June 22, 2014

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)

Moses said to the people:
"Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God,
has directed all your journeying in the desert,
so as to test you by affliction
and find out whether or not it was your intention
to keep his commandments.
He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger,
and then fed you with manna,
a food unknown to you and your fathers,
in order to show you that not by bread alone does one live,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.

"Do not forget the LORD, your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
that place of slavery;
who guided you through the vast and terrible desert
with its saraph serpents and scorpions,
its parched and waterless ground;
who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock
and fed you in the desert with manna,
a food unknown to your fathers."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20

R/ (12) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R/ Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R/ Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R/ Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R/ Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R/ Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R/ Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R/ Alleluia.

Reading 2 1 Cor 10:16-17

Brothers and sisters:
The cup of blessing that we bless,
is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?
The bread that we break,
is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
Because the loaf of bread is one,
we, though many, are one body,
for we all partake of the one loaf.

Sequence - Lauda Sion

Laud, O Zion, your salvation,
Laud with hymns of exultation,
Christ, your king and shepherd true:

Bring him all the praise you know,
He is more than you bestow.
Never can you reach his due.

Special theme for glad thanksgiving
Is the quick’ning and the living
Bread today before you set:

From his hands of old partaken,
As we know, by faith unshaken,
Where the Twelve at supper met.

Full and clear ring out your chanting,
Joy nor sweetest grace be wanting,
From your heart let praises burst:

For today the feast is holden,
When the institution olden
Of that supper was rehearsed.

Here the new law’s new oblation,
By the new king’s revelation,
Ends the form of ancient rite:

Now the new the old effaces,
Truth away the shadow chases,
Light dispels the gloom of night.

What he did at supper seated,
Christ ordained to be repeated,
His memorial ne’er to cease:

And his rule for guidance taking,
Bread and wine we hallow, making
Thus our sacrifice of peace.

This the truth each Christian learns,
Bread into his flesh he turns,
To his precious blood the wine:

Sight has fail’d, nor thought conceives,
But a dauntless faith believes,
Resting on a pow’r divine.

Here beneath these signs are hidden
Priceless things to sense forbidden;
Signs, not things are all we see:

Blood is poured and flesh is broken,
Yet in either wondrous token
Christ entire we know to be.

Whoso of this food partakes,
Does not rend the Lord nor breaks;
Christ is whole to all that taste:

Thousands are, as one, receivers,
One, as thousands of believers,
Eats of him who cannot waste.

Bad and good the feast are sharing,
Of what divers dooms preparing,
Endless death, or endless life.

Life to these, to those damnation,
See how like participation
Is with unlike issues rife.

When the sacrament is broken,
Doubt not, but believe ‘tis spoken,
That each sever’d outward token
doth the very whole contain.

Nought the precious gift divides,
Breaking but the sign betides
Jesus still the same abides,
still unbroken does remain.

The shorter form of the sequence begins here.

Lo! the angel’s food is given
To the pilgrim who has striven;
see the children’s bread from heaven,
which on dogs may not be spent.

Truth the ancient types fulfilling,
Isaac bound, a victim willing,
Paschal lamb, its lifeblood spilling,
manna to the fathers sent.

Very bread, good shepherd, tend us,
Jesu, of your love befriend us,
You refresh us, you defend us,
Your eternal goodness send us
In the land of life to see.

You who all things can and know,
Who on earth such food bestow,
Grant us with your saints, though lowest,
Where the heav’nly feast you show,
Fellow heirs and guests to be. Amen. Alleluia.

Gospel Jn 6:51-58

Jesus said to the Jewish crowds:
"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."

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
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.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
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.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever."

51a. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever.

ALCUIN. Therefore I say, He that eats this bread, dies not: I am the living bread which came down from heaven.

THEOPHYL. By becoming incarnate, He was not then first man, and afterwards assumed Divinity, as Nestorius fables.

AUG. The manna too came down from heaven; but the manna was shadow, this is substance.

ALCUIN. But men must be quickened by my life: If any man eat of this bread, he shall live, not only now by faith and righteousness, but for ever.

51b. - And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

AUG. Our Lord pronounces Himself to be bread, not only in respect of that Divinity, which feeds all things, but also in respect of that human nature, which was assumed by the Word of God: And the bread, He says, that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

BEDE. This bread our Lord then gave, when He delivered to His disciple the mystery of His Body and Blood, and offered Himself to God the Father on the altar of the cross. For the life of the world, i.e. not for the elements, but for mankind, who are called the world.

THEOPHYL. Which I shall give: this shows His power; for it shows that He was not crucified as a servant, in subjection to the Father, but of his own accord; for though He is said to have been given up by the Father, yet He delivered Himself up also. And observe, the bread which is taken by us in the mysteries, is not only the sign of Christ's flesh, but is itself the very flesh of Christ; for He does not say, The bread which I will give, is the sign of My flesh, but, is My flesh. The bread is by a mystical benediction conveyed in unutterable words, and by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, transmuted into the flesh of Christ. But why see we not the flesh? Because, if the flesh were seen, it would revolt us to such a degree, that we should be unable to partake of it. And therefore in condescension to our infirmity, the mystical food is given to us under an appearance suitable to our minds. He gave His flesh for the life of the world, in that, by dying, He destroyed death. By the life of the world too, I understand the resurrection; our Lord's death having brought about the resurrection of the whole human race. It may mean too the sanctified, beatified, spiritual life; for though all have not attained to this life, yet our Lord gave Himself for the world, and, as far as lies in Him, the whole world is sanctified.

AUG. But when does flesh receive the bread which He calls His flesh? The faithful know and receive the Body of Christ, if they labor to be the body of Christ. And they become the body of Christ, if they study to live by the Spirit of Christ: for that which lives by the Spirit of Christ, is the body of Christ. This bread the Apostle sets forth, where he says, We being many are one body. O sacrament of mercy, O sign of unity, O bond of love! Whoso wishes to live, let him draw nigh, believe, be incorporated, that he may be quickened.

52. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
53. Then Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
54. Whoso eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

AUG. The Jews not understanding what was the bread of A peace, strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us His flesh to eat? Whereas they who eat the bread strive not among themselves, for God makes them to dwell together in unity.

BEDE. The Jews thought that our Lord would divide His flesh into pieces, and give it them to eat: and so mistaking Him, strove.

CHRYS. AS they thought it impossible that He should do as He said, i.e. give them His flesh to eat, He shows them that it was not only possible, but necessary: Then said Jesus to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

AUG. As if He said, The sense in which that bread is eaten, and the mode of eating it, you know not; but, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

BEDE And that this might not seem addressed to them alone, He declares universally, Whoso eats My flash, and drinks My blood, has eternal life.

AUG. And that they might not understand him to speak of this life, and make that an occasion of striving, He adds, has eternal life. This then he has not who eats not that flesh, nor drinks that blood. The temporal life men may have without Him, the eternal they cannot. This is not true of material food. If we do not take that indeed, we shall not live, neither do we live, if we take it: for either disease, or old age, or some accident kills us after all. Whereas this meat and drink, i.e. the Body and Blood of Christ, is such that he that takes it not has not life, and he that takes it has life, even life eternal.

THEOPHYL. For it is not the flesh of man simply, but of God: and it makes man divine, by inebriating him, as it were, with divinity.

AUG. There are some who promise men deliverance from eternal punishment, if they are washed in Baptism and partake of Christ's Body, whatever lives they live. The Apostle however contradicts them, where he says, The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkeness, revelings, and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Let us examine what is meant here. He who is in the unity of His body, (i.e. one of the Christian members,) the Sacrament of which body the faithful receive when they communicate at the Altar; he is truly said to eat the body, and drink the blood of Christ. And heretics and schismatics, who are cut off from the unity of the body, may receive the same Sacrament; but it does not profit them, may, rather is hurtful, as tending to make their judgment heavier, or their forgiveness later. Nor ought they to feel secure in their abandoned and damnable ways, who, by the iniquity of their lives, desert righteousness, i.e. Christ; either by fornication, or other sins of the like kind. Such are not to be said to eat the body of Christ; forasmuch as they are not to be counted among the members of Christ For, not to mention other things, men cannot be members of Christ, and at the same time members of an harlot.

AUG. By this meat and drink then, He would have us understand the society of His body, and His members, which is the Church, in the predestined, and called, and justified, and glorified saints and believers. The Sacrament whereof, i.e. Of the unity of the body and blood of Christ, is administered, in some places daily, in others on such and such days from the Lord's Table: and from the Lord's Table it is received by some to their salvation, by others to their condemnation. But the thing itself of which this is the Sacrament, is for our salvation to every one who partakes of it, for condemnation to none. To prevent us supposing that those who, by virtue of that meat and drink, were promised eternal life, would not die in the body, Ho adds, And I will raise him up at the last day; i.e. to that eternal life, a spiritual rest, which the spirits of the Saints enter into. But neither shall the body be defrauded of eternal life, but shall be endowed With it at the resurrection of the dead in the last day.

55. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56. He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him.
57. As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eats me, even he shall live by me.
58. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eats of this bread shall live for ever.

BEDE. He had said above, Whoso eats My flesh and drinks My blood, has eternal life: and now to show the great difference between bodily meat and drink, and the spiritual mystery of His body and blood, Ho adds, For My flesh its meat indeed, and My blood its drink indeed.

CHRYS. i.e. this is no enigma, or parable, but you must really eat the body of Christ; or He means to say that the true meat was He who saved the soul.

AUG. Or thus: Whereas men desire meat and drink to satisfy hunger and thirst, this effect is only really produced by that meat and drink, which makes the receivers of it immortal and incorruptible; i.e. the society of Saints, where is peace and unity, full and perfect. On which account our Lord has chosen for the types of His body and blood, things which become one out of many. Bread is a quantity of grains united into one mass, wine a quantity of grapes squeezed together. Then He explains what it is to eat His body and drink His blood: He that eats My flesh, and drinks My blood, dwells in Me, and I in him. So then to partake of that meat and that drink, is to dwell in Christ and Christ in you. He that dwells not in Christ, and in whom Christ dwells not, neither eats His flesh, nor drinks His blood: but rather eats and drinks the sacrament of it to his own damnation.

CHRYS. Or, having given a promise of eternal life to those that eat Him, He says this to confirm it: He that eats My flesh, and drinks My blood, dwells in Me, and I in him.

AUG. As for those, as indeed there are many, who either eat that flesh and drink that blood hypocritically, or, who having eaten, become apostates, do they dwell in Christ, and Christ in them? Nay, but there is a certain mode of eating that flesh, and drinking that blood, in the which he that eats and drinks, dwells in Christ, and Christ in him.

AUG. That is to say, such an one eats the body and drinks the blood of Christ not in the sacramental sense, but in reality.

CHRYS. And because I live, it is manifest that he will live also: As the living Father has sent Me, and I live by the Father, even so he that eats Me, even he shall live by Me. As if He said, As the Father lives, so do I live; adding, lest you should think Him unbegotten, By the Father, meaning that He has His source in the Father. He that eats Me, even he shall live by Me; the life here meant is not life simply, but the justified life: for even unbelievers live, who never eat of that flesh at all. Nor is it of the general resurrection He speaks, (for all will rise again,) but of the resurrection to glory, and reward.

AUG. He said not, As I eat the Father, and live by the Father, so he that eats Me, even he shall live by Me. For the Son does not grow better by partaking of the Father, as we do by partaking of the Son, i.e. of His one body and blood, which this eating and drinking signifies. So that His saying, I live by the Father, because He is from Him, must not be understood as detracting from His equality. Nor do the words, Even he that eats Me, the same shall live by Me, give us the equality that He has. He does not equalize, but only mediates between God and man. If, however, we understand the words, I live by the Father, in the sense of those below, My Father is greater than I, then it is as if He said, That I live by the Father, i.e. refer my life to Him, as my superior, my humiliation in my incarnation is the cause; but He who lives by Me, lives by Me by virtue of partaking of My flesh.

HILARY. Of the truth then of the body and blood of Christ, no room for doubting remains: for, by the declaration of our Lord Himself, and by the teaching of our own faith, the flesh is really flesh, and the blood really blood. This then is our principle of life. While we are in the flesh, Christ dwells in us by His flesh. And we shall live by Him, according as He lives. If then we live naturally by partaking of Him according to the flesh, He also lives naturally by the indwelling of the Father according to the Spirit. His birth did not give Him an alien or different nature from the Father.

AUG. That we who cannot obtain eternal life of ourselves, might live by the eating that bread, He descended from heaven: This is the bread which comes down from heaven.

HILARY. He calls Himself the bread, because He is the origin of His own body. And lest it should be thought that the virtue and nature of the Word had given way to the flesh, He calls the bread His flesh, that, inasmuch as the bread came down from heaven, it might be seen that His body was not of human conception, but a heavenly body. To say that the bread is His own, is to declare that the Word assumed His body Himself.

THEOPHYL. For we do not eat God simply, God being impalpable and incorporeal; nor again, the flesh of man simply, which would not profit us. But God having taken flesh into union with Himself; that flesh is quickening. Not that it has changed its own for the Divine nature; but, just as heated iron remains iron, with the action of the heat in it; so our Lord's flesh is quickening, as being the flesh of the Word of God.

BEDE. And to show the wide interval between the shadow and the light, the type and the reality, He adds, Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eats of this bread shall live for ever.

AUG. The death here meant is death eternal. For even those who eat Christ are subject to natural death; but they live for ever, because Christ is everlasting life.

CHRYS. For if it was possible without harvest or fruit of the earth, or any such thing, to preserve the lives of the Israelites of old for forty years, much more will He be able to do this with that spiritual food, of which the manna is the type. He knew how precious a thing life was in men's eyes, and therefore repeats His promise of life often; just as the Old Testament had done; only that it only offered length of life, He life without end. This promise was an abolition of that sentence of death, which sin had brought upon us. These things said He in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum; where many displays of His power took place. He taught in the synagogue and in the temple, with the view of attracting the multitude, and as a sign that He was not acting in opposition to the Father.

Catena Aurea John 6

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for:June 22, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who in this wonderful Sacrament have left us a memorial of your Passion, grant us, we pray, so to revere the sacred mysteries of your Body and Blood that we may always experience in ourselves the fruits of your redemption. Who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, on God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

o Lebkuchen I

ACTIVITIES

o Corpus Christi Hymns

o Corpus Christi Processions

o Customs for the Feast of Corpus Christi

o Eucharist Hymn: Adoro Te Devote - Hidden God

o Eucharist Hymn: Ave Verum Corpus

o Eucharist Hymn: Pange Lingua

o Eucharist Hymn: Sacris Solemniis - At This Our Solemn Feast

o Eucharist Hymn: Tantum Ergo - Down in Adoration Falling

o Eucharist Hymn: Verbum Supernum - The Word of God

o History of Corpus Christi Processions

o Stitching Feast-Day Symbols

PRAYERS

o Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Easter (1st Plan)

o Litany of the Most Blessed Sacrament

o Chaplet of the Blessed Sacrament

o Novena Honoring the Body and Blood of Christ

o A Prayer to Jesus in the Tabernacle

o Adoration Prayer

o Eucharistic Procession on the Feast of Corpus Christi

o Novena for Corpus Christi

o Novena to the Sacred Heart

LIBRARY

o The Eucharist: To Be Loved and To Be Lived | Bishop Thomas J. Tobin

o The Sacrament of the Eucharist | Rev. G. D. Smith D.D., Ph.D.

· Ordinary Time: June 22nd

· Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Old Calendar: Second Sunday after Pentecost ; Other Titles: Corpus Christi

"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.'"

Where the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ is not observed as a holy day, it is assigned to the Sunday after Trinity Sunday, which is then considered its proper day in the calendar.

Please see this special section on Corpus Christi.

Today is the Optional Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, bishop and confessor; Optional Memorial of Sts. John Fisher, bishop and martyr and Thomas More, martyr which is superseded by the Sunday Liturgy.

Corpus Christi Sunday
Corpus Christi (Body and Blood of Christ) is a Eucharistic solemnity, or better, the solemn commemoration of the institution of that sacrament. It is, moreover, the Church's official act of homage and gratitude to Christ, who by instituting the Holy Eucharist gave to the Church her greatest treasure. Holy Thursday, assuredly, marks the anniversary of the institution, but the commemoration of the Lord's passion that very night suppresses the rejoicing proper to the occasion. Today's observance, therefore, accents the joyous aspect of Holy Thursday.

The Mass and the Office for the feast was edited or composed by St. Thomas Aquinas upon the request of Pope Urban IV in the year 1264. It is unquestionably a classic piece of liturgical work, wholly in accord with the best liturgical traditions. . . It is a perfect work of art.

— Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

In the words of St. Thomas:

"How inestimable a dignity, beloved brethren, divine bounty has bestowed upon us Christians from the treasury of its infinite goodness! For there neither is nor ever has been a people to whom the gods were so nigh as our Lord and God is nigh unto us.

"Desirous that we be made partakers of His divinity, the only-begotten Son of God has taken to Himself our nature so that having become man, He would be enabled to make men gods. Whatever He assumed of our nature He wrought unto our salvation. For on the altar of the Cross He immolated to the Father His own Body as victim for our reconciliation and shed His blood both for our ransom and for our regeneration. Moreover, in order that a remembrance of so great benefits may always be with us, He has left us His Body as food and His Blood as drink under appearances of bread and wine.

