Today
is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ – The Corpus
Christi. We acknowledge that in partaking in the Eucharist we eat the food of
Angels. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this
bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the
life of the world” (Jn. 6:51). In the blessed Eucharist, Christ himself is
offered and received and in him the church continually lives and grows. In the
sacrifice of the Eucharist, the memorial of the death and resurrection of the
Lord, the sacrifice of the cross is forever perpetuated. This is the summit and
the source of all worship and Christian life. By means of the Eucharist the
unity of God’s people is signified and brought about, and the building up of
the body of Christ is perfected. “Christ’s faithful are to hold the blessed
eucharist in highest honor. They should take an active part in the celebration
of the most august sacrifice of the Mass; they should receive the sacrament
with great devotion and frequently and should reverence it with the greatest
adoration. In explaining the doctrine of this sacrament, pastors of souls are
assiduously to instruct the faithful about their obligation in this regard” (c.
898). Today, the 23rd day of June, I thank God for calling me,
unworthy as I am, to follow in the priesthood of his Son for this 29 years. He
called me to offer the sacrifice of the body and blood of his Son for the
salvation of the world. Thank you for being a part of my story and for sharing
my joy.
In
the first reading Melchizedek, the king of Salem exchanged bread with Abram and
fellowship is formed between them. In the Gospel, Jesus feeds the hungry with
five loaves and a few fish through his divine power. And in the second reading,
Jesus gives himself as food and drink and makes himself available to us in a
perpetual sacrifice for the nourishment of our souls. We are Christians because
of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ but Catholics because of the
Eucharist. Food is an absolute necessity for the growth of our bodies. And so
is the Eucharist. It is an absolute necessity for our spiritual life. “Unless
you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life
within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I
will raise him on the last day” (Jn. 6:54). By eating the Body of Christ, we
become the living Christ and we are enabled to discover our own closeness and
blessedness, acknowledge our brokenness, and live our life for others. Thus we,
like Jesus Himself, become food for the world.
As
you receive the body and blood of Christ, do you identify your pains and joys
with Christ? Do you believe that he who is in you, whom you have received in
the Eucharist; the body and blood of Christ, is above and beyond, far greater
and more powerful than he that is in the world? If you truly believe in what you
receive, he will change you; He will make you holy, forgiving, loving,
merciful, compassionate, devoted, caring, charitable, more human and humane. Why
is it that we receive Jesus Christ in the Eucharist daily, yet we are not
changed? Could it be that we are not convinced of what we receive? Or that we
do not know who we are and whose we are? Eating the food of angels should make
us behave like angels because we become what we eat. In eating the food of
angels, we should say with St. Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ; yet I
live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh,
I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me”
(Gal. 2:20).
One
of the core teachings of the Church on the Eucharist is that “Our Lord is
truly, really and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus Christ did
not mince words when he told his disciples point blank “Whoever eats my flesh
and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent
me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will
have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven” (Jn.
6:57-58). Though many of his disciples stopped following him, Christ did not
beg them to stay. Instead he asked his apostles: “Do you also want to leave?”
(Jn. 6:67). According to Pope John Paul ll, this teaching “is at the heart of
the Church, the secret of her vigor; she must keep watch with jealous care over
this mystery and affirm it in its fullness”. Therefore, we should prepare
ourselves for the fruitful participation at Mass. It is recommended that we
read, beforehand, the readings of the Mass, examine our consciences for any
mortal sins we did not confess, if we plan to receive holy communion, confess
them and be ready to receive our Lord and Savior Jesus timely and devotedly. After
receiving Holy Communion, our Lord is present in the communicant as long as the
species remain. This can be as long as 8 to 10 minutes. According to the Sacred
Congregation for the sacraments and divine worship, “The faithful are to be
recommended not to omit to make a proper thanksgiving after communion. They may
do this during the celebration with a period of silence, with a hymn, Psalm, or
other song of praise, or also after the celebration if possible by staying
behind to pray for a suitable time”.
After
Mass, the priest dismisses the people with “Go forth, the Mass is ended, or Go
and announce the Gospel of the Lord or Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your
life”. We must therefore, take the Christ that we have received in the
Eucharist, the food of the angels to all and sundry. Like Jesus we must share
him, the bread of life with the poor, the homeless, the sick, the saints and
sinners alike. We are to make the bread of Christ, broken and received by us
available in our lives and keep it fresh at all times. May we offer this bread
to those who need healing for their broken bodies, to the public sinners may we
offer forgiveness, companionship to the lonely, conversion for those who hunger
for Christ but do not know how to get to him and reconciliation for those who
are on the streets. May we derive strength and nourishment from this food so
that we may live forever with our Lord now and in eternity. Amen.
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