On Corpus Christi, the bishops of the United States are kicking off a National Eucharistic Revival. It is no secret that some Catholics have lost a joyful zeal for the Eucharist. Some have even given up the practice of the faith. Visit the website eucharisticrevival.org for more information on this effort and for a virtual class offered by Crookston Bishop Andrew Cozzens.
This Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ is a wonderful opportunity for each of us to rekindle our joy in the Eucharist. It is easy for us to take such a gift for granted. The world offers many things with the empty promise of filling us. Sometimes we turn to material goods, pleasure, honor or power to be filled. Yet no amount of time spent scrolling the internet, buying things or whatever pleasure the world offers can satisfy us. These things only leave us empty in the end. This is because we are made for God and only God can fill us.
Luke’s Gospel recounting the feeding of the 5,000 makes this clear. The crowds ate, were satisfied and there were even baskets filled with leftovers. The Mass will satisfy us as well. Receiving Jesus in the Eucharist will fill us and give us the grace to radiate his love.
I am reminded of the example of the late Father Alphonse Kubat (1916-2006). Father Kubat served in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis the last 36 years of his life. Many will remember him as pastor of Most Holy Trinity, Veseli, and then as a chaplain at the Minneapolis Veterans Hospital working tirelessly just four months before he died. Prior to that he was a priest in Communist Czechoslovakia and suffered greatly.
Father Kubat was imprisoned in the 1950s for the simple crime of being Catholic. The Communist government was trying to crush the Church and imprisoned many priests. Father Kubat told me how he would celebrate Mass secretly using a spoon as his chalice and giving the Eucharist to other prisoners by rolling it up in cigarette paper. Meeting Father Kubat was clearly meeting someone who knows Jesus. He was filled with joy and love.
In many ways Father Kubat could have been bitter for having suffered so many years and really losing the best years of his life. After he escaped from Czechoslovakia during “Prague Spring” in 1968, he never saw his mother again and would only see his sister when the Iron Curtain collapsed in 1990. Yet, he was not bitter. Instead, he was one of the most joyful people I have ever met. He allowed himself to be near to Jesus in the Eucharist, celebrating Mass each day and spending periods of time in quiet adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. He shared that joy with many people, including the sick he visited in later years while serving as a chaplain.
Let us rekindle our joy and amazement in the gift of the Eucharist. Spending time in eucharistic adoration and even attending some Masses during the weekday, in addition to Sunday, are wonderful ways to remain near to the Lord and be fed.
Father Creagan is the pastor of St. Joseph in West St. Paul and currently the only Catholic chaplain for the Minnesota Army National Guard.
Sunday, June 19
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
