A reading from the Gospel according to John, which tends to magnify Jesus’ flawless and perfect divinity, is used on today’s Feast of Corpus Christi which tends to magnify Jesus’ flesh and blood humanity, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.”
The magnificence of the Incarnation, divinity enfleshed, continues to inspire. Pope Leo took his name and wrote his recent encyclical on flesh and blood humanity as a continuation of the previous Pope Leo. Pope Leo XIV’s 2026 Magnifica Humanitas continues Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 Rerum Novarum. Both express Catholic social teaching on the moral challenge to magnificent humanity posed by the technology of their age; the Industrial Revolution and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Leo XIV understands that in “the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human. We must lovingly safeguard the grandeur of humanity bestowed upon us” (#15). “We can embrace the technological progress that alleviates suffering and unlocks new possibilities, provided that we do not abandon the very essence of our humanity, namely the capacity for relationship and love” (#126). The flesh and blood “essence of our humanity,” our “capacity for relationship and love,” is precisely what is being abandoned by the controllers of this age’s technology of AI. Unlike the Industrial Revolutions’ robber barons whose technology benefitted humanity, themselves especially, this group of AI Tech Bros are letting us know they’re developing their technology to replace humanity. In our MAGA day and age when every accusation is a confession, the Tech Bros are letting us know AI isn’t going to replace us – it’s already been replacing them. Each Tech Bro is struggling with the magnificence of their own flesh and blood humanity. Each billionaire is replacing the “essence of his humanity” for “relationship” with domination, and replacing “love” with capital gains. Our magnificent humanity cannot be replaced, as conscience cannot be replaced, as love cannot be replaced, as beauty, moral reason, and the common good cannot be replaced, nor science, “research, reflection, and discernment,” nor our artistry, nor our creativity. Each however can be diminished. The attempt to diminish our humanity is being strategized, by many sub cults within the MAGA cult – with members showing a mix of belief and ignorance, greed and indifference, intelligence and incompetence, pomposity and submissiveness. The sub cults include censorship groups targeting comedians, journalists, lawyers, librarians, teachers; groups defunding disability, food, and health programs; gun lovers; the manosphere; militia, Nazi affiliation gangs; religious nationalists; the Republican Party; voter disenfranchisement groups – supremacists one and all who are diminishing their own humanity. Thus, it is not by accident but by strategy that MAGA’s sub cult of robot-like messengers of supremacy such as Alex Karp, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Curtis Yarvin tell us of the inevitability of AI supremacy. It is not by accident but by strategy that the ‘move fast and break things’ gang diminish “the dignity of every person.” Is it by accident or by strategy that we affirm “the dignity of every person”? What is the speed and spread of our affirmation? Magnifica Humanitas is a long encyclical, which may dissuade readers. At its heart, it is a strong, as well as a tender affirmation of the magnificence of our flesh and blood humanity.
“The dignity inscribed in each of us by the Holy Spirit can also be seen in our capacity to reflect critically, choose and love freely, and form authentic relationships. No computational system, however sophisticated, can create a heart that gives itself, or a conscience that discerns good…. Even when machines excel in efficiency, a human face that asks to be gazed upon remains the center of our history.” (Pope Leo XIV)
Prayer: Beautiful Spirit, strengthen us in affirming the dignity of every person.
Question: How can be more affirming and tender in my relationships with people, and reconsider any ‘relationships’ I have with machines?
June 07, 2026 Gospel John 6:51-58 Corpus Christi