By Fr Cameron Forbes
Apart from going to church on Sundays, my professional life had become so busy that I felt I was pushing God to the side. And so it happened while walking to work one morning that I passed a Catholic church which was open. There were a number of people inside, even at 6.45am! I entered and discovered the beauty of daily Mass, in all its nobility and brevity. I was so impressed by the unassuming yet constant faith of those who attended regularly that I started to do the same.
Soon a sense of priestly vocation, which had been with me since the age of 12, became ever stronger, and within a couple of years I'd entered Corpus Christi College to study for the priesthood. I wanted to dedicate my life to sharing the great gift of the Eucharist with others.
Unsurprisingly then, Corpus Christi is one of my favourite feast days. We relive the events of Holy Thursday, but now in the light of the Resurrection. The Eucharist brings peace and joy deep into the hearts of those who receive it; a peace which the world cannot give. It is therefore a wonderful privilege as a priest to offer this food of life to the People of God.
The motto of Corpus Christi College is De Te Vivere, "to live from thee". In the Eucharist, God gives us his very self. The Eucharistic Lord sustains us and asks us to sacrifice ourselves too, to be a gift for others.