"O banquet most precious! O banquet most admirable! O banquet overflowing with every spiritual delicacy! Can anything be more excellent than this repast, in which not the flesh of goats and heifers, as of old, but Christ the true God is given us for nourishment? What more wondrous than this holy sacrament! In it bread and wine are changed substantially, and under the appearance of a little bread and wine is had Christ Jesus, God and perfect Man. In this sacrament sins are purged away, virtues are increased, the soul is satiated with an abundance of every spiritual gift. No other sacrament is so beneficial. Since it was instituted unto the salvation of all, it is offered by Holy Church for the living and for the dead, that all may share in its treasures.

"My dearly beloved, is it not beyond human power to express the ineffable delicacy of this sacrament in which spiritual sweetness is tasted in its very source, in which is brought to mind the remembrance of that all-excelling charity which Christ showed in His sacred passion? Surely it was to impress more profoundly upon the hearts of the faithful the immensity of this charity that our loving Savior instituted this sacrament at the last supper when, having celebrated the Pasch with His disciples. He was about to leave the world and return to the Father. It was to serve as an unending remembrance of His passion, as the fulfillment of ancient types — this the greatest of His miracles. To those who sorrow over His departure He has given a unique solace."

Symbols: The usual symbol for the Holy Eucharist is a chalice, with a host rising out of it.

The chalice is shown with a hexagonal base, as a rule, symbolizing the Six Attributes of the Deity (power, wisdom, majesty, mercy, justice and love), and with a richly wrought stem of gold, studded with precious stones. The host is shown as the typical circular wafer, upon which may be imprinted the letters I. N. R. I., from which proceed rays of light, symbolical of the Real Presence, the substantial presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine.

An altar, upon which is set a cross, two or more candles in their tall candlesticks, a chalice and a ciborium, is another symbol often seen.

Things to Do:

The Directory on Popular Piety explains Eucharistic devotion and Eucharistic adoration.
Encourage your pastor to have a Eucharist Procession on the Feast of Corpus Christi.
Freshly baked bread would be a key dish at your celebratory Sunday dinner, as bread has always been symbolic for life giving and nourishment, as is the Eucharist. We have also highlighted a Christmas cookie recipe called Lebkuchen (life cake), which is rich in symbolism.
Two newer church documents to read:

The fourteenth encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II Ecclesia de Eucharistia (On the Eucharist in Its Relationship to the Church) released on Holy Thursday, April 17, 2003. The focus of the papal encyclical is the celebration of the Eucharist; the Pope reminds us that the Eucharist is the center of Catholic spiritual life.

Redemptionis Sacramentum (On certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist), an Instruction released by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on March 25, 2004.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)

Be careful not to forget the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:11)

The Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, and Moses wanted to make sure that they would stay faithful to God once they were established in their new home. So he gathered them together and recounted all that God had done for them during their desert journey.

Moses recalled the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. He reminded them that during their years of wandering the desert, “the clothing did not fall from you in tatters, nor did your feet swell” (Deuteronomy 8:4). And most important, he reminded them how God had fed them every day with manna. If they could just remember God’s goodness, the people would be more willing to serve the Lord and put their trust in him.

Fast-forward to the Last Supper, when Jesus first instituted the Eucharist, telling us, “Do this in memory of me” (Luke 22:19). Just as Moses told the Israelites, Jesus now asks us to remember him and his goodness. He wants us to keep in mind all that the Mass represents: his incarnation as a man, his teachings, his mercy, his miracles, and his death and resurrection. He has told us that as we break the bread in memory of him, he will be with us, feeding us with his own divine life and grace.

How blessed we are! The manna sustained the Israelites during their earthly journey, but Jesus’ bread of life sustains us for eternal life. The manna came from heaven down to earth, but the bread of life comes from the earth and lifts us up to heaven. The manna reminded the people of the Lord, but the bread of life is the Lord.

So when you receive Communion today, remember who you are receiving and what he did for you—and don’t forget it for the rest of the day! Remembering will help you stay focused on your eternal heritage. It will help you obey God’s commands. And most important, it will convince you that nothing can separate you from the love of God!

“Jesus, help me to remember your love today and every day.”

Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; John 6:51-58

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)

Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion

(Deuteronomy 8:2-3,14-16; Psalm 147:12-15,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; John 6:51-58)

1. The first reading tells us to “remember” what the Lord has done for us and not to “forget” him. And yet it is so easy “forget” his great love for us when we are going through a difficult time. We can often receive the Eucharist in a blank or unfocused manner. How would you describe what Jesus did for you on the Cross? How can you better use your memory of the Lord’s great love for you, and what he has done for you through his death and resurrection, in preparing to receive Christ in the Eucharist?

2. We are also told we are to be fed by “every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord”. What steps can you take to better incorporate Scripture reading in your day and “remember” them during the day?

3. The responsorial psalm tells of all the wonderful things God has done: he has “strengthened,” “blessed,” “granted peace,” and “proclaimed his word” to us. And “with the best of wheat he fills” us. The word “eucharist” means thanksgiving. What are the things you are thankful to the Lord for?

4. In the second reading from the letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul says that because we all partake of the same loaf, “we, though many, are one body.” What do these words mean to you, especially when you consider our “separated brethren” in other denominations or divisions within our family and parish, and among friends, colleagues, and neighbors? What impact do you think praying for those you are “separated” from will have on future reconciliation? Are you willing to create a list of people to pray for who are separated from you? If not, why not?

5. In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells us that “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” What are the little things you can do during the day to make yourself more aware of Jesus’ presence in you?

6. The meditation reminds us that when we receive Communion to “remember who you are receiving and what he did for you—and don’t forget it for the rest of the day!” It goes on to say that this “Remembering will help you stay focused on your eternal heritage. It will help you obey God’s commands. And most important, it will convince you that nothing can separate you from the love of God!” What steps can you take before Mass to increase your own “remembering” of what you are receiving? What steps can you take after Mass?

7. Take some time now to pray that you would experience more deeply what you are receiving in the Eucharist. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as the starting point.

A Christian Pilgrim

CORPUS CHRISTI OR THE BODY OF CHRIST

(A biblical reflection on the Solemnity of THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST – Sunday, 22 June 2014)

Gospel Reading: John 6:51-58

First Reading: Deuteronomy 8:2-3,14-16; Psalms: Psalm 147:12-15,19-20, Second Reading: 1Corinthians 10:16-17

The Scripture Text
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you; he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.” (John 6:51-58 RSV)

One of the most pleasant and natural reasons for families and friends to gather together is to share a meal. This has been a universal custom since the beginning of history.

The ancient Hebrews, with their profound familial and religious practices, found many occasions to assemble around their sacred banquet tables. A very significant meal was the one to celebrate the Passover, which commemorated their deliverance from slavery.

Jesus and His apostles, faithful to their Jewish heritage, also observed the Passover each year. It was in conjunction with the Passover festival that Jesus initiated another sacred meal, the Last Supper. “Do this in memory of me” are solemn words which Christians have always observed, honoring and fulfilling the command of the Savior, given the night before He died. When we assemble at Mass, we celebrate and perpetuate this directive of Jesus, spoken at the original Holy Thursday meal.

The feast of Corpus Christi, observed today, calls our attention to the dignity of the Last Supper and the precious heritage of the Lord’s presence in our midst when we gather in faith around His table. It is the body of the risen Lord which we receive, and we are humbly reminded of His eternal love for each of us. His power, wisdom and friendship come to us in the reception of the Bread of Life.

The Holy Eucharist helps the faithful to remember the good times of the past, but is much more than that. It is the real presence of the Risen Lord abiding with His people in His glorified body. It’s His unique way to be with us always.

1. Corpus Christi evokes memories from the Upper Room, the multiplication of the loaves, the manna in the desert and more. It’s a memorial of the past.
2. Corpus Christi speaks to the present. Jesus said, “I am the living bread.” That is, right now, today. Through my reception of the Living Bread, I am being strengthened this very moment.
3. Corpus Christi carries a future promise, an everlasting pledge: “Anyone who eats this bread will live forever.”

Short Prayer: Lord Jesus, I give my life to You by receiving Your precious body and blood in the depths of my heart. I give You the freedom to have Your way in every area of my life. Thank You for loving me and wanting to live within me. Amen.

Sunday Scripture Study

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) - Cycle A

June 22, 2014

Click here for USCCB readings

Opening Prayer

First Reading: Deuteronomy 8:2-3,14b-16a

Psalm: 147:12-15,19-20

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:16-17

Gospel Reading: John 6:51-58

On the heels of his miracle of the feeding of the 5000 (John 6:1-15), Jesus delivers his “bread of life” discourse in the synagogue at the seaside village of Capernaum (verse 59). The time is Passover (verse 4), one year before his Passion, death, and Resurrection.

In the first part of the discourse (verses 35-47), Jesus invites his listeners to have faith in him. Their main objections at this point are his claim to have come down from heaven (verses 33, 41-42) and his claim to be able to raise them on the last day (verse 35)—something he could only do if he were God.

The second part of his address (verses 48-58) consists of an invitation to the Eucharist, the partaking of his body and blood. His hearers are revolted by the idea, understanding him—correctly—as speaking literally (this is evident by their reactions in verses 52, 60, 66). Later, some of these hearers—including many of his disciples (verses 60, 66) including Judas (verses 64-65, 70-71)—“no longer accompanied him” because of this teaching. Only those who trusted in him completely, though they were as bewildered as the others, stayed with him (verses 67-69).

QUESTIONS:

In the 1st Reading, what was the reason God gave the manna to the Israelites as they wandered through the wilderness for 40 years? What does he say their response should be?

In the 2nd reading, St. Paul is warning the Corinthians not to mix the Eucharist and pagan sacrifices (verses 1-15). What does this say about the Eucharist? About those that receive it?

In the Gospel Reading, who is Jesus speaking to? What great miracle has he just performed? Where does this discourse take place (verse 59)? What does he say about the city in which he is speaking (Matthew 11:22ff) and how they received his message?

What are the blessings of following Jesus’ commands to eat his flesh and drink his blood (verses 51, 54, 56-58)? What is the consequence for those who don’t (verse 53)? According to Jesus’ promise in this passage, when does eternal life begin if you eat his flesh?

What happens if the Flesh and Blood of Christ is received unworthily (1 Corinthians 11:27-30; CCC 1385)? What should be our attitude when we partake of the Eucharist?

How often do you go to Communion? What is your experience of God’s life when you do? If you are unable to receive Communion at this time, how important is it for you work towards that goal? What will be lacking in your spiritual life if you don’t?

Closing Prayer

Catechism of the Catholic Church: §§ 787, 2837, 1322-1419

God in his omnipotence could not give more, in His wisdom He knew not how to give more, in His riches He had not more to give, than the Eucharist. -St. Augustine

Part 3: Life in Christ (1691 - 2557)

Section 1: Man's Vocation — Life in the Spirit (1699 - 2051)

Chapter 1: The Dignity of the Human Person (1700 - 1876)

Article 2: Our Vocation to Beatitude (1716 - 1729)

I. THE BEATITUDES ⇡

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The Beatitudes are at the heart of Jesus' preaching. They take up the promises made to the chosen people since Abraham. The Beatitudes fulfill the promises by ordering them no longer merely to the possession of a territory, but to the Kingdom of heaven: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward is great in heaven.¹²

12.

Mt 5:3-12.

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The Beatitudes depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity. They express the vocation of the faithful associated with the glory of his Passion and Resurrection; they shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian life; they are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations; they proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ's disciples; they have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary and all the saints.

II. THE DESIRE FOR HAPPINESS ⇡

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The Beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness. This desire is of divine origin: God has placed it in the human heart in order to draw man to the One who alone can fulfill it: We all want to live happily; in the whole human race there is no one who does not assent to this proposition, even before it is fully articulated.¹³

How is it, then, that I seek you, Lord? Since in seeking you, my God, I seek a happy life, let me seek you so that my soul may live, for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you.¹⁴

God alone satisfies.¹⁵

13.

St. Augustine, De moribus eccl. 1,3,4:PL 32,1312.

14.

St. Augustine, Conf. 10,20:PL 32,791.

15.

St. Thomas Aquinas, Expos. in symb. apost. I.

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The Beatitudes reveal the goal of human existence, the ultimate end of human acts: God calls us to his own beatitude. This vocation is addressed to each individual personally, but also to the Church as a whole, the new people made up of those who have accepted the promise and live from it in faith.

The Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano

Pastor’s Column

Corpus Christi

June 22, 2014

One of my favorite Eucharistic Miracles, and the most famous of them all, is the Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano, Italy. Almost 1300 years ago a priest was celebrating mass, just as we do today. But he had doubts – could it be that our Lord is really present in the bread and the wine? “How can this be?” he asked himself – and he asked our Lord for a sign to help them with the unbelief that he was struggling with.

Then, at the consecration, as happens in every Catholic Mass, the bread turned into Christ’s body and the wine into his blood. Of course, it is our belief as Catholics that this happens every time we celebrate Mass – though we don’t always see a miracle in the physical sense. But this time, the change became visible – the flesh became real, the blood became real. It was a Eucharistic miracle; everything was visible to all who were in attendance at the miracle that day.

I want to tell you a few details about this miracle because I believe our Lord provided this precisely for us in our scientific age. In 1970, the Archbishop of Lanciano submitted the miracle to a very detailed scientific analysis. What was determined was that the 1300 year-old Eucharist was one continuous piece of authentic human flesh consisting of a human heart muscle, shaped in such a way that would have been next to impossible to have done in the 9th century!

The “miraculous blood” is truly human blood as well. In both the flesh and the blood we find the same blood type – AB-- which is the most common blood type for those human beings of Middle Eastern origin. The blood contains proteins that are distributed in exactly the same proportions as normal fresh blood would have. In all, over 500 tests were performed. The conclusion was that in no way could the flesh in Lanciano and the blood be likened to embalmed tissue. There was no evidence of any sort of preservative or embalming type fluids used. In fact, there is no scientific explanation as to why this flesh and blood is still with us at all, for any normal flesh and blood without preservatives would have deteriorated long ago.

Considering that it was unprotected in any way to the elements, other than a glass case, makes it even more inexplicable. We are connected in time and space with the people who assisted at this Mass in Lanciano so many years ago because there is really only ONE Mass and ONE Sacrifice, that of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every Mass is a re-presentation of the last supper, brought to our time so that all Christians might be sacramentally present with him on that Holy Thursday night and later, on the cross.

Father Gary

Insight Scoop

The new manna, the Eucharist, is supernatural food given for supernatural life

Detail from "Institution of the Eucharist" (1441) by Fra Angelico (www.wikiart.org)

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, June 22, 2014 | Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Dt 8:2-3, 14b-16a
• Psa 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
• 1 Cor 10:16-17
• Jn 6:51-58

In my late teens I began to have questions about the beliefs and practices of the small Fundamentalist Bible chapel—co-founded by my parents—I had attended most of my life. Many of these questions were only half-formed at the time, but later came into sharper focus, causing me to critically rethink much I had been taught.

Why was it, I wondered, I had heard several sermons about Rahab the harlot (Josh 2 and 6), but only one about Mary, the mother of Jesus? Why did we celebrate Easter and the Resurrection of Christ, but ignored Good Friday and the commemoration of his death? And why did we celebrate the Lord’s Supper each Sunday, but always emphasized that our communion service was only “symbolic” in nature?

This latter topic was especially vexing. And it became even more troubling after I attended an Evangelical Bible college for two years. I heard sermons and lectures about the miraculous gift of the manna (Ex 16; Num 11), but I don’t recall ever hearing a sermon or lecture about the final twenty verses of the sixth chapter of John. That passage fascinated and troubled me. I read it again and again, mulling over the stunning words, heard in today’s Gospel reading, uttered by Jesus: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”

John 6, especially verses 51-71, was the most bothersome passage in the Bible for me as a Protestant. That section of Scripture played an essential role in the decision my wife and I made to become Catholic, entering the Church together in 1997. Yes, there were many other important issues, including Church authority, history, Mary, and the other sacraments. But at the heart of our hunger was a desire for the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

“For my flesh is true food,” Jesus told his disciples and the others listening to him, “and my blood is true drink.” I became convinced of what the Church taught—and had taught for two thousand years—about the Real Presence: “In the Eucharist Christ gives us the very body which he gave up for us on the cross, the very blood which he ‘poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, par 1365).

Four times in John 6 the words “Amen, amen” (or “Truly, truly) are uttered by Jesus (vs 26, 32, 47, 53). Each signifies a transition and a teaching of great importance; each is a deeper revelation into the person and work of Christ. First, Jesus rebuked the people for seeking only after earthly, temporal food—they instead should believe in him (v. 29). Secondly, Jesus emphasized that it is his Father, not Moses, who gave the manna in the desert. Third, Jesus strongly stated that belief in him is eternal life (v. 47) and that he is “the bread of life” (v. 48). He then announced, to the amazement of those present, that the bread he referred to is his flesh. “This is the bread that came down from heaven,” Jesus stated, “Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

Jesus had fed the people real bread (Jn 6:1-14). He then offered real, eternal life to those who believed in him. And then he offered his real flesh as food and his real blood as drink. Natural food, of course, sustains natural life. And the manna, although given in a miraculous manner, was still natural food for natural life. But the new manna, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, is supernatural food given for supernatural life. This new manna, the Eucharist, is “the source and summit of the Christian life” (CCC 1324). It is, as Paul wrote the Corinthians, participation in the blood and body of Christ.

