Deacon Tom Anthony

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Lectionary: 169

Reading 1 Gn 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 Ps 110:1, 2, 3, 4

R.(4b) You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool."
R. You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:
"Rule in the midst of your enemies."
R. You are a priest forever, 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."
R. You are a priest forever, 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."
R. You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek.

Reading 2 1 Cor 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.

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.

Alleluia Jn 6:51

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord;
whoever eats this bread will live forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 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.

My Brothers and Sisters,

 The Eucharist truly is the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Given to us as a gift to unite ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually with Jesus it serves as our spiritual food. It strengthens us in all these areas and enables us to become closer to Him in a very unique way. Through the Eucharist we are able to examine our relationship with Him and encounter Him through Sacramental Grace. The night before He died, Jesus directed us to receive His body and blood through the celebration of this Sacrament and as a result it has become central to our worship and faith-life. The Apostle Paul mentions how we are to receive it and explains the reason why. It is further written in the Acts of the Apostles that the Breaking of the Bread was a requirement of worship every time the community gathered on the Sabbath as it is up through today over two thousand years later. Where the Eucharist is found so is the true presence of Jesus Christ.

An acknowledgement of the Eucharist and the receiving of it whenever available leads to a deep spiritual experience that cannot be duplicated through other means. It is what unites the Christian Faithful and allows all of us to focus on what is truly important: Jesus Christ. The entire Christian Church was formed around the Eucharist and through it Christian Communities were developed and grew. Becoming members of Christ’s Church through Baptism the faithful were then invited to partake in Christ’s Body and Blood to be nourished and strengthened. Their faith was then sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit through Confirmation. These three Sacramental Signs are the Sacraments of Initiation into the Church and into a mystical experience that never ends. Even though Baptism and Confirmation are given only once, the receiving of Jesus’ body and blood is an event that can be repeated every time there is worship or a spiritual need to do so. It is there for the taking so as to lift up the faithful and to keep us strong.

It is true that Jesus Christ is all around us. He is in us as we are in Him. His presence cannot be disputed. What we have in the Eucharist is a further uniting of Him to us where our entire being is immersed in His presence physically, mentally, and spiritually. Consuming Him in such a way forces out all other influences and cleanses us of all that is negative and leaves us in the presence of pure love. We are then experiencing perfection in that moment. It serves as a window into our own heart and that of Jesus’. The experience is for us to define. It can mean nothing if that is what we want it to mean or it can mean everything if we abandon ourselves completely to Jesus Christ when receiving Him. Surrendering means gaining everything in return.

In the miracle of the multiplication of the fish and loaves of bread, Jesus fed a crowd of over 5000 people. He fed them physically, mentally, and spiritually. This was a precursor to the institution of the Eucharist and served as a sign to what it meant. It is through Jesus that we receive our spiritual food that feeds us the same way. We are taken care of mentally through His words, spiritually through His presence in us and His creation, and finally physically through His Body and Blood. In the Eucharist all three of these are united within us as one powerful force and presence never to be conquered by anything. Jesus further emphasized this by saying to His followers after the miracle:

“ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.”

With those words, the Bread of Life Discourses, and the instructions at the Last Supper, we have a true vision of what our life as Christians should be centered around. Jesus Christ is inviting us into a beautiful relationship with Him that is strengthened by the Eucharist and further defined by it. Whenever we are troubled or face some sort of conflict the Eucharist is here is serve as a reminder that He is indeed here with us and that through the Celebration of the Eucharist we have a powerful instrument that can conquer anything because it is everything. It is God.

Deacon Tom