May 29th, 2016 –The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
lectionary: 169
Reading 1 – Genesis 14: 18-20
In those days, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine,
and being a priest of God Most High,
he blessed Abram with these words:
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
the creator of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
who delivered your foes into your hand.”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 110: 1, 2, 3, 4
- You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool.” - You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:
“Rule in the midst of your enemies.” - You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
“Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.” - You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
“You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” - You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
Reading 2 – 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26
Brothers and sisters:
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
Gospel – Luke 9: 11B-17
Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God,
and he healed those who needed to be cured.
As the day was drawing to a close,
the Twelve approached him and said,
“Dismiss the crowd
so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms
and find lodging and provisions;
for we are in a deserted place here.”
He said to them, “Give them some food yourselves.”
They replied, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have,
unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.”
Now the men there numbered about five thousand.
Then he said to his disciples,
“Have them sit down in groups of about fifty.”
They did so and made them all sit down.
Then taking the five loaves and the two fish,
and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing over them, broke them,
and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And when the leftover fragments were picked up,
they filled twelve wicker baskets.
Listen to the Scriptures: click on the link below:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/16_05_29.mp3
REFLECTION – Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
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 and such loving.
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 eternal life.
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
- Do you try to cultivate a deep personal devotion to Jesus present in the Eucharist? How are you doing?
- In your meditations, do you ever meditate upon the Eucharist?
- In what sense is the Eucharist at the core of the Christian faith, at the center of Catholic worship?
- 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?
- Have you ever experienced a spiritual “hunger” for Holy Communion? Under what circumstances?
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.
Forgiveness
Jesus said to his disciples: “All of you must drink from it, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, to be poured out in behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28). Do we believe this? Do we expect our sins to be forgiven? Do we ask for them to be forgiven? Yes, the Eucharist is for the forgiveness of sins; this is no new doctrine or new teaching. We can approach the table of the Lord with sorrow for our sins so that we might be forgiven by the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We are all sinners, all capable of sin, and yet the Lord loves us despite all our sins and wants to live in us and use us to accomplish his work.
We receive the bread of life and the cup of eternal salvation in order that we might be strengthened to avoid sin and evil and to do good. Without this spiritual food we will remain weak.
Healing
The sacrament of the Eucharist is for our healing. To experience this healing we need to approach the table of the Lord with hunger, with yielding hearts, with expectant faith, and with persistence. If we hunger for the Lord alone, he can fill us with his healing love. If we yield our hearts to him, offering no obstacle to him, no resistance to his presence and love, he will fill us with his power. But we need to hunger and yield with faith, expecting the Lord to respond. If we do not experience a response, we try again, persisting with our asking – asking and knocking.
So often we receive little because we expect little. We should expect more from the Eucharist and ask for what we need. If we need healing, we should ask for it.
How should we do this? I would suggest that we begin asking for healing of a small ailment and then ask for healing of something more serious. Start with something that would correspond to your faith. For example, if you have enough faith to believe that the Lord would cure a headache, then ask him to do that. At Communion time say, “Lord, I have a headache. I know you can take it away. I can serve you better without it. Please take it away. Thank you, Lord, for hearing my prayer.” When the headache goes away, your faith will be built and you will be able to ask for something greater next time.
If you find your headache is still with you, try again. The power is there, but the connection may not have been right. If we are persistent the Lord can teach us. Try again. When Thomas Edison (inventor of the light bulb) tried to make the first light bulb, he failed. He didn’t doubt the power of electricity; he tried again and again until he got the right connection. It took him any hundreds of tries. The power of the Eucharist is there for us, but we need to tap into that power source. Sometimes there are obstacles on our part besides a lack of faith; perhaps a lack of love or forgiveness. The Lord wants to point this out to us before he heals. We need to clear the channels for the flow of the healing power.
The Lord wants to heal us. We need to allow him to be our healer, our savior. At the time of receiving the Eucharist, we should ask the Lord for what we need. If we need healing, then we ask for healing; if we need love and forgiveness, then we ask for love and forgiveness. Ask and you shall receive.
PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL – Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
For the Church: that we will live as a Eucharistic people, giving and sharing ourselves, as Christ continually does for us, so that all may have life, let us pray to the Lord.
For this assembly: that we may find strength in each Eucharist that we share so that we may profess in word and deed the dying and rising of Lord each day, let us pray to the Lord.
For a fuller sharing in the New Covenant: that we may be bonded in deeper unity with God and one another as we share in the communion of His Body and Blood, let us pray to the Lord.
For all priests: that they may be renewed, strengthened, and drawn closer to God and God’s people as they celebrate the Eucharist, let us pray to the Lord.
For all who exercise priestly ministry: that like Melchizedek, they may awaken praise for God and be a source of blessing to all the human family, let us pray to the Lord.
For a healing of wounds in the church: that God will heal the strains and wounds in the church so that our communion may be a sign of God’s presence and action in the world, let us pray to the Lord.
For all who cannot receive the Eucharist: that we as, Body of Christ, may be God’s love and nurturing compassion for them through our prayer and concern, let us pray to the Lord.
For all who hunger for deeper meaning and truth: that they may be drawn to Christ by our witness and find in Him, their heart’s fulfillment, let us pray to the Lord.
For all who lack food and nourishment: that we may hear Christ’s challenge to “give them food” and open hearts more fully to all who are in need, let us pray to the Lord.
For all who work to end hunger: that God will renew their sprits and help them to never tire of bringing food and life to those in need, let us pray to the Lord.
For a greater awareness of Christ’s presence: that we may recognize Christ who is present in the Eucharist; in the Word proclaimed; in the celebrant, and in one another who make up the Body of Christ, let us pray to the Lord.
For greater access to the Eucharist: that God will touch the hearts of many to serve the community of faith in the ministries of word and sacrament, let us pray to the Lord.
For a greater reverence for the Eucharist: that we may approach the Eucharist with faith, reverence, and commitment to the dying and rising of Jesus, let us pray to the Lord.
For an eschatological vision: that we may recognize our invitation to share in the heavenly banquet each time we share in the Eucharistic celebration, let us pray to the Lord.
For a greater spirit of openness and hospitality: that we may welcome all whom God sends our way and share with them the gifts which God has shared with us, let us pray to the Lord.
For an awareness of our abundance: that we may recognize the many gifts and opportunities that God has given us and not allow any of these to go to waste, let us pray to the Lord.
For all who bring the Body of Christ to the homebound and hospitalized: that they may be renewed through their service and be a support and a source of joy for those whom they serve, let us pray to the Lord.
For all who are recovering from floods, storms or other disasters: that God will give them strength, open new opportunities for them, and help the assistance which they need to reach them promptly, let us pray to the Lord.
For all who are ill: that the healing power of God’s love will renew them and raise them up, let us pray to the Lord.
For peace: that the whole human family may be blessed through the Eucharist and be guided toward peace and wholeness, let us pray to the Lord.