The God Who Chose to Stay

Corpus Christi was celebrated today, but one moment from the day has stayed with me.

It happened during Eucharistic Adoration in the morning.

As I sat quietly before Jesus, I looked around the church and saw many others doing the same. Some were kneeling. Some had their heads bowed. Some simply sat in silence. I do not know what they were praying for.

Perhaps some were carrying burdens they could not share with anyone else. Perhaps some were searching for answers, healing, strength, or peace. Perhaps some, like me, came with questions they could not fully put into words.

Yet all of us were drawn to the same place.

To the same Jesus.

As I sat there in the silence, one question came to my mind.

How did You do it?

How did You see people for who they really were, and still choose to love them?

You knew Judas would betray You. You knew Peter would deny You. You knew many would walk away when things became difficult.

Nothing was hidden from You. Yet You loved them anyway.

I cannot get over that.

If I am honest, it is not always easy to love people when they hurt us, disappoint us, or let us down. Yet Jesus saw every weakness, every failure, every hidden motive, and still chose love.

As I sat before Him, I realised that nothing is hidden from Him today either.

He sees my heart just as clearly. He knows my fears, my failures, and the many times I fall short. He sees my Judas moments and my Peter moments. The times I have betrayed Him in small ways. The times I have denied Him through my actions, my silence, or my lack of trust.

Yet He stays.

Later that evening, Fr Dominic spoke about three things in his homily: food, faith and mission.

The first was food. We spend much of our lives working, planning, and worrying about tomorrow because we know we need food to live. Yet beneath all our daily needs is a deeper hunger, the spiritual food that only God can satisfy.

The second was faith. Every time we come forward for Holy Communion and say “Amen”, we are saying, “I believe.” Not because we understand everything, but because we trust the One who gave Himself for us.

The third was mission.

After Mass, we followed Jesus in procession through the streets.

For many years, I saw the procession as a beautiful tradition. This year felt different.

As I walked behind the Blessed Sacrament, I realised that I am not following a distant God. I am following a God who chose to stay close to His people.

Along the route, I noticed curious faces watching. Motorists waited patiently as we passed. Some stood outside their homes or shops to see what was happening. For a brief moment, our faith became visible beyond the walls of the church.

And perhaps that is what moved me most.

As I watched the curious faces, the patient motorists, and the people who paused to see what was happening, I began to understand what Fr Dominic meant when he spoke about mission.

The Eucharist is never meant to end with us.

Having received Christ, we are sent to bring Christ to others.

As the day came to an end, I found myself returning to the same question that first came to me during Adoration.

How did You do it?

How did You see every human heart and still choose to love?

How did You know every failure and still choose to stay?

I do not think I will ever fully understand.

But perhaps that is the grace Corpus Christi left with me today.

The God who knows us completely still chooses to remain with us.

And for that, I am deeply grateful. (BV)