The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Lectionary: 169
Reading I
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
R (4b) You are a priest for ever, in the line
of Melchizedek.
The LORD said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand
till I make
your enemies your footstool."
R You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:
"Rule
in the midst of your enemies."
R You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
"Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the
daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you."
R You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
"You
are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek."
R You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
Reading II
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.
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 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,
Today we celebrate Corpus Christi, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Here we recognize the wonderful gift of The Eucharist that Jesus Christ gave us so that we could join with Him more completely (physically, mentally, and spiritually). It is that precious food that has the capability to heal us and join ourselves with our God. Through it, the entire Living Body of our Lord Jesus Christ are bonded together, and The Christ Experience becomes all the stronger as all its members participate in what Jesus instructed us to do.
When celebrating the mass, we are taken out of the moment and brought spiritually to that very time of The Mystical Supper and we are with Jesus as He offered the miracle of the Eucharist the first time:
“Take this, all of you, and eat of it,
for this is my Body,
which will be given up for you.
Take this, all of you, and drink from it,
for this is the chalice of my Blood,
the Blood of the new and eternal covenant,
which will be poured out for you and for many
for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this in memory of me.”
What a beautiful moment and one that should not be taken lightly. This was one of the final instructions of Jesus Christ before he was crucified and is a central dogma of our faith. From the establishment of The Church, this celebration known early on as The Breaking of the Bread, was celebrated every Sunday without interruption. The Early Christians would gather, read scripture, sing Psalms, receive instruction, then break the bread. All in the community would receive that vital spiritual food which would invigorate them, while reminding them of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for them. The mass we have today is very much the same as it was celebrated back then.
The Fractio Panis fresco, early 100’s, is the clearest example we have in catacomb art of the ritual of the Eucharist in the first two hundred years of the Gentile Church in Rome. In the New Testament book of Acts (c. 63-70) there are references to Christians gathering to “break bread,” called an “Agape Love Feast.”
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Acts 2:42 “They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” Acts 2:46
The catacombs in Rome contain many frescos telling us what those Christians living between c.100–c.350 AD believed, how they lived out that faith and what things were most important to their faith. The Fractio Panis (Latin meaning “Breaking of Bread”) fresco in the Catacomb of Priscilla on the Via Salaria is liturgically and theologically one of the most famous of catacomb paintings because it gives an idea of how they took Communion, the Eucharist
Seven people, one of whom is a woman, are reclined/seated at a table where there is a cup of mingled red wine and two large plates. One plate contains five loaves of bread, the other two fish, replicating the numbers in the multiplication miracle from the Gospels. A man (presbyter/priest?) at the left end of the table has a small loaf in his hands. His arms are stretched out in front of him to show he is breaking the bread as Jesus broke the bread at the Last Supper and before He fed the five thousand and the four thousand. Near the man is a two-handled cup. On one side of the painting are four wicker baskets overflowing with bread. On the other side there are three baskets filled with bread representing the “seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over” (Mt. 15:37) after Jesus had fed the four thousand.
The connection between the Feeding of the 4000 and The Last Supper is emphasized through this early version of the mass. What an impact that event must have had and the presence of it in both worship and in early frescos should be encouragement enough for us to meditate on this miracle. Jesus Christ, through His words and His true presence in the Eucharist is enough to provide us with all the nourishment we need to lead a joyous life together with Him and all of His creation. We become bound to Him and are brought to a new level of consciousness. The spiritual aspect of our make-up can take command over that which is too often dominated by the desires of the flesh. The flesh of our savior is stronger and can conquer all things, for He has domination over all things. When we exercise our spirituality, it becomes stronger, thus we become better men and women as a result.
Walking with Jesus and living out our faith will bring us closer to Him and will transform us into a new creation. The Breaking of the Bread is what sets us apart from society and a world that continues to separate itself from God. We all have been witnesses to what happens when God is ignored, and human desires take precedent. There is chaos, pain, suffering, and sin. The human will disorder things that were once ordered. Jesus brings back into the place where God intended them to be. We are all God’s instruments. We are all disciples of Christ. Let us all act accordingly and come to the Table of Plenty. All are invited and all are welcome.
As Saint Thomas Aquinas said:
“O precious and wonderful banquet, that brings us salvation and contains all sweetness! Could anything be of more intrinsic value? Under the old law it was the flesh of calves and goats that was offered, but here Christ himself, the true God, is set before us as our food. What could be more wonderful than this? No other sacrament has greater healing power; through it sins are purged away, virtues are increased, and the soul is enriched with an abundance of every spiritual gift.”
Deacon Tom
