Reflection for June 2-The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Corpus Christi

Remedy for Boredom

The day's readings can be found here.

One of the worst problems of today is the problem of boredom.  No matter how many gadgets we buy; no matter how many shows, movies and sports we watch; no matter how many hobbies and games we play; somehow we are still bored.  Boredom is such a problem because it leads to sin.  The Church has traditionally called spiritual boredom “sloth.”  Sloth does not necessarily refer to physical laziness, but it is “the passivity and inactivity of the will and the desires even in the presence of the true good.”  It is the soul’s refusal to eat its food.  Violence and promiscuous sex are spiritual junk foods, and boredom is spiritual anorexia.

And where do we often find sloth?  Look around the church on Sunday.  Observe how bored people look.  Then compare that with an athletic event (like a football game).  Compare the interest, the passion, the energy, the engagement of the heart.  Don’t we know what’s going on in the Mass?  Don’t we know that we’re attending a meeting of spies plotting a revolution against the prince of darkness?  Don’t we know the great Lion of the Tribe of Judah, who sneaks into our church in disguise to meet us here?  Why are we so bored?  What’s missing?

The answer is not pleasure and it’s not entertainment.  The answer is joy.  And we experience joy and surprise when we meet Jesus.  If we are not experiencing joy and surprise at each Sunday Mass, then we need a bit of a wake-up call – a shock – that renews the joy and surprise of Jesus Christ, who takes simple bread and wine and changes it into His own Flesh and Blood.  This is what the solemnity of Corpus Christi is supposed to do!

Think about what a joy and what a surprise it is that God — the God of all creation; the King of the Universe; your Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier — that Jesus Christ gives Himself to our mouths and our stomachs as well as to our souls.  That thing that looks like a little piece of bread — that’s Him!  That bit of liquid that looks like wine — that’s His Blood!  It’s nearly unbelievable.  How can we believe this?  Only because He gives us grace to believe.  Our faith in Jesus is a miracle, and so our faith in the Most Holy Eucharist is a miracle too.  The beauty of the Mass; the Scripture readings; the vestments, the incense, the gold vessels; the chant and sacred music; all these things point – not to a God of boredom – but to a God of joy and surprise, a God who is not a “tame lion.”  He is utterly humble, but He is utterly alive; and He offers us His own Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity!