The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Cycle C)

Feast of Corpus Christi

Lectionary: 169

Reading 1 - Genesis 14:18-20

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 110:1, 2, 3, 4

Reading 2 - 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Alleluia - John 6:51

Gospel - Luke 9:11b-17

Introduction

My brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as The Feast of Corpus Christi. Established in the 13th century by Pope Urban IV, having just officially recognized the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena, this is a day to reflect upon … and give thanks for … the incredible gift of the Eucharist, the source and summit of our Christian life. 

Exposition

Our readings today offer a few insights into the meaning of this great sacrament.

Our first reading is not very long, but it introduces the mysterious figure of the priest-king Melchizedek, whose name is typically translated as “King of Righteousness.” This man comes forward, seemingly out of nowhere, and blesses Abram for his military victory over the King of Elam, while offering bread and wine. Here in the ancient and archaic beginnings of Salvation History, we are presented with an eternal priest and king who is foreshadowing Christ and the Eucharist! In other words, the Eucharist is not a secondary part of what it means to be Christian. Melchizedek proves that the Eucharist has been a central part of God’s plan from the beginning.

In the second reading, from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, in a section primarily devoted to the regulation of conduct at the liturgy, we hear the Apostle recounting the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper where Paul emphasizes the profound connection between the Eucharist and the Lord's sacrifice and urges the faithful to remember the Lord’s death until He comes again, through the act of participating in the Eucharist.

The key to This passage … lies in a full understanding of what the word “remember” means in this context … and it is so much more than simply recalling past events … it is about bringing the past into the present .. into the here and now in order to act upon it. We see this when God commands Israel to “remember” (zakar) the Sabbath; it is not because he believes they might forget what the Sabbath is, but that they should hold the Sabbath in the forefront of their mind in order to keep the Sabbath. It works the same way with the Eucharist … when we “remember” Christ in the Eucharist, we recognize that the greatest act of love is made present here and now on the altar—the very Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Then we participate in the offering of that Sacrifice.

Finally, in our Gospel passage about the multiplication of the loaves and fish, we are reminded of how God was present and cared for the people of Israel in the desert by providing them with manna form heaven. In fact, throughout his Gospel, St Luke paints a down-to-earth picture of Jesus walking the dusty trails of Palestine, "speaking to the crowds about the Kingdom of God," "healing those who needed to be cured", and even making sure they had enough to eat.

This picture shows how close Jesus wants to be to us. That's a central message of today's feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.

• Back in first century Palestine, Jesus spent all his time doing things for others. 
• His whole life was for others, for us. 
• He came for us; to be our Savior and to be the Friend who will never let us down. 

And he wanted to make sure that we would never forget that.

So he figured out a way to remain with us even after he died, rose, and ascended into heaven.

He has remained with us not only in the holy Scriptures, not only in the living Church, not only in the examples of the saints, but even under the humble and silent appearances of bread and wine.

• In the Eucharist, he is as close to us as he was to those people who walked with him on the dusty roads of Palestine. 
• In fact, he is even closer. Those people received bread at his hands, but we receive the Lord himself in Holy Communion. 

What more could Jesus have done to show us how passionately he wants to be near us, to guide us, to strengthen us? 

Illustration

John Paul II's last encyclical emphasized this desire of Christ to stay close to us, a desire that expresses itself most eloquently in the Eucharist.  At the very beginning of the encyclical, he wrote about how 

"in the Holy Eucharist, through the changing of bread and wine into the body and blood of the Lord... [the Church] rejoices in this presence with unique intensity"

Pope Benedict XVI re-emphasized that same point in his message to the whole Church, written in the wake of the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist.

• In this Exhortation, called "Sacramentum caritatis", he repeats his favorite theme, that God's love is the solution to every problem, personal and social, as well as the answer to the yearning of every human heart. 
• He also explains, at the beginning of the message, that the Eucharist is the ultimate manifestation of that love. 

This is not just theory. This is reality.

Christ's close presence, most evident in the Eucharist, gives us strength to fulfill our life's mission and discover the happiness he wishes for us.

As Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, the Eucharist "...is the spiritual food that sustains me - without which I could not get through one single day or hour in my life.” 

Application

Jesus took the loaves and fishes that the Apostles gave him, and he multiplied them.

The little they had … had became an abundant source of nourishment and joy.

He wants to do the same thing with us.

He wants us to give Him our lives, our work, our resources, our talents, our time, so that he can multiply them, so that he can transform them with His grace, and make them blossom in ways far beyond what we could ever imagine.

The Eucharist is the pattern of this process.

• We give to God simple bread and wine. 
• Then, through the ministry of the priest, Jesus takes these gifts, blesses them, and transforms them into his very self, his real presence, body, blood, soul and divinity. 

It is no accident that we as Christians make our offerings to God at the same time that the bread and wine are presented to the priest during the Mass.

• Our offerings represent our lives and work. 
• Our offerings are both the fruits of our labor, and the means by which we stay alive, just like the bread and wine. 

At the moment in the Mass when we give these offerings to God, we should be aware of this.

We should never live it as an empty ritual or dry obligation.

• It is part of the liturgy, part of our sacred prayer. 
• By that gesture we give our lives to Christ anew, just as we did at our baptism and confirmation. 

Exhortation/Invitation

Today at the offertory, let's consciously renew this gift of ourselves, holding nothing back - especially that one thing he is asking each of us in our hearts.

Because if we give him everything, he will multiply and transform it, and give us even more in return - he will turn our ordinary bread into heavenly food. 

Conclusion

The Eucharist is the heart and summit of the Church's life1. It is a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, and a bond of charity. As we partake in this sacred meal, may we be filled with the grace and peace of Christ, and may we be strengthened to live as His faithful disciples.