It is, for me, no longer bothersome, but still stunning.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the May 25, 2008, issue of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

Vultus Christi

750th Anniversary of the Institution of the Feast of Corpus Domini

Tuesday, 17 June 2014 07:46

In preparation for the festival of Corpus Christi, it is fitting to re–read Pope Benedict’s discourse on Saint Juliana and the origins of the feast.

Wednesday, 17 November 2010
General Audience

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Woman at the Origin of the Feast of Corpus Christi

This morning, too, I would like to present to you a little-known woman to whom, however, the Church owes great recognition, not only because of the holiness of her life, but also because, with her great fervor, she contributed to the institution of one of the most important liturgical solemnities of the year, that of Corpus Christi. She is St. Juliana of Cornillon, known also as St. Juliana of Liege. We have certain details of her life above all from a biography probably written by an ecclesiastic contemporary of hers, in which are gathered several testimonies from people who knew the saint directly.

A Eucharistic Cenacle

Juliana was born between 1191 and 1192 in the neighborhood of Liege, in Belgium. It is important to stress this place, because at that time the Diocese of Liege was, so to speak, a true “Eucharistic cenacle.” Before Juliana, eminent theologians had illustrated the supreme value of the sacrament of the Eucharist and, always at Liege, there were women’s groups generously dedicated to Eucharistic worship and to fervent communion. Led by exemplary priests, they lived together, dedicating themselves to prayer and to charitable works.

Lo, I Am With You Always

Orphaned at 5 years of age, Juliana and her sister Agnes were entrusted to the care of the Augustinian nuns of the convent-leper hospital of Mont Cornillon. She was educated above all by a sister named Sapienza, who followed her spiritual maturation, until Juliana herself received the religious habit and became as well an Augustinian nun. She acquired notable learning, to the point that she read the works of the Fathers of the Church in Latin, in particular St. Augustine and St. Bernard. In addition to keen intelligence, Juliana showed from the beginning a particular propensity for contemplation; she had a profound sense of the presence of Christ, which she experienced by living in a particularly intense way the sacrament of the Eucharist and pausing often to meditate on the words of Jesus: “And lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

The Vision
At 16 she had her first vision, which was then repeated many times in her Eucharistic adorations. The vision showed the moon in its full splendor, with a dark strip that crossed it diametrically. The Lord made her understand the meaning of what had appeared to her. The moon symbolized the life of the Church on earth; but the opaque line represented the absence of a liturgical feast. Juliana was asked to do her utmost in an effective way to bring about its institution: a feast, namely, in which believers would be able to adore the Eucharist to increase their faith, advance in the practice of virtue and make reparation for offenses to the Most Holy Sacrament.

For about 20 years Juliana, who in the meantime had become prioress of the convent, kept secret this revelation, which had filled her heart with joy. Then she confided in two other fervent adorers of the Eucharist, Blessed Eva, who led an eremitical life, and Isabella, who had joined her in the monastery of Mont Cornillon. The three women established a sort of “spiritual alliance” for the purpose of glorifying the Most Holy Sacrament. They wished to involve also a much esteemed priest, John of Lausanne, canon of the church of St. Martin in Liege, asking him to question theologians and ecclesiastics about what they had in their hearts. The answers were positive and encouraging.

Friendship and Encounters With Other Good Souls

What happened to Juliana of Cornillon is frequently repeated in the life of saints: to have the confirmation that an inspiration comes from God, it is always necessary to be immersed in prayer, to be able to wait with patience, to seek friendship and encounters with other good souls, and to subject everything to the judgment of the pastors of the Church. It was, in fact, the bishop of Liege, Robert of Thourotte, who, after initial hesitations, took up this proposal from Juliana and her companions, and instituted, for the first time, the solemnity of Corpus Domini in his diocese. Later, other bishops imitated him, establishing the same feast in territories entrusted to their pastoral care.

Death in the Presence of the Divine Sacrament

To saints, however, the Lord often asks that they overcome trials, so that their faith is enhanced. This happened also to Juliana, who had to suffer the harsh opposition of some members of the clergy and even of the superior on whom her monastery depended. Then, of her own volition, Juliana left the convent of Mont Cornillon with some companions, and for 10 years, from 1248 to 1258, was a guest of several monasteries of Cistercian Sisters. She edified everyone with her humility; she never had words of criticism or rebuke for her adversaries, but continued to spread with zeal Eucharistic worship. She died in 1258 in Fosses-La-Ville, in Belgium. In the cell where she lay the Most Blessed Sacrament was exposed and, according to the words of her biographer, Juliana died contemplating with a last outburst of love the Eucharistic Jesus, whom she had always loved, honored and adored.

Corpus Domini and Pope Urban IV

Won over also to the good cause of the feast of Corpus Domini was Giacomo Pantaleon of Troyes, who had known the saint during his ministry as archdeacon in Liege. He, in fact, having become Pope in 1264 and taking the name Urban IV, instituted the solemnity of Corpus Domini as a feast of obligation for the universal Church, the Thursday after Pentecost. In the Bull of institution, titled “Transiturus de hoc mundo” (Aug. 11, 1264), Pope Urban also re-evoked with discretion the mystical experiences of Juliana, giving value to their authenticity. He wrote: “Although the Eucharist is celebrated solemnly every day, we hold it right that, at least once a year, there be a more honored and solemn memoria of it. The other things, in fact, of which we make memoria, we do so with the spirit and with the mind, but we do not obtain, because of this, their real presence. On the other hand, in this sacramental commemoration of Christ, Jesus Christ is present with us in his substance, even if under another form. In fact, while he was about to ascend to heaven he said: “And lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Miracle of Bolsena

The Pontiff himself wished to give an example, celebrating the solemnity of Corpus Domini in Orvieto, the city where he then dwelled. By his order, in fact, the famous corporal with the traces of the Eucharistic miracle that happened the previous year, in 1263, in Bolsena, is the kept in the cathedral of the city — and it is still kept there. [The miracle was this:] While a priest consecrated the bread and the wine, he was prey to strong doubts about the real presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Miraculously some drops of blood began to spurt from the consecrated Host, confirming in that way what our faith professes. Urban IV asked one of the greatest theologians of history, St. Thomas Aquinas — who at that time was accompanying the Pope and was in Orvieto — to compose texts of the liturgical office for this great feast. These are masterpieces in which theology and poetry fuse, still in use today in the Church. They are texts that make the cords of the heart vibrate to express praise and gratitude to the Most Holy Sacrament, while the intelligence, penetrating the mystery with wonder, recognizes in the Eucharist the living and true presence of Jesus, of his sacrifice of love that reconciles us with the Father, and gives us salvation.

Even if after the death of Urban IV the celebration of the feast of Corpus Domini was limited to some regions of France, Germany, Hungary and northern Italy, it was again a Pontiff, John XXII, who in 1317 revived it for the whole Church. Henceforth the feast experienced a wonderful development, and is still much appreciated by the Christian people.

A Eucharistic Springtime

I would like to affirm with joy that today in the Church there is a “Eucharistic springtime”: How many persons pause silently before the Tabernacle to spend time in a conversation of love with Jesus! It is consoling to know that not a few groups of young people have rediscovered the beauty of praying in adoration before the Most Blessed Sacrament. I am thinking, for example, of our Eucharistic adoration in Hyde Park, in London.

An Inexhaustible Source of Holiness

I pray so that this Eucharistic “springtime” will spread increasingly in every parish, in particular in Belgium, the homeland of St. Juliana. The Venerable John Paul II, in the encyclical “Ecclesia de Eucharistia,” said: “In many places, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is also an important daily practice and becomes an inexhaustible source of holiness. The devout participation of the faithful in the Eucharistic procession on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ is a grace from the Lord which yearly brings joy to those who take part in it. Other positive signs of Eucharistic faith and love might also be mentioned” (No. 10).

Christ Present in a True, Real and Substantial Way

Remembering St. Juliana of Cornillon we also renew our faith in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. As we are taught by the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist in a unique and incomparable way. He is present in a true, real and substantial way, with his Body and his Blood, with his Soul and his Divinity. In the Eucharist, therefore, there is present in a sacramental way, that is, under the Eucharistic species of bread and wine, Christ whole and entire, God and Man” (No. 282).

