Corpus Christi 2024 in Rome: Homily of Pope Francis at Mass and procession

We share the complete homily of Pope Francis, at the Corpus Christi Mass and procession in Rome, this Sunday, June 2.

The Holy Father presided over the Eucharist in the papal Basilica of Saint John Lateran, the cathedral of the diocese of Rome, of which he is bishop.

Below is the homily of the Holy Father:

“He took the bread, he pronounced the blessing” (Mk 14:22). This is the gesture with which the story of the institution of the Eucharist in the Gospel according to Saint Mark begins. And we can start from this gesture of Jesus—blessing the bread—to reflect on the three dimensions of the Mystery we are celebrating: thanksgiving, memory and presence.

First thanksgiving. The word “Eucharist” means precisely to say “thank you”, “to thank” God for his gifts, and in this sense the sign of bread is important.

It is the daily food, with which we bring to the altar everything we are and what we have: life, actions, successes, and also failures, as symbolized by the good custom in some cultures of picking up and kissing. the bread when it falls to the ground, to remember that it is too valuable to be thrown away, even after it has fallen to the ground.

The Eucharist, precisely, teaches us to bless, receive and kiss, always, in thanksgiving, the gifts of God, and this not only in celebration, but also in life.

How? For example, not wasting the things and talents that the Lord has given us. But also forgiving and lifting up those who make mistakes and fall due to weakness or error; because everything is a gift and nothing can be lost, because no one can be left stranded, and everyone must have the possibility of getting back up and getting back on the path.

We too can do this in everyday life, doing this with love, with care, with precision, as a gift and a mission. It is something that always leads us to help those who have fallen. Only once in your life can you look down at a person from above to help lift them up. This is our mission.

To give thanks, certainly, many things can be added. They are important “Eucharistic” attitudes, because they teach us to embrace the value of what we do, of what we offer during Mass.

First give thanks, second bless the bread. This means making memory. Of what thing? For ancient Israel it was about remembering the liberation from slavery in Egypt and the beginning of the exodus to the promised land.

For us it is to remember the Easter of Christ, his Passion and his Resurrection, with which he freed us from sin and death. Remember our life, remember our successes, remember our failures, remember the extended hand of the Lord that always helps us get up, remember the presence of the Lord in our lives.

There are some who say that they are free and that they think only of themselves, that they enjoy life with indifference, perhaps with arrogance, they do everything they want without caring about others. This is freedom, it is a hidden slavery, a slavery that hurts us even more.

Freedom is not found in the safes of those who accumulate for themselves, nor in the sofas of those who lazily settle into selflessness and individualism. Freedom is found in the cenacle where, for no other reason than love, we bow before our brothers to offer them our service, our life, as “saved.”

Finally, the Eucharistic Bread is the real presence of Christ. And with this he tells us about a God who is not distant or jealous, but close and supportive of man; that he does not abandon us, but seeks us, waits for us and accompanies us; always, to the point of putting himself, defenseless, in our hands.

And this presence of his also invites us to become close to our brothers where love calls us.

Dear brothers and sisters, how much need there is in our world for this bread, for its aroma and its essence, which tastes of gratitude, freedom and proximity. Every day we see too many streets, which perhaps were once scented with the smell of baking bread, being reduced to piles of rubble because of war, selfishness and indifference.

It is urgent that the world recover the good and fresh fragrance of the bread of love, to continue waiting and continue rebuilding, without ever tiring, that which hate destroys.

And this is also the meaning of the gesture that we will soon make with the Eucharistic procession. Starting from the altar, we will take the Lord through the homes of our city. We do it not to show off, nor to show off our faith, but to invite everyone to participate in the Bread of the Eucharist, in the new life that Jesus has given us. Let us make the procession in this spirit.