Opposition Leader: Corpus Christi is a time to remember and restore the goodness of God in our lives

I wish members of the Roman Catholic faith and by extension the entire Christian community a blessed Corpus Christi.

Corpus Christi, which means “Body of Christ”, is a significant day as it celebrates the institution of the Holy Eucharist by the Lord Jesus Christ as a symbol of His redemptive sacrifice and sign of the everlasting covenant between God and humanity.

“Eucharist”, also known as “Holy Communion” comes from the Greek word “eucharistia”, meaning “thanksgiving”. It commemorates the Last Supper that Jesus shared with His disciples and is a fulfilment of His request to the faithful to continue to celebrate this sacred practice in memory of Him.

In essence, we join our Catholic and Christian friends in celebrating the precious gift that Jesus gave to the world.

St. Paul recounts this sacred moment in his letter to the Corinthians:

“The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

(1 Corinthians 11: 23:26)

Given the many social ills, the many economic burdens and other forms of hardship facing our citizens, Corpus Christi is time to remember this wonderful gift of God in our lives.

Therefore, Corpus Christi is not only an acknowledgement of God’s never-ending presence amongst us to offer hope but a reminder of his sacrifice and promise to us to ensure our salvation.

Biblical theologian Dr Scott Hahn underscores the centrality of the Holy Eucharist to Christian worship:

“The mystery of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Real Presence of Jesus, in the Holy Eucharist, this is what it’s all about. Jesus paid a debt He didn’t owe because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay.”

This message of God’s love and mercy is especially comforting to our citizens today as we face difficult and trying times.

Regardless of our varying religious backgrounds, it is important to strengthen ourselves spiritually to acknowledge God in all our daily actions and our daily routines and know that God is present in the good as well as the tough times.

Corpus Christi must be a call to action to our nation to restore and practice love and forgiveness to our brothers and sisters across the nation and the world.

With rising unemployment, rising cases of school violence, rising crime, rising mental burdens in the family unit as well as lack of opportunity for youth, now is the time that we as a people must draw upon God’s presence in our lives to inspire each other with kindness, with a listening ear, with dedicated selfless actions and most importantly, to offer hope to each other.

Let Corpus Christi 2022 not be another holiday but a day when citizens across our nation firmly acknowledge God’s blessings in our individual lives and use this as a driving force to restore T&T to a place we all can be proud of.

Kamla Persad-Bissessar, SC, MP
Leader of the Opposition

16th June, 2022