Through Our Gazing in Adoration

Dear friends, fidelity to the encounter with the Eucharistic Christ in Sunday’s Holy Mass is essential for the journey of faith, but let us try as well to frequently go to visit the Lord present in the Tabernacle! Gazing in adoration at the consecrated Host, we discover the gift of the love of God, we discover the passion and the cross of Jesus, and also his Resurrection. Precisely through our gazing in adoration, the Lord draws us to himself, into his mystery, to transform us as he transforms the bread and wine. The saints always found strength, consolation and joy in the Eucharistic encounter. With the words of the Eucharistic hymn “Adoro te devote,” let us repeat before the Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament: “Make me believe ever more in You, that in You I may have hope, that I may love You!” Thank you.

Vultus Christi

Corpus Domini

Wednesday, 18 June 2014 07:48

Hail, Festival Day!
Hail, Day of Sion’s sweetest hymns!
Hail, Day of timeless adoration!
Hail, Day of lavish jubilation!
Hail, Day of our most fragrant incense!
Hail, Day of flowers strewn before their Maker!
Hail, Day of flames dancing in the presence of the Fire!
Hail, Day of a silence that is song!
Hail Day of a song become silence!
Hail, Day made radiant by the Face that shines like the sun in full strength!
Hail, Day made lovely by the Face of the fairest of the children of men!
Hail, Day rising to see the Face once hidden in the tabernacle of the Virgin’s womb!
Hail, Day rejoicing in the Human Face of God concealed in bread and wine!

Hail, Eucharistic Face reflecting the Glory of the Father
and bearing the very stamp of His nature!
Hail, Eucharistic Face, Living Icon of the Father!
Hail, Eucharistic Face, Epiphany of the Father’s Love!
Hail, Eucharistic Face, Kindly Light amidst the gloom!
Hail, Eucharistic Face of the Crucified in the Sacrament of Your abiding presence!
Hail, Eucharistic Face of Life conquering death!
Hail, Eucharistic Face of Mercy rising in the night with healing in your rays!
Hail, Eucharistic Face, Sweetness leaving no bitterness!

Hail, Eucharistic Face of the Risen One,
filling earth and heaven with glory
from the rising of the sun even to its setting
in the offering of your pure and eternal Oblation!
Hail, Eucharistic Face raising the dead to life!
Hail, Eucharistic Face breathing peace into every troubled place!
Hail, Eucharistic Face, revelation of a Heart full of mercy and ready to forgive!

Hail, Eucharistic Face of the Ascended One!
Hail, Eucharistic Face of the High Priest interceding for us beyond the veil!
Hail, Eucharistic Face of the Victim reconciling heaven and earth!
Hail, Eucharistic Face all ablaze with the Holy Spirit’s fire!
Hail, Eucharistic Face of the King who will return in glory!
Hail, Eucharistic Face hidden from the powerful, the clever, and the wise!
Hail, Eucharistic Face revealed to the pure of heart!
Hail, Eucharistic Face familiar to little children and to those like them!

Hail, Eucharistic Face of the Divine Wayfarer!
Hail, Eucharistic Face, unrecognized and unknown in the midst of men!
Hail, Eucharistic Face shrouded in silence,
and with us always, even unto the consummation of the world!

Hail, God-With-Us!
Hail, God-Turned-Toward-Us!
Hail, God who with immense yearning desire to share your Pasch with us!
Hail, God-in-Search-of-Those-Who-Hunger!
God-in-Search-of-Those-Who-Thirst!
Hail, O inexhaustible and precious Chalice!

Hail, Day of the Altar and of the Blood!
Hail, Day of the new and everlasting covenant!
Hail, Day that calls us anew to obedience:
“All that the Lord has spoken we will do,
and we will be obedient” (Ex 24:7).
“This is my Body which is given for you.
This Chalice poured out for you is the new covenant in my Blood.
Do this in remembrance of me” (cf. Lk 22:19-20).

Hail, Day of the Blood without which there is no pardon!
Hail, Day of the Blood poured out for the refreshment of the weary!
Hail, Day of the Blood that flows, a river of mercy in the wastelands of sin!
Hail, Day of the Blood that vanquishes demons!
Hail, Day of the Blood that consoles in sorrow!
Hail, Day of the Blood that cleanses the entire world of sin!
Hail, Day of the Blood of Christ, Victim and Priest!
Hail, Day of the Blood presented in the sanctuary not made by hands!
Hail, Day of the Blood offered on earth as it is in heaven!

Hail, Precious Chalice lifted up for all to see!
Hail, Precious Chalice, thanksgiving sacrifice worthy of God!
Hail, Precious Chalice held to the lips of the martyrs!
Hail, Precious Chalice strengthening every witness!
Hail, Precious Chalice making pure the impure!
Hail, Precious Chalice containing the Fire of the Divinity!
Hail, Precious Chalice, the antidote for every poison!
Hail, Precious Chalice, the remedy for every ill!

Hail, Day of the Upper Room made ready for eternity!
Hail, Day of the Pasch without end!
Hail, Day of the Bread lifted up in Christ’s holy and venerable hands!
Hail, Day of the blessing uttered by His sacred lips!
Hail, Day of the Body forever given and of the Blood forever poured out!
Hail, Day of the Cenacle opened to every nation on earth!
Hail, Day of the Mystical Supper open to the poor, the sick, the lame, and the blind!
Hail, Day of Heaven’s open door!
Hail, Day of the Supper of the Lamb!

Hail, Day that sees us prostrate before the Eucharistic Face of God!
Hail, Day on which men do the work of Angels!
Hail, Day on which Angels stand amazed
before the Mystery set before the children of men!
Hail, Day that passes too quickly and never passes!
Hail, Day that begins in time the joys of eternity!
Hail, Day that fills the earth with a foretaste of heaven!
Amen. Alleluia.

Vultus Christi

Sit laus plena, sit sonora

Wednesday, 18 June 2014 08:00

A Meditation for Corpus Christi

Remember all the desert way
through which the Lord your God has brought you:
forty years of willful wandering.
Remember the affliction and the testing.
Remember the great and terrible wilderness
wherein there was the serpent burning with his breath,
and the scorpions.
Remember the thirsty ground where there was no water.
Remember who brought you water out of the flinty rock.
Remember who fed you in the wilderness
with manna which your fathers did not know (cf. Dt 8:15-16).

Remember, and out of your remembering
give voice to the Eucharistic amazement
that is what we have in common — O joy! — with all the saints.
Remember the sustenance in full ears of wheat, his gift to you.
Remember the honey dripping from the rock to your heart’s content (cf. Ps. 80:17).

Remember, and out of your remembering
let praises spring high and sweet and clear.
Praises to fill full the church, but even that is not enough.
Praises pouring out the doors,
praises streaming in procession,
touching every blade of grass and every leaf.
Praises stretching into the vastness of the sky overhead,
praises sinking deep into the earth,
praises sent like sparks to the East and to the West, to the North and to the South,
praises to inflame the cosmos with Eucharistic fire.

Remember, Mother Church, the holy and venerable hands,
the hands that, taking bread, broke and gave it,
the hands that have strengthened the bolts of your gates,
the hands that blessed your children within you (cf. Ps 147:12).
Remember the voice of him whose word runs swiftly,
blessing and saying, “Take and eat, this is my Body”;
“This chalice is the new testament in my Blood” (cf. 1 Cor 11:24-25).

Remember the Crucified, the Risen One, the Lord of glory
whose Face alone plants peace in your borders,
whose Heart would save your souls from death,
and feed you in time of famine (cf. Ps 32:19).
Remember his hands, his Face, and his Heart,
remember his words on the night before he suffered,
and out of your remembering, let praise come to flower on your lips.
Praise to fill that Upper Room,
praise to fill the Church,
praise to fall like a balm on every heart that has forgotten
the language of the Great Thanksgiving.

Remember the chalice of blessing
and adore the Blood of Christ.
Remember the bread that we break
and adore the Body of Christ.
Remember the one Bread by which we, though many, are made one (cf. 1 Cor 10:16-17).
Remember the chalice of the Blood
in which every tear of yours dissolves into joy.
Remember the broken Bread by which every brokenness of yours is made whole.
Remember the chalice offered to those who have nothing to offer.
Remember the Bread given to those who have nothing to give.
Remember, and into your remembering
welcome the immensity of a silence that seeks only to adore.
Tacere et adorare!

Adoring silence: liturgy of the angels, language of the prophets, poem of the saints.
Adoring silence: Eucharistic amazement too deep, too wide, too high for words.
Adoring silence spread like a mantle over the sighs and groans of a world
that has forgotten to be still in the presence of the Word.
Adoring silence, well-kept secret of a ceaseless jubilation.
Adoring silence, hidden from the learned and the clever.
Adoring silence cherished by the little ones.
“Yes, Father, for such is your gracious will” (cf. Lk 10:21).

