Macaroni pie, a handbag, and the Body of Christ

By Fr Robert Christo
Vicar for Communications

I have seen it happen at many church functions before and now at the Eucharistic Congress, of all places. An individual was saving two seats with two handbags—one packed with drinks, the other with macaroni pie and ‘de works’. She insisted they were for someone “coming just now.” But “just now” never came.

Meanwhile, a pregnant woman and another carrying a child stood nearby, searching in vain for a seat. And the bag lady? She didn’t budge. Not even a glance. But when the Eucharist passed by, she was the loudest—hands raised, face lit, voice shrill with fervour.

That moment has been with me amidst all the tsunami of graces from the day, not to condemn her, but to ask a bigger question and challenge me more: Have we confused ritual for relationship, adoration for action, God for a private possession?

We often get caught up in individual spirituality that forget the neighbour beside us. Our parishes echo with ‘Jesus and me’ songs: ‘Soul of my Saviour’; ‘Fill my cup, Lord’, but the woman with the crying baby or the man in need of a ride home? They remain invisible.

What happened to integrated human development as part of our spirituality? Have we siloed holiness into personal devotions, forgetting that the Body of Christ is not only on the altar, but in the pew next to us, pregnant, tired, in need of a lift, and hoping for a seat?

The Eucharist is not just something we receive—it’s someone we become. To receive the Body of Christ and ignore the body of your sister beside you is to miss the whole point.

We are not called to bulldoze people with our piety. We are called to embody the love we receive: compassionate, communal, and concrete. If your Eucharistic fire doesn’t warm your neighbour, maybe it’s just smoke.

This is not a rant about handbags and seats. It’s a reminder that in Corpus Christi, no one is reserved, no one is excluded, no one should be left standing while others protect empty chairs for ghosts.

Because in the Kingdom of God, every seat is sacred, and every person is too.

The Roman Catholic Church has always affirmed that authentic spirituality must be inseparable from human development. As Pope Benedict XVI wrote in Caritas in Veritate, “the whole Church, in all her being and acting… is engaged in promoting integral human development” (#11).

Somebody once told me, “When you receive the Body of Christ, you must now throw yourself onto the broken Body of Christ.” That means we cannot stop at Adoration; we must move into action.

The Christ we receive at the altar is the same Christ who cries out in the poor, the marginalised, and the overlooked. Eucharistic devotion that doesn’t lead to justice, mercy, and solidarity is incomplete.

Every Mass sends us out: “Go, you are sent”, to become what we have received and let our communion become compassion.