because we have the divine life in us, we have conquered death because of Jesus, and we have all that is necessary to transform the world.

So today we want the whole world to know that we have a treasure and it= s offered to everybody because God offers himself to everybody. So we want to celebrate and process around the property to let the rest of good old Broadview Heights know that Assumption Parish is right on when it comes to celebrating the Eucharist. It knows the treasure it has and it wants to share it with others.

So I ask you to reflect on how is the liturgy really shaping your life? How do you enter your life with asking for mercy, for praising, for thanking and glorifying God with praying in the beginning of the day with letting the Word of God transform your vision of life, with letting your worship be in Spirit and truth and deepen your life with communion. This is what we are doing all the time and we need to make it real. All it takes is some reflection and some generosity in following the movements of the Mass and, therefore, the movements of the Spirit.