In 1264, Pope Urban IV instituted the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, to honour one of the Church’s greatest treasures: the Eucharist. The feast was inspired by the mystical visions of St. Juliana of Liège, an Augustinian nun who dreamt of a radiant moon with a dark spot, representing the Church’s lack of a liturgical celebration devoted specifically to the Eucharist. God revealed to her that the dark spot symbolised the absence of such a feast, and her vision would eventually inspire the universal Church to respond.
The feast was further solidified by the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena in 1263, when a priest, Fr. Pietro da Praga, wrestling with doubts about the Real Presence, witnessed the consecrated Host bleed during Mass. The sacred Corporal soaked in Christ’s Precious Blood was taken to the Church of St. Mary in Orvieto, where Pope Urban IV resided and soon proclaimed the universal feast. To this day, the site is a pilgrimage destination and a testament to the truth of Christ’s abiding presence in the Eucharist. But this feast is not just about miracles, it is about mystery, mercy, and mission. In the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper, Jesus instituted this sacred meal with simple yet astonishing words: “This is my Body… This is my Blood.” These words, once spoken, changed the course of salvation history.
The Eucharist became the new manna, the Bread from Heaven that nourishes, redeems, and unites the faithful with Christ and with one another. This Eucharistic sacrifice of the New Covenant can only be celebrated by a validly ordained Catholic priest, and as the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, Jesus is our eternal High Priest and the mediator of this covenant. Through Him, we are offered an eternal inheritance. As St. Thomas Aquinas once wrote, “No sacrament contributes more to our salvation than this.” In the Eucharist, we encounter Christ’s kingdom of justice, love, and peace. But this encounter must bear fruit. If our participation in Mass does not transform us into a people of compassion and action, then we have missed the true essence of what we celebrate.
Pope Francis, during the 2021 Corpus Christi celebration, reminded the faithful: “We cannot break bread on Sunday if our hearts are closed to our brothers and sisters. We cannot partake of that Bread if we do not give bread to the hungry.” In this sacred mystery, we are invited not only to receive Christ but to become like Christ—broken and given for others. In an ironic twist, the philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach once said, “Man is what he eats.” Though not a believer, he unknowingly offered a profound reflection on the Eucharist. In Holy Communion, we truly become what we eat: the Body of Christ. We are mystically united to Jesus and to every member of His Church, across space and time, as we participate in His perfect self-offering.
Corpus Christi reminds us of our call to be Eucharistic people—witnesses of Christ’s love in homes, schools, workplaces, parishes, and public life. The Eucharist is not simply to be adored behind the tabernacle doors but lived through justice, mercy, forgiveness, and solidarity. Pope St. John Paul II spoke of “Eucharistic wonder”, a sense of awe we must never lose. The Lord of the universe makes Himself small for us, hidden in Bread and Wine, yet powerfully present. “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:56). In the Eucharist, we encounter Emmanuel— God with us.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us not merely celebrate Corpus Christi; let us live it. Let us go out and make Christ known through the bread of our lives—broken for others in charity and hope. Let our worship bear witness. Let our Communion become commission. O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.
• Rev. Fr. Simeon Reuben, Priest-in-Charge, St. Anthony Catholic Church, Kosoko, Okokomaiko, Lagos.
