The Paradigm of Every Presence
Simone Riva - Today, the Church celebrates the permanent presence of Christ in His Body and Blood—a real presence that challenges human wisdom. It commemorates His presence, here and now.
Accustomed as we are to taking even the greatest realities for granted, it is worth re-reading what Don Giussani said on this subject: "Recognize that in the church fifty meters away, there is Christ, the man who lived and died and rose again in Palestine two thousand years ago; to recognize that He is there, in the bread, under the appearance of bread, in the sign of bread; to recognize this: I challenge you to find a greater sacrifice of oneself (of one's intelligence, of one's obligation to love, of one's passion so that the whole world may know Him)" (Luigi Giussani, Si può vivere così?, Rizzoli, Milan 2007, p. 414).
This single sentence encapsulates the indissoluble link between the sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of every human being. Jesus chooses a mode of historical presence that requires the participation of those who receive it and has nothing to do with mere speeches or formulas.
The Church has defined this presence as "real"—meaning original and unique compared to all other ways of recognizing the risen Lord. At the same time, it is paradigmatic for every other type of presence that Christians experience: within themselves, in their most cherished relationships, in society, and in the world. It is a presence available to everyone, not secret or reserved for a select few, as apocryphal texts would later attempt to insinuate. It is a presence awaiting the free and willing "yes" from the person who encounters it.
This presence shows its ability to challenge the world through the gift of itself, as Benedict XVI said in his homily on Corpus Christi in 2007: “The Eucharist remains a ‘sign of contradiction’ and cannot be otherwise, because a God who becomes flesh and sacrifices himself for the life of the world challenges the wisdom of men.”
Without the willingness to follow this same method, our way of presenting ourselves, communicating, being with others, and giving reasons for our ideas will soon require another strategy. This alternative, like a broken record, will always play the music of old and new moralisms. In all their astute manifestations, these moralisms always need followers, as they are unable to generate any true charm themselves.
Pope Francis wrote this at the beginning of his pontificate: "Everyone has a right to receive the Gospel. Christians have a duty to proclaim it without excluding anyone, not as those who impose a new obligation, but as those who share a joy, point to a beautiful horizon, offer a desirable banquet. The Church does not grow by proselytism but by ‘attraction’” (Evangelii Gaudium, n. 14).
The image of the “desirable banquet” brings us back to the Last Supper, when Christ anticipated the content of his sacrifice on the cross and communicated his own life to everyone. That evening, charged with every human drama, would mark history forever, allowing everyone to experience Jesus as a contemporary in their own lives. Only such a real presence of God can enable us to move from the gift of self to the communication of self.
The fact that the banquet is “desirable” also clearly indicates who the first recipient of the Son of God's offering is: the home of desire, the human heart. Anything that cannot touch the innermost depths of the heart cannot change history.
The feast of Corpus Christi, presenting Christ to us as the true "present," here and now, challenges us to verify what it means to "be there" beyond any slogan or good intention. It opens the way to a sacramental friendship that has no urgency other than love, as the ancient hymn Adoro Te Devote whispers to Christ: "Make me believe more and more in You, that I may hope in You, that I may love You!"
Love for Jesus allows for true love for others and their destiny. This love allows us to be one Body—that of Christ—united and free.
