Corpus Christi
Sermon of the Right Reverend Dom Jean Pateau
Abbot of Our Lady of Fontgombault
(Fontgombault, June 19, 2014)
Tantum ergo sacramentum veneremur cernui.
(Hymn of the feast of Corpus Christi)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
My dearly beloved Sons,
In the wonderful Sacrament of His Body and of His Blood, Jesus gives Himself as a food and a drink, so that we may abide in Him as He abides in us, so that we may live for Him, and that we may live forever
In the tabernacle, the holy Eucharistic species receive the homage of our worship. Although the Gospel does not mention any adoration of the Blessed Eucharist, it tells us of the first Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the history of mankind.
In Bethlehem, whose name means “House of the Bread”, in a poor crib, a place of silence and of peace, Jesus receives the adoration of Mary and Joseph, a few shepherds and the Magi, the wise men from the East, while the angels in Heaven proclaim the glory of God and announce to men the peace which comes from God.
Would we not be brought back by every adoration, every Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament to the holy stable? Would Jesus perchance have been so deeply moved by the prayer of a few poor people near Him that He would have wanted to be able to receive throughout the ages the poor that we are? The sacramental Presence grants us to be associated with the worship of the inhabitants of the Crib and its visitors.
In the school of the shepherds, let us learn how to adore, let us renew our presence near the Blessed Sacrament. The first monstrance was a crib, because there was no room in the inn. What is a crib? What is a child? All this is small, all this is quite devoid of interest. In this place, God hides Himself. Under the figure of a little child, He awaits the shepherds. Today as well, His sacramental presence reaches us under the appearance of a bit of bread.
The shepherds receive the invitation from an angel. We too are invited to visit the Lord. We therefore need to be watchful. We need to take the time to encounter Jesus and to allow ourselves to be fascinated by His face. The shepherds live in the fields. They spend day and night watching their flocks. They are contemplative. As soon as the angel has spoken, they do not tarry and start for Bethlehem. They come, they find and they return, “glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen” (Lk 2:20). “But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart." (Lk 2:19)
Like the shepherds and Mary, let us not tarry but let us go to Jesus. Let us gladly visit our churches, the Bethlehem of our cities. Let us gladly spend time in front of the tabernacle or the monstrance. Jesus, God with us, is awaiting us and breaks the bread of His Word and of His Flesh for us.
Amen, Alleluia.