Remember the living Bread which came down from heaven
and eating that Bread, be assumed even now into future glory.
Remember the Flesh of the Word given
in a mystery of word and Spirit, handed over in the Upper Room
Remember the Flesh of the Word lifted to the Father from the altar of the Cross.
Remember the Flesh of the Word drawing all flesh to itself
divine Flesh for the children of Adam,
healing Flesh for Eve’s sorrowing children,
God’s very Flesh for the life of the world.
Remember, and adore.

Remember the chalice that flows and overflows,
the chalice of salvation, the cup of your surpassing joy.
Remember the Blood gushing with the water
from the Open Side.
Remember the Heart’s Blood that to your hearts carries life.
Remember the Chalice that leaves on every tongue the taste of eternity,
and on your lips the lingering sweetness of the Kiss of the Mouth of God.
Remember the fire-filled Chalice,
the Chalice spilling Spirit into every open mouth.

Remember Him on whom you feed;
see him held before your eyes,
raised to the Father in the Holy Spirit,
held out to you, his hunger meeting yours.
Remember, and pronounce the “Amen” for which he waits.
The Amen of your amazement,
the Amen of your joy,
the Amen of your adoring silence.
And listen closely.
To that Amen of yours the Angels add their Alleluia.
Amen, Alleluia.

O Eucharistic adoration of heaven and of earth!
Amen, Alleluia.
Saying all that can be said.
Amen, Alleluia.
O Eucharistic song!
Amen, Alleluia.
Song of angels praising
and of archangels shining together with thrones;
song of dominations bowing low,
and of the awestruck powers;
song of the incandescent seraphim,
and of the heavenly hosts of every rank adoring.
Amen, Alleluia.

Song of the Church today.
Song of the saints dazzling with Christ-Beauty,
song of the least of his brethren
summoned today to stand in his presence,
driven by the Spirit to walk before him,
compelled by love to kneel and to adore.
Corpus Christi. Amen, Alleluia.

Regnum Christi

I Want to Live Forever.
2014-06-22

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

John 6: 51-58

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever."

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, today I renew my faith in your true presence in the Eucharist. I believe you come down from heaven to be present in the host at every Mass and remain with me in the Tabernacle. You are the source of my hope. I long to be more united to you through this gift of yourself.

Petition: Lord, increase my devotion to you in the Eucharist.

1. Fear Not, It Is I: There was a bishop who would jokingly speak about the fact that he was not very good-looking; in fact, he had no problem recognizing that he was quite ugly. One day, a lady who appreciated this very holy man approached him and asked him to sign a photo of him she had just bought. She wanted to frame it and hang it in her living room. The bishop wrote on the photo, “Fear not, it is I.” Even though in the Eucharist we see a piece of bread, through our faith we believe that behind this veil is the body of Christ. So fear not, it is Christ.

2. How Can This Be? The Jews disputed with Jesus about this difficult truth they found extremely hard to accept. So, too, many who go to Mass on Sunday don’t really believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. At times, maybe even we receive the Eucharist with a certain lack of awareness of what we are doing. In this way, just like these Jews, we allow a seed of doubt to enter our hearts. It is important to ask ourselves, “What do I do to ensure that I receive Christ in the Eucharist with the fitting dispositions of fervor, longing, gratitude, self-offering, etc.? Is what I’m presently doing enough?”

3. You Will Never Die: Deep down in the heart of every man, woman and child has a yearning to live forever. On earth, only the Eucharist, Christ himself, can satisfy that thirst for the eternal. That is why we can experience so much peace and joy when we live a true devotion to the Eucharist and receive Our Lord with great reverence, faith and love. Truly, the Eucharist is the bread of life.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I believe, but help my unbelief. Give me your Body in the Eucharist, and grant me the grace to grow every day in my faith in your real presence in the Eucharist.

Resolution: I will try to make it to an additional Mass sometime during the week.

Forgetting to Remember

Dr. Mark Giszczak

June 22, 2014
Corpus Christi
Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a
http://usccb.org/bible/readings/062214.cfm

Too often, we forget. People used to tie strings around their fingers to remember, but now we have all sorts of buzzers, beeps, ringtones, iCals, and even text message reminders to help us remember our appointments, pay our bills on time, and get where we need to go. Remembering, and remembering at the right time, is a perpetual problem. On this Sunday’s feast of Corpus Christi, in the first reading we are reminded to remember—to remember all the great things God has done for us, his people.

Context

The whole book of Deuteronomy portrays Moses’ final pep talk to the people of Israel before they cross the River Jordan to take possession of the Promised Land. He retells the story of the journey through the desert and their deliverance from Egypt. He reminds them of how God has demonstrated his love and power by setting them free and leading them in safety to a new land. He also warns them against forgetting in the future.

Trial by “What’s it?”

Before he encourages the people to look forward, Moses asks them to look back on God’s faithfulness. The Lord tested his people “by affliction,” specifically by the affliction of hunger. They say the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach—I guess God knows this to be true! When we’re physically hungry our will can hit a serious testing point. God tests his people in order to “find out” their intention to keep or to break his commands. After a time of afflicting hunger, he sends heavenly manna to his people.

Now manna in Hebrew simply means “What is it?” because it was a food no one had ever eaten it before. Ironically, even Jesus talks about manna as “bread from heaven” (John 6:32) but here Moses tells us that God sent the manna specifically to show his people that “not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.” The trial of the Israelites by hunger, then by the mysterious “What’s it?” food from the sky was meant to help them recognize their dependence on God for their whole life.

Foreshadowing the True Bread

The Church offers us this reading that mentions manna twice on the feast of Corpus Christi on purpose. Among the many Old Testament “types” for the Eucharist, manna stands out as one that Jesus directly invokes. The lesson of the manna and the lesson of the Eucharist are the same. Each of them is meant to teach us to depend on God, not on ourselves. Each is meant to sustain us for the journey ahead. The Eucharist, the true bread from heaven, as the “source and summit of the Christian life,” fills us with God’s presence and empowers us to walk on the way with Jesus.

A Journey Behind

For the Israelites, their manna-fueled journey was almost at an end. The manna itself would cease coming down as soon as they crossed into the Promised Land. Moses helps them look back on the long journey on which the Lord has sustained them to ready them for the task at hand: conquering the land. By remembering his faithfulness in the past, they can look forward to his saving help in the future. By looking back, they can look forward with hope. But if they forget the Lord, forget his love, forget his faithfulness, then they will falter.

Don’t Forget to Remember

The verses left out of our reading (Deut 8:4-14a) reflect more on the Israelites’ wandering, describe the Promised Land in juicy detail and anticipate the difficulty of remaining faithful to the Lord in the midst of a prosperous future. These verses climax with 8:14b: “Do not forget the Lord, your God.” It might seem kind of funny to say it, but memory is who we are. If we forget whom we love, and who loves us, if we forget the past, we forget who we are. But remembering takes work, repetition, practice. This is why ritual, reading, recalling, and reflecting are so important to us. In fact, the Eucharist itself is a kind of “memory meal.” Jesus tells us to “do this in memory of me.” The Greek word for this kind of remembrance is anamnesis. When we participate in the Mass, we remember what Jesus has done for us, remember how God delivered us from the slavery of sin, remember the journey he has led us on and look forward to the journey to come.

So while it’s true that all our cell phone apps and widgets that help us remember can distract us from God, perhaps they also could help us not to forget to remember who it is that put us here in the first place.

Scripture Speaks: The Body & Blood

Gayle Somers

When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to His followers to give them the divine life of the Trinity. Why, then, did He also give them a meal of Bread and Wine to attain eternal life?

Gospel (Read Jn 6:51-58)

Our Easter lectionary readings moved us through Christ’s Resurrection, Ascension, and the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Last Sunday, we celebrated the Most Holy Trinity, because we understood, from all that history, that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; from the beginning, all Three Persons have lovingly worked to restore us to the life for which we were designed. We might, therefore, conclude that the history is now liturgically complete. Yet today, the Church calls us to another solemnity. In our readings, we are pondering the mystery of the Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord in the Eucharist. This meal raises a question: If we now have the Holy Spirit to put God’s life in us, why do we need to “eat the Body” and “drink the Blood” of Christ? What does that accomplish that the gift of the Holy Spirit doesn’t?

Our Gospel reading begins midway through a long conversation Jesus had with people who tracked Him down after His miraculous feeding of the five thousand (Jn 6:25-50). They were looking for more bread, but Jesus used their physical hunger to direct their thoughts to another kind of bread: “For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world” (Jn 6:33). It worked: “They said to Him, ‘Lord, give us this bread always’” (Jn 6:34).

Seeing they were interested, Jesus explained that He is the bread of life, and He called the Jews to believe in Him. In this part of the discussion, Jesus used imagery of bread and drink metaphorically: “he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall not thirst” (Jn 6:35). When the Jews began to murmur at the suggestion that Jesus is bread from heaven (“Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?”), He emphasized again that believing in Him is the source of eternal life: “Truly, truly I say to you, he who believes has eternal life” (Jn 6:47).

