Human hunger is at the center of the Feast of Corpus Christi

The question of human hunger is at the center of the Feast of Corpus Christi. In the gospel for this feast, Jesus speaks of hunger. Jesus has just fed the 5,000 with the multiplication of the barley loaves and fish, but he still speaks of hunger. He always seems intent on looking beyond the physical hunger that was so easily alleviated. 

Indeed, it seems clear that Jesus has in mind another hunger, a deeper longing of the human spirit that is not so easily satisfied. It is difficult to put a name on the deep human yearning that goes beyond any physical hunger we experience. St. Augustine spoke about it as a restlessness. He said because we belong to God; we are restless until we rest in Him. 

What should that say about our daily lives? Well, with the wonderful knowledge that Christ is in me, loves me enough to come to me, loves me enough to want to come to me, can self-pity still be possible? Can you continue to moan and groan, to mope and sulk because your little world passes you by? 

In spite of what troubles life brings you, remember that you are not alone. The One who suffered and died for you is in you. He is as close to you as you are to yourself. The One who knows what it is like to live with disappointment, what it is like to live with that illness that saps your spirit and the hard knocks that life gives you — He comes to you at every Mass. 

We are what we receive — the Body of Christ. This means that the bread of life is not an individualistic thing or our solitary supper. The moment that we receive it is not only a precious moment — a time for prayer — it is also a time to form community. St. Paul phrased it beautifully – Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 

The Lord who locks Himself in the tabernacle of my body is none other than the Lord who nourishes my next door neighbor, the same Christ who feeds all. Christ is not divided. Christ is not multiplied. There is one and the same body and the same Christ for all. In His flesh we are one.

by Father Bob Warren, SA

Franciscan Friars of the Atonement