The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Lectionary: 167
Reading 1
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
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
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.
Alleluia
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
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."
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
The Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is a gift that was given to us so that may have the opportunity to become united with Jesus physically, mentally, and spiritually. This serves as our spiritual food, available to us at any time when we come to worship or when we request it outside of mass during a Communion Service. It must be understood that this was presented first to Jesus’ disciples at the Last Supper, then passed on from them to us. And so it goes, thousands of years later billions of Catholics around the world gather together every minute of the day, to partake in what was given to us by Jesus and entrusted to the Holy Mother Church. Just as the Jewish people ate the food of angels not only to satisfy their hunger, but also to give them comfort and solace during their time of need, we eat the food of Jesus for the same reasons and many more. As God traveled with the Jewish people during the Exodus, He travels with us throughout our lives. At the same time, Jesus remains inside of us. The Eucharist enforces this as not only a reminder of that fact, but also the true presence of Christ that again brings us into the trinitarian relationship with Him. Jesus Christ, being fully human and divine, is now consumed by us to be uniquely merged with us completely in all aspects of our existence. We, as extension, are transformed by the experience; Jesus will then have a universal impact on our lives as long as we remain surrendered to the experience and believe what is happening.
The Breaking of the Bread and the Eucharist are mentioned in the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians. Beyond that, the earliest Christian document in existence, The Teaching of the Apostles, mentions the Catholic Mass and the Eucharist directly, and how it should be instituted in worship. All the Church Fathers, most disciples to the Apostles, mention it extensively. The Jerusalem Catechesis, a Fourth Century Instructional, explains the mass and the Theology of the Eucharist in Depth. Overall, we have the institution of the mass and Eucharist by Jesus, the proclamation of both in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians, and their presence in the two earliest Christian instructionals.
All this must be considered when we learn to actively live out our faith-life. Are we to be distracted by our human-based needs, wants, and desires, or are we to focus on Jesus Christ, and through the celebration of the Eucharist, become closer to Him, while welcoming Him into our lives? If this was so important that Jesus mentioned it several times up to His death and all early Christians celebrated it faithfully, then should we not adhere to the principles given to us, that are ultimately leading this enter world to salvation?
A woman that I have known for several years recently lost her husband. Through this loss, she has embraced her relationship with Jesus Christ and has become even more involved with her church. Her age appears not to be a factor when she plans out her daily and weekly activities, many of which involve the church and several organizations within. One night a week she has committed to Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. This is when the Eucharist, already consecrated by a priest and carrying the true presence of Jesus, is exposed on an altar for anyone to come and pray in front of it. A person is always required to be in the presence of the Eucharist, so different people sign up to participate. This woman chose and continues to choose the 2:00 am slot. Once a week, she gets up and drives to the church to spend time with Jesus Christ. It is also her time to pray and be alone with Jesus. This makes me think back to Jesus Christ in the garden,
“Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour?”
Here, we are given an opportunity to spend some time with Jesus, just as we are invited to become a part of Him and He a part of us when we consume Him. This is why we pray immediately after partaking in it , but really should take it further by spending alone time with Him after Communion. This may be challenging at first where we are constantly bombarded with other things that, in our ego and pride, take precedence over Jesus. This is very similar to what His disciples did in the garden just before His arrest and death. Knowing He was going to die, they slept. With that extreme presented, we can easily see why we can fall short; ones who were not His companions and best friends. Yet, these faults and more can be rectified through a deepening relationship with Jesus, which starts with something that He required us to celebrate and use to our benefit: the Eucharist.
If we want a transformative experience in our lives, one of the first steps is to start to listen. We must pursue wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in order to better ourselves while raising expectations of ourselves as God’s Children. The Eucharist gives us an opportunity for just that, while centering Jesus in our bodies. Jesus Christ dwelling within us, there really is no better thing.
Deacon Tom
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