Reading 1 – Exodus 24: 3-8
When Moses came to the people
and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD,
they all answered with one voice,
“We will do everything that the LORD has told us.”
Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and,
rising early the next day,
he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar
and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
Then, having sent certain young men of the Israelites
to offer holocausts and sacrifice young bulls
as peace offerings to the LORD,
Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls;
the other half he splashed on the altar.
Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people,
who answered, “All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do.”
Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying,
“This is the blood of the covenant
that the LORD has made with you
in accordance with all these words of his.”
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 116: 12-13, 15-16, 17-18
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
Reading 2 – Hebrews 9: 11-15
Brothers and sisters:
When Christ came as high priest
of the good things that have come to be,
passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle
not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation,
he entered once for all into the sanctuary,
not with the blood of goats and calves
but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls
and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes
can sanctify those who are defiled
so that their flesh is cleansed,
how much more will the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God,
cleanse our consciences from dead works
to worship the living God.
For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant:
since a death has taken place for deliverance
from transgressions under the first covenant,
those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.
Gospel – Mark 14: 12-16, 22-26
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
when they sacrificed the Passover lamb,
Jesus’ disciples said to him,
“Where do you want us to go
and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”
He sent two of his disciples and said to them,
“Go into the city and a man will meet you,
carrying a jar of water.
Follow him.
Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house,
‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room
where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”‘
Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready.
Make the preparations for us there.”
The disciples then went off, entered the city,
and found it just as he had told them;
and they prepared the Passover.
While they were eating,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, gave it to them, and said,
“Take it; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them,
and they all drank from it.
He said to them,
“This is my blood of the covenant,
which will be shed for many.
Amen, I say to you,
I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine
until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Then, after singing a hymn,
they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Listen to the Scriptures: Click on the link below:
CORPUS CHRISTI (Solemnity of Corpus Christi – 7th June 2015)
THE FEAST OF NOURISHMENT. The Body and Blood of Christ are the food and drink which
communicate to us God’s immortal life. They sustain in us that spiritual life over which death has no
power. When we receive the Eucharist we enter into communion with God and are united to all
believing people.
INTRODUCTION: The Eucharist is the love-gift of God to us. In the normal human context, love
is always expressed and reinforced by visible signs or symbols. Lovers need to touch hands, kiss,
and offer gifts to one another. God, knowing our nature and our needs, expresses his love for us
through signs we readily recognize: the cleansing water of baptism, the healing oil of the sacrament
of the sick, the nourishing bread and wine of the Eucharistic meal. But unlike the other sacraments,
the Eucharist is more than a sign of saving grace: it is the actual presence of God in our midst; it is
Christ himself, feeding us with his own substance, healing us of our sins, uniting us with himself.
We cannot understand this mystery fully here on earth, but our hearts should be moved by such love
POINT 1: In the Eucharist, the Lord is with us here and now. God knows we are weak, limited creatures who need
assistance in the daily struggle. He comes to our aid in a simple, direct way, not merely by sending us messages, but by
sending his own Son to be our strength. Let’s put it this way: when you are sick, depressed, in need of help, you are
comforted by a loving letter from a friend. But how much happier you are, how much more comforted, if your friend
comes personally to cheer you up and be with you. God respects this need of ours. So he does not send us a few good
words in a sealed letter; he comes himself through his Eucharistic presence, bringing personally the good news of his
peace, the power of his grace.
POINT 2: The Eucharist is a sacrificial gift. At the Last Supper, Jesus made it clear that the offering and consecration
of the bread and wine was a prophetic action: it made his death on the cross real and present. The broken bread was his
broken Body; the wine was his Blood shed in the pain of agony. We should not neglect this aspect of the Eucharistic
meal: the High Priest is also the Victim. But because Christ is the Son of the living God, his death has the power to
redeem and sanctify, to heal and give life. The Lord does not only come personally to us in the Eucharist: he comes for a
definite purpose: to unite our weak and mortal lives to his own eternal life, and in the joining to make us immortal.
POINT 3: The Eucharist is our nourishment. In recent times, the aspect of the Eucharist as a communal meal or
banquet has been emphasized. Every culture celebrates with food and drink. So we readily respond to the meal-
celebration aspect of the Eucharist. Christ gives himself to us through elements we all recognize: bread and wine. These
are not strange, cultic objects, but familiar food and drink. We come together to celebrate the goodness of God, to eat
together this holy meal through which we are nourished as Christians, as members of God’s Church. We eat, we drink,
we are enriched beyond all hopes, and we are fed with a divine food which not only promises eternal life but which IS
CONCLUSION: What response do we make to such a gift, to such a giver? Gratefully, we attend Mass, receive
communion. But sometimes we allow ourselves to be distracted; not fully aware of the tremendous mystery we are
participating in. Today, let us renew our understanding and appreciation. As we celebrate the Eucharist on this special
day, let us be particularly attentive, reflecting more deliberately upon the love-gift of God. Let us receive the Lord today
with a renewed knowledge of his generosity, and thank him for the gifts which surpass all others. Let us thank him for
his precious Body and Blood, the pledge of our eternal life.
QUESTIONS THAT MAY LEAD TO OTHER THOUGHTS
1. Do you try to cultivate a deep personal devotion to Jesus present in the Eucharist? How are you doing this?
2. In your meditations, do you ever meditate upon the Eucharist?
3. In what sense is the Eucharist at the core of the Christian faith, at the center of Catholic worship?
4. Have you instilled in yourself and perhaps taught others reverence and love for the Real Presence of Christ in the
Eucharist, in the Blessed Sacrament?
