Conversation and conversion at table

June 10, 2007 -- The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)

By Bishop Robert Morneau

	Bishop Robert Morneau
	Questions for reflection: 1. What is the significance of the kitchen table for you? What happens there? 2. In what sense is the Eucharist both sacrifice and meal? 3. What helps you to participate ever more deeply in the celebration of the Mass?

The kitchen table is perhaps the most important piece of furniture in any home. It is at this table, if a family is fairly healthy, that food is shared, conversation is held, and bonding takes place. In our parish church, it is at the table, the altar of sacrifice, that food is shared, conversation is held, and bonding takes place.

Jesus, through the gift of the Eucharist, is our spiritual food and drink. In the sacrament of the Eucharist we are fed and nourished for the journey. Indeed, our hungers are many: the hunger for hot dogs and French fries, for affirmation and encouragement, for peace and joy. Jesus comes to provide the energy we need to participate in His life of self-emptying love. The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ reminds us once again that we too are to be food and drink for others.

We celebrate this feast in remembrance of Jesus, of His life, death, and resurrection. Week after week, day after day, we gather around the table and share the Bread of Life. And the Gift that we receive is to be shared with others. The five loaves and two fish in our refrigerator are not ours alone. The hungry neighbor has a claim on our possessions. And surprise of surprise, by sharing what we have, there are plenty of leftovers.

It is at table that we communicate and share our stories. Conversation here at the Eucharistic table leads to conversion. The Word of God is to take root in our hearts and guide the decisions of our days. And what is God's word? The message keeps coming back to love, compassion, and forgiveness. This is how you can tell who are the disciples of Jesus. They have active concern for others; they feel deeply the joys and sorrows of their friends and neighbors; they share the mercy God has given to them with others.

Being at table without deep conversation is truly a painful experience. Even though the food be rich and the drink plenteous, without serious conversations we walk away unsatisfied if not discouraged. At the Mass, Jesus speaks once again the message of the Father's love and mercy and reminds us that the Spirit of peace and joy has been given to us. By entering into conversation and conversion, we grow in Christian holiness.

Jesus' farewell discourse in John's Gospel is filled with the dream of oneness and unity. And it is the Eucharist that makes possible this communion and bonding. Jesus and His Spirit are the principle of unity. Divisions and separations are ended if we participate fully in what the Eucharist is all about. Even the songs we sing - the same melodies, the same words - draw us into that oneness desired by Jesus.

In the June issue of Magnificat, the monthly missalette from New York, Pope Benedict XVI is quoted as follows: "The Solemnity of Corpus Christi is the solemn, public feast of the Eucharist, the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ: on this day, the mystery instituted at the Last Supper and commemorated every year on Holy Thursday is manifested to all, in the midst of the fervor of faith and devotion of the Ecclesial Community." May we experience this faith and devotion on June 10.

(Bp. Morneau is the auxiliary bishop of the Green Bay Diocese and pastor of Resurrection Parish in Allouez.)