Corpus Christi: The Greatest Proof of His Love

One secret to happiness they say (at least I've read this from a children's anecdote book) is to know that one is loved. To know a certain degree that I am loved contributes much to personal happiness. To know that somebody loves me changes my whole disposition towards life and towards the world.

Today is Corpus Christi Sunday, or the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord. Personally I think what we celebrate today is that knowledge of being loved. St. Ignatius Loyola in His Spiritual Exercises states that "the Holy Eucharist is none other but the greatest proof of God's love" (SE 289). I am convinced of this reality simply because of two things: (1) Jesus loves me so much that He willed to be "contained" (He who is omnipotent and omniscient) in this piece of bread and in these drops of wine so that He can concretely enter into my life; and (2) Jesus loves me unfathomably since He desired to be with me "physically" day in and day out in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar even to the end of time.

So let us be true to our celebration then. When we participate in the Eucharist today in our parishes and/or when we join the solemn procession of the Blessed Sacrament, let us celebrate love -- God's love made incarnate in Jesus. And as we celebrate this love, let us fill the world with love, transmit this love to others and make a difference. We hope that in the end, we may resound with Pope Benedict XVI, "Deus Caritas Est!"

A Share in the Life of the Trinity

Today is Trinity Sunday. There are many theological explanations about the Blessed Trinity and most of us will find it difficult to digest all of them. But what does the Trinity really mean, for us as persons and as Christians? What does it mean to be immersed in the life of the Trinity as baptized individuals?

For me, the simplest explanation perhaps is that the Trinity is a Community of Love. The relations between the Father, Son, and Spirit is in knowing and in loving. The Trinity then becomes the perfect model of a community -- that based and rooted in genuine love and concern for each other. And we perfectly share in the Trinity is our very knowing and loving!

As we celebrate the Liturgy, it might be helpful if we ask ourselves whether we have been faithful in following the example of the Trinity. Have we been communities of love and unity, or are we, as individuals, causes of dissent and disagreement.

Let us ask the Blessed Trinity then to make us living models and bearers: Persons, then ultimately, communities grounded and centered in genuine Love and concern for others. Amen.