Had the conversation stopped there, we would conclude that believing in Jesus was all that was necessary to gain eternal life. As we know from history, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost to all those who believed in Him. He planted God’s own life in them. They were destined for heaven. What more was necessary? The “more” comes in the next part of the conversation, which we take up now: “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.” This bold statement caused an argument to break out: “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

Notice that no explanation is forthcoming. Jesus simply keeps repeating, in ever increasing emphasis: “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life.” This truly baffled His hearers, and, as reported in verses not in today’s reading, many of His followers left him because of it. Even the Twelve were hard-pressed to absorb it. There was a strong prohibition in Jewish law against drinking the blood of animals (see Gn 9:4; Lev 17:10-13; Deut 12:16). That kind of participation in an animal’s life, making a man “one” with the animal, was beneath the dignity of creatures made in the image and likeness of God. No one even thought of drinking human blood!

We can understand how objectionable Jesus’ words were to those who first heard them. To remain with Him would require what Jesus had spoken about earlier in the conversation—belief. His miraculous works and His authoritative teaching had caused many to have faith in Him. That faith would have to sustain them as they digested this “hard saying.” They would have to suspend judgment and simply ponder these words. Eventually, of course, Jesus would explain. At the Last Supper, the apostles learned that Jesus was leaving them a memorial sacrifice as the centerpiece of His Church’s life. The bread and wine of the Old Passover meal were transformed into the meal of the New Covenant, the Eucharist. They would become the Body and Blood of His glorified humanity. That is how His call to “eat My flesh” and “drink My blood” would be accomplished. Believing would lead to eating.

However, we may still be left wondering why God’s plan for His people included not only the gift of the Holy Spirit but also the celebration of the Eucharist. How does this act of eating Jesus in the elements of bread and wine differ from receiving Him in our hearts through the Holy Spirit? The rest of the readings can help answer this question.

Possible response: Lord Jesus, thank You for remaining with us as Bread and Wine, so that we may eat and drink and live forever.

First Reading (Read Dt 8:2-3; 14b-16a)

In this reading, the people of Israel are about to enter the Promised Land after their long sojourn in the wilderness with Moses, made longer than necessary by their disobedience and lack of faith in God. Now, after forty years, they were ready. In Deuteronomy, Moses gives the people three lengthy sermons, reminding them of what they had been through and warning them about what lay ahead.

Our reading contains one of the great themes of Moses’ parting exhortation: “Do not forget the LORD your God.” We might wonder how these people could ever “forget” the LORD, after all He had done for them. Yet over and over, Moses exhorts Israel: “You shall remember the LORD your God” (Dt 8:18). He knew they were entering a land flowing with milk and honey; life there would be much easier than it had been in the desert. He had already witnessed their short memories. He never wanted them to forget that their lives in the Promised Land depended completely on God’s love for them. As evidence of this love, Moses reminded the people that God had let them “be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, in order to show you that not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” The people had feared starvation when they first left Egypt, but God sent down manna for them to eat each day. However, this was not simply a food supply. God told them to gather only one day’s worth of manna at a time. There was to be no stockpiling. Anything more than one day’s worth of manna rotted, which prevented hoarding. This bread from heaven taught Israel a lesson: they werebody and soul. They needed bread for their bodies, but they also needed faith for their souls. They would have to live one day at a time, gathering only enough manna for one day and trusting that tomorrow, God would again provide what they needed. Every day, for forty years, they had to trust God for their daily bread (the historical antecedent for the request to “give us this day our daily bread” in the Lord’s Prayer). This is why Moses said that the manna taught the people a spiritual lesson. We need physical and spiritual bread to really live as God’s people, because we are (and always will be) body and soul.

When we understand this, we are on our way to understanding why Jesus gave us Eucharistic bread and wine. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is real but invisible, not open to the senses. He is Spirit; we are spiritand body. The worship of Israel always incorporated body and soul—invisible, unseen action in the heart and visible action in the body. The worship of the New Covenant continues to keep body and soul together. Nothing makes this clearer than the Eucharist! The bread and wine become Body and Blood; we take them into our own bodies in the act of eating, the most basic of bodily functions (no eating, no life). Just as the Passover meal was meant to help people with weak memories remember what God had done for Israel (and thus lead to worship), the Eucharistic meal helps us remember what Jesus has done for us (“Do this in memory of Me”), and thus becomes our worship. The Holy Spirit puts God’s own life in us, invisibly and spiritually; eating Jesus in the elements of a meal gives us physical (our flesh and blood) communion with Jesus (His flesh and blood). What a gift!

No wonder Jesus told His followers, in our Gospel reading, to believe (invisible, spiritual) and to eat (visible, corporeal). We believe, and then we worship, although Jesus did not, at that time, explain that the eating and drinking meant worship. Later, at the Last Supper, He instituted a meal of supernatural food and drink as our memorial act of worship in the Church. In our second reading, St. Paul will help us think more about this mysterious and blessed meal.

Possible response: Lord Jesus, I know You are manna for my journey home to Heaven; please strengthen that grace in me today.

Psalm (Read Ps 147:12-15, 19-20)

The psalmist exhorts Jerusalem to praise the LORD because of the loving care He has always shown to His people. One verse in particular has prophetic joy embedded in it, and, on this day, we can sing it with special fervor: “He has granted peace in your borders; with the best of wheat He fills you” (vs. 14). The “best of wheat” is the “bread of heaven,” Jesus. God’s gift to the Church, the new Israel, is a unique gift. We could say with the psalmist, “He has not done thus for any other nation” (vs. 20). As we ponder this great gift in our readings today, let us heed the psalmist’s call to “Praise the Lord, Jerusalem!”

Possible response: The psalm is, itself, a response to our other readings. Read it again prayerfully to make it your own.

Second Reading (Read 1 Cor 10:16-17)

The context of this reading (read 1 Cor 10:14-21) helps us understand that the Eucharist is the Church’s act of worship and that it is a sacrifice. St. Paul is warning his readers in Corinth (a notoriously pagan city in which he had preached the Gospel and made many converts) against continuing to worship at the altars of pagan idols. It may surprise us that the new converts needed this warning, but in the polytheistic cultures of the Greco-Roman world, people worshipped many different idols at the same time. St. Paul says that drinking “the cup of blessing” (the wine of the Eucharist) and breaking the bread gives the believer a “participation” or “communion” in the Body and Blood of Christ. This is an exceptionally clear description of what happens during the Eucharistic meal. Far from the bread and wine being simply symbols of something that has happened or is true, the elements themselves cause the communion. For that reason, St. Paul goes on to say, worship at the altars of idols is to be shunned, because any eating or drinking that happens at those altars makes the worshipper a “partner” with demons. There are, of course, no real “gods.” St. Paul considers demons to be the source of idol worship. To further make his point about the communion that takes place at altars, St. Paul makes reference to the altars of Israel: “Are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar?” (1 Cor 14:18) Sacrifices, or offerings, lay at the heart of Israel’s worship. In the “peace” or “thank” offering, the worshipper and the priest ate a meal of a portion of the animal that had been sacrificed. To eat a meal at the altar of God was to give thanks for some action of God on behalf of the worshipper; it expressed “peace” or “communion” between God and the worshipper. In the Eucharist, our thank offering of bread and wine is, mysteriously, joined to the one offering made by Christ on the Cross (God is not bound by time, as we are). We then we eat this sacrificial meal (as the Jews did at their altars) and have communion with God. What the worship of Israel foreshadowed, the worship of the New Covenant fulfills.

This epistle, written about 56 A.D., shows us that right from the beginning of the Church’s life, the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic sacrifice was an established belief and practice. St. Paul makes another important point in these verses. The Eucharist is the sign and source of unity in the Church: “Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” This helps us understand that our unity in the Church is both organic and visible. Our eating gives us a “participation” in Christ—we are all doing the same action (visible unity) and the “food” inside of us joins us to Christ (organic unity). Thus, our public worship is the occasion for our unity to be established and expressed. Our lives with God cannot be only private and individual (“Jesus and me”). From the start, the Church made the Eucharistic offering the centerpiece of our worship, restoring our unity with God and man, visibly and invisibly, body and soul. Blessed be the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ!

Possible response: Lord Jesus, I can barely comprehend all that You give us in Your Most Holy Body and Blood. Help me to resist distraction, lukewarmness, and doubt when I received You at the altar.

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Meditation: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16

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The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) - Cycle A

Closing Prayer

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The new manna, the Eucharist, is supernatural food given for supernatural life

Forgetting to Remember

Context

Trial by “What’s it?”

Foreshadowing the True Bread

A Journey Behind

Don’t Forget to Remember

Scripture Speaks: The Body & Blood