The Solemnity of Corpus Christi in the liturgical experience, it is a feast that makes us reap the sweetness of Easter. It is the celebration of the greatest treasure that Christ left to his Church: his real and permanent presence in the Eucharist.
I would like to go through some aspects that illuminate and give vigor to the vitalization that the Eucharist brings about in the Church and in Christian life.
Christ the Eucharist is man's food
We live in an age marked by many hungers. Human beings hunger for happiness, for truth, for meaning, for authentic love, for inner peace, for hope... Deep down, man hungers for God. “Our hungry nature bears the mark of a destitution that is satiated by the grace of the Eucharist.” (Leo XIV, Homily on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood. 22-VI-2025)
When Jesus is present, what is necessary is never lacking. “Just as hunger is a sign of our radical vital destitution, so the breaking of bread is a sign of the divine gift of Salvation.” (Leo XIV, Homily on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood. 22-VI-2025).
At Easter the Eucharist is given to us
The Eucharist was born precisely in the context of the Passover (cf. Mk 14:15). When the disciples ask Jesus where they should prepare the Passover meal, the Lord responds with mysterious and symbolic indications. Everything seems already prepared in the heart of Christ. “In this episode, the Gospel reveals to us that love is not the fruit of chance, but of a conscious choice. It is not a simple reaction, but a decision that requires preparation.” (Leo XIV, General Audience, Wednesday, August 6, 2010-2025)
To prepare the Lord's Passover is to prepare the heart for the encounter with the living Christ.
The Eucharist is love to the end
The Eucharist is inseparable from the Glorious Cross. “During the supper, when the devil had already put in the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, the intention to betray him... Jesus knowing that his hour had come... loved them to the end.” (Jn 13:1-2).
The Eucharist forms the Christian heart. It teaches us the language of gift, sacrifice and self-giving. “The Lord's example remains for us an urgent criterion for action and service.” (Leo XIV, Homily on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood. 22-VI-2025).
The Eucharist generates an encounter of love
New relationships of love take place in the Upper Room. During the Passover meal Jesus reveals that one of the Twelve is about to betray him. “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me: one who is eating with me.” (Mk 14:18). Jesus reveals these words out of trust and truth. And the question arises in the apostles. “It is perhaps one of the most sincere questions we can ask ourselves. It is not the question of the innocent, but that of the disciple who discovers his fragility. It is not the cry of the guilty, but the whisper of the one who, although wanting to love, knows that he can hurt. It is in this awareness that the path of salvation begins” (Leo XIV, General Audience, Wednesday, August 13, 2025).
From this question we understand the depth of Eucharistic adoration. Remaining in silence before the Blessed Sacrament slowly transforms the heart.
Mary first living tabernacle
In this sense, Mary occupies a special place in the Eucharistic mystery. She was the first tabernacle in history, because she bore the Son of God in her womb. Her whole life was a humble and silent offering. Mary teaches us to adore, to welcome and to give ourselves totally to the will of the Lord.
The Solemnity of Corpus Christi reminds us that the Eucharist is the living heart of the Church and the source of all Christian life. In it, Christ continues to become food to sustain our hope and satisfy the deepest hunger of the human heart. The Eucharist transforms us, unites us and sends us forth to live in love and service to others. We are not alone, because the Lord continues to walk with his people.
Archbishop of Toledo, Primate of Spain.
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