Cardinal Tobin: Eucharist—Living Christ’s Gift of Self as if We Deserved It
My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
On Sunday, June 22, 2025, our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) in the Square of Saint John Lateran, the Cathedral Basilica of Rome. After Mass, there was the traditional Eucharistic procession and blessing.
In his homily (see selection below), Pope Leo quoted the patron of his Religious Order, Saint Augustine of Hippo, as follows:
Christ is truly “panis qui reficit, et non deficit; panis qui sumi potest, consumi non potest” (Serm. 130, 2): He is bread that restores and does not run short; bread that can be eaten but not exhausted. The Eucharist, in fact, is the true, real, and substantial presence of the Savior (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1413), who transforms bread into Himself in order to transform us into Himself.
Saint Augustine also counsels us to live as though we deserved to receive this “daily bread from heaven,” the sacred Body and Blood of our Redeemer. Of course, Augustine knew that none of us deserves to receive Christ in the Eucharist. Holy Communion is always a completely unmerited gift that we receive as a result of God’s grace.
Nothing we can do by our own initiative makes us worthy that the Lord should enter our hearts. All we can do is try to be ready, try to “stay awake” and be attentive, and try to be truly grateful when our Lord gives himself to us in this great mystery of our faith.
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