Corpus Cristi

by Fr. John Granato  |  06/22/2025  |  Words from Fr. John

My Dear Friends,

Today is the great feast day commonly called Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Not only do we receive our Lord’s Body and Blood, but we also receive his Soul and Divinity. The word concomitant is used in our theology to explain that since we receive our Lord’s Soul and Divinity we also receive the Divinity of the Father and the Holy Spirit. We participate in the life of the Trinity when we are baptized, but as we are nourished with the Holy Eucharist in Holy Communion, we also participate in the life of the Trinity every time we receive Holy Communion. The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is a central article of our Catholic faith and a great mystery.

Jesus is physically present to us, as he promised he would be (I will be with you until the end of the age), in the tabernacles of every Catholic Church in order to receive Holy Communion in the Catholic Church, you need to be baptized a Catholic, or have entered into the Catholic faith via a Catholic profession of faith. You must also believe that you receive a Person, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, for the bread and wine are no longer bread or wine but are really and truly the Body and Blood of Christ. You must also believe all that the Catholic Church professes and believes, from the role of the papacy to the hierarchical priesthood to the sacraments and how they are understood and celebrated (obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days, baptism, confirmation, confessions, anointing of the sick, marriage, and holy orders) and the moral teachings of the Catholic faith.

When someone asks me why can’t a non-Catholic receive Holy Communion, that we are not being welcoming, that Jesus would give everyone Communion, we fail to understand our Scriptures. Jesus allowed people to leave him and walk away because he taught that his flesh is true food and his blood is true drink. He did not call after them and tell them to return that you can receive even if you don’t believe. St. Paul also teaches what is required of a person to receive Holy Communion. Everyone is indeed welcome in the Catholic Church, but we must also follow the words of Jesus at the beginning of his ministry, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” Repent means to change your ways. No one has a right to a gift, and the Eucharist is a gift. Jesus gives this gift to those who profess the true faith.

Communion with Christ in our Catholic faith concerning the Eucharist also means that we are in communion with the authentic teachings of the Church from the Apostles through the ecumenical councils and teachings of the saints and of the magisterium. The proper question should be, “If you do not believe in the role of the papacy and the sacraments and hierarchical priesthood and the moral teachings of the church and you remain outside the Catholic Church (for whatever reason you hold to), then why would you want to receive the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ?” I would never go to a Christian church and demand they teach the Catholic understanding of the Blessed Mother and the rosary. I respect that they truly believe what they teach.

Then a non Catholic Christian should also respect the teachings of our Catholic faith, which precludes from a non-Catholic from receiving Holy Communion. Let us pray that one day all Christians may be one (as Jesus prayed for in the gospels) and that we be able to share the Eucharist in communion with one another. Until that day, we must respect the faith traditions of each particular church and our Catholic Church.

God bless