06/08/2026
The following is an edited transcript of Father John Britto Antony, C.S.C.’s homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), preached at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Community on June 07, 2026. The original livestream recording can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/live/-y1BB_CB5nE?si=bXry_O_sjTqpuj_X&t=2053
Corpus Christi Homily
Today is a very important feast day, so I’m going to take a little extra time. Don’t look at your watches today!
I don’t know whether you’ve heard of a contemporary British artist named Mat Collishaw. He was commissioned to create a series of thirteen paintings entitled Last Meal on Death Row. The paintings depict the final meals requested by prisoners on death row in Texas before their ex*****ons.
The artwork is both disturbing and profoundly moving. Each painting shows a meal illuminated against a dark background. Every meal represents a human story—a crime, an impending punishment, a victim, a perpetrator, suffering, and death.
The stories are bleak. Yet the thirteenth painting offers a profound interpretation of the entire series and sheds new light on it. Instead of an ordinary meal, the painting depicts a chalice of wine and altar bread, representing Holy Communion—the Body and Blood of Christ.
Why would Holy Communion be portrayed as a “last meal on death row”?
One of the inmates, Jonathan Nobles, was deeply moved through the visits of Christians who shared Scripture with him. He was especially touched by the words of Jesus that we hear proclaimed today. Before his ex*****on, Jonathan converted to Catholicism. For his final meal, he requested only Holy Communion.
That is the image depicted in the painting.
Jonathan understood that there was only one meal that could prepare him for eternal life. He knew there was only one food that could sustain him as he stepped into eternity.
This story invites all of us to reflect on the beautiful gift the Catholic Church has received in the Eucharist, where we truly believe Jesus is present—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
I don’t know how many of us really believe that.
Research suggests that nearly 70% of Catholics who attend Mass do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. That is shocking. I hope and pray that all of you belong to the 30% who truly believe.
Yet sometimes, if our belief were put to the test, we might fail miserably because of the way we act toward the Blessed Sacrament.
There was a time when Catholics fasted from midnight before receiving Holy Communion. Today, the Church requires only a one-hour Eucharistic fast. Yet even now, it is unfortunate to see people coming to Mass chewing gum, snacking, or treating this sacred encounter casually.
If we truly believe Jesus is present, our behavior should reflect that belief.
I want to spend a little time today reflecting on the implications of our faith in the Real Presence.
Notice how often we speak in church before Mass. We have posted signs reminding everyone that this is a place of prayer, that Jesus is truly present, and that we should help others pray through reverent silence.
In many places, people can gather and converse freely. But a Catholic church is different. Jesus is truly present here. Therefore, we modify our behavior out of reverence.
Think about the beautiful gestures we have inherited:
• Blessing ourselves with holy water
• Making the Sign of the Cross
• Genuflecting before entering the pew
• Kneeling in prayer
These are not empty rituals. They are acts of faith acknowledging that we stand in the presence of Christ Himself.
The saints understood this deeply—not because they invented these practices, but because they took Jesus at His word.
Jesus says:
“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.”
We are talking about eternal life.
That is why Moses reminded the Israelites to remember the forty years in the desert when God fed them with manna. That manna was a foreshadowing of the Eucharist.
And at the Last Supper, Jesus gave us this command:
“Do this in memory of me.”
The English theologian Ronald Knox once observed that 99% of Jesus’ commands are obeyed “at best in the breach.”
Think about it:
• Love your enemies.
• Pray for those who persecute you.
• Turn the other cheek.
How many of us fully live those commands?
Yet there is one command of Jesus that has been faithfully observed throughout the centuries despite our sins, weaknesses, failures, and shortcomings:
“Do this in memory of me.”
Generation after generation, Christians have gathered around the altar because they believe Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist.
Many saints exemplified this faith.
St. Thomas Aquinas composed the hymns and prayers for the Feast of Corpus Christi at the request of Pope Urban IV. The sequence we sang today, as well as many other Eucharistic hymns, came from his pen.
Yet Thomas worried that he had not adequately expressed the greatness of the Eucharist. One day while celebrating Mass, Jesus appeared to him and said:
“Thomas, you have written well of Me. What reward would you like?”
Imagine what we might ask for.
Thomas replied:
“Non nisi Te, Domine.”
“Nothing but You, Lord.”
Nothing but You.
That is the heart of Eucharistic faith.
Or consider St. Carlo Acutis, the young saint who attended daily Mass, went frequently to Confession, spent time in Eucharistic Adoration, and famously said:
“The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.”
Jonathan Nobles understood that truth on the last day of his life.
Thomas à Kempis, in The Imitation of Christ, beautifully describes the soul’s longing for Jesus:
“My soul longs for Your Body. My heart desires to be united with You. Give me Yourself; it is enough. Without You there is no consolation. Without You I cannot exist. Without Your visitation I cannot live.”
He continues:
“When deprived of this heavenly food, I grow weak on the way.”
We are pilgrims on a journey. We need nourishment. That is why Jesus has given us this astonishing gift of the Eucharist.
How often do we treasure it?
How often do we take it for granted?
Sometimes we skip Mass because we are tired, busy, distracted, or because other things seem more important.
But if we truly long for Jesus, we will seek Him.
St. Mother Teresa understood this. Before receiving Holy Communion she prayed to prepare herself. After receiving Holy Communion she prayed another prayer that became her favorite.
Every sacrifice is meant to be transformative. The sacrifice of Christ offered to the Father is meant to transform us.
We come to Mass as we are.
We leave as God is calling us to become.
The purpose of the Mass is not simply to attend; it is to be transformed by Christ so that we may help transform the world.
Imagine if every Catholic truly believed Jesus was present in the Eucharist and allowed that belief to shape every aspect of life.
Mother Teresa prayed these words after Holy Communion, a prayer written by St. John Henry Newman:
“Dear Lord Jesus, help me spread Your fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Your spirit and life. Pe*****te and possess my whole being so utterly that my life may only be a radiance of Yours. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Your presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus.”
What a beautiful prayer.
“Shine through me.”
If we allow Christ to shine through us, we will transform our families, our parish, and our communities.
When you leave Mass today and go into the parking lot, go to lunch, or return home, try it. Let Jesus shine through you.
See what difference it makes.
If Christians had consistently lived this way throughout the last two thousand years, the world would be a very different place.
Mother Teresa was able to do what she did because she believed what she received in the Eucharist and because she prayed for Christ to shine through her.
Jonathan Nobles understood the importance of this life-giving Bread. That is why he requested Holy Communion as his final meal.
What a blessing it is that the same gift is available to us today.
Amen.