Scriptural Reflection / Sharing – Holy Cross District Center – Brafoyaw – 1
Reading 1 – Exodus 24: 3-8
Since time immemorial, blood, the symbol of life, was used in religious rituals. The poured blood of the sacrificed
animals was part of man’s attempt to establish a relationship with God. In the biblical tradition, blood sprinkled on the
altar and over the people was meant to seal a bond of friendship between man and God. Imperfect as they were, these
sacrifices were nevertheless powerful signs: they ratified the special union between Yahweh and his chosen people, They
gave meaning to men’s lives and purified them of their sins. The sacrificial animals were offered to God as a concrete
expression of the people’s sentiments of repentance, of their hopes for forgiveness and mercy. The spilled blood was a
stand-in-for these sentiments. The sacrifices of the old covenant foreshadowed the perfect sacrifice of Christ: by
shedding his own blood, he ratified the new covenant and redeemed all mankind.
Reading 2 – Hebrews 9: 11-15
Christ is the only Mediator between God and man. He did not come as a wise man, a guru, to establish a new
philosophical system and to teach people how to live. He is the Son of God who, once and for all, offered the perfect
sacrifice in our behalf. Through his blood, he established the new covenant, the new and everlasting friendship between
God and man. He and he alone is the Power who purifies us, who transforms us into new creatures alive with a life that
has no end. He offers this life to us not through mere consoling words but through the gift of his own body and blood.
He is truly the Way through which we have direct access to God; he is the Bread of Life which nourishes us, strengthens
us and delivers us from the dominion of death.
Gospel Reading – Mark 14: 12-16, 22-26
When we love someone, we wish to share all we have, to commit ourselves totally to the beloved. It is in these terms
that we can begin to understand something about the Eucharist. God loves us and he chose to communicate his love to us
through the person of his Son, Jesus Christ. The actual physical presence of Christ on earth was brief; his historical
presence is in a distant pass. But his reality is of all times, of all places, and could not be contained within human limits.
As he wishes to communicate this living reality directly to us, he gave us his body as food, his blood as drink. This is not
a gift that momentarily restores us, consoles us, and helps us to carry the burdens of daily life. When we eat and drink
the body and blood of Christ, they become intimate part of ourselves. It is the fullness of God, the allness of life and love
which are directly communicated to us. The Eucharist is more than a promise, more than a sign of things to come: it is
the reality of Christ which unites us to God and makes us into a living people over whom death has no power.
The Eucharist is a magnificent mystery. It can be viewed in many ways – like a jewel that
reflects light from its different facets. The Eucharist is a covenant, a sacrifice of praise, a
remembrance, a thanksgiving, a presence, a proclamation, a union, a teacher, a gift, a mystery of
faith, spiritual food.
In addition, there are two other facets of the Eucharist which we need to rediscover: the Eucharist
is for forgiveness of sins and for healing.
More than ever people want and need to experience the saving power of the Eucharist. It is
intended for our healing, so that we might be free and live as sons and daughters of God. Many,
however, do not recognize what this gift really is and remain in their weakness; many are sick,
depressed, bound up in themselves and can’t get freed. The Eucharist is a healing sacrament, and
should be approach as such. (Cf. 1 Corinthians 11:30)
In the Eucharist we can reach out and touch Jesus, even as the woman in the crowd did. She said to herself that if she
could only touch the hem of his garment she would be healed. In simple faith she reached out, power flowed out from
Jesus, and she was healed. (Luke 8: 43-44)
Jesus has given us himself in a form that we can touch. Because we are human we need to touch and to be touched.
Jesus, in his beautifully human way, left us his Body and Blood so that we might touch him and be healed.
Solemnity of Corpus Christi – 7th June 2015
For the Church: that we may fulfill the commission given by Christ and help others to come to a
knowledge and experience of God, let us pray to the Lord.
For the grace of awareness: that we may recognize all the great things which God has done for us
and respond with generosity and gratitude each day, let us pray to the Lord.
For all missionaries: that they may know God’s presence and strength as they bring Good News and
that they may recognize the gifts which others have and them forth, let us pray to the Lord.
For the gift of courage: that we may be open to moving beyond our ordinary activities and friends
and be instruments of God’s love and presence in new situations and with new people, let us pray to
For a deeper awareness of who we are: that we may join the Spirit within calling God “ABBA” and
living in confidence that God loves and cares for us each day, let us pray to the Lord.
For all who are isolated from God and the human family: that they may experience welcome and
acceptance as they encounter the Christian community, let us pray to the Lord.
For all parents: that assisted by the Spirit, they may help their sons and daughters to know that they
are truly children of God, let us pray to the Lord.
For all married couples, particularly the newly married: that their love may be a sign to all of
God’s unbounded love for everyone, let us pray to the Lord.
For greater stewardship of earth’s resources: that we may use the resources of the earth wisely and
ensure their preservation for future generations, let us pray to the Lord.
For all are struggling with drought, fire or storms: that God will give them strength, ease their
pain, and send the assistance which they need, let us pray to the Lord.
For all who are held in slavery: that God’s power will bring freedom to all who are in physical or
emotional captivity, let us pray to the Lord.
For a greater recognition of religious freedom: that God will touch the hearts of all leaders to honor
the religious and moral convictions of religious institutions and each individual, let us pray to the
For all who have lost jobs or who are struggling financially: that God will provide resources and
open new pathways for them to support their families, let us pray to the Lord.
For the gift of peace: that God will inspire all parties to find alternatives to violence and guide
leaders to take risks in establishing peace and promoting justice, let us pray to the Lord.