Corpus Christi: Precious body and blood of Our Lord

06-23-2019Weekly ReflectionFather Prince Raja

Today, we are celebrating the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. This special Feast is celebrated inremembrance of Jesus who gave His life for our salvation and commanded us to celebrate the Sacrament of theHoly Eucharist in his memory. There are two feasts in the liturgical calendar that invite us to meditate on the mystery of the Eucharist: Maundy Thursday and the Feast of the Precious Body and Blood of Jesus, that is, today. The Feast owes its existence to Blessed Juliana of Liege, who began devotion to the Blessed Sacrament in around 1230. Largely through her insistence, in 1264 Pope Urban 1V commanded its observance by theuniversal church. The Feast sums up three important confessions about our Faith. First is that God becamephysically present in the person of Christ, True God and True Man. Secondly, God continues to be present inHis people as they form the Mystical Body of Christ in his church. And thirdly, the presence of God under theform of bread and wine is made available to us on the altar at Mass and preserved there for our nourishment andworship. Our liturgy today recalls the scriptural origins of this devotion.

In the first reading of today we hear of

Abraham asking his high priest, Melchizedek, to offer sacrifice to give thanks for a major victory that he hadwon. Instead of the usual sacrificial offering, the priest offered bread and wine, the full significance of whichcame to light at the Last Supper. St Paul in the second reading points to the importance of the Eucharist as areminder of Christ’s passion and death finally leading to the building of the mystical body. In the Gospel wehave the miracle of the multiplication of loaves where Jesus generously gives food to the people and makesthem partake in the thanksgiving meal.

The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ is in accordance with the command of Jesus to us, to celebrate as acommunity in his memory, the last meal, where he gave us the Holy Eucharist. During His ministry on earth,Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from Heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever;and the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world.” While these words Jesus offered his life forthe sins of the humanity. During the Last Supper Jesus taught His followers the manner in which the Sacramentof the Holy Eucharist should be celebrated. He also told them that He would be physically present in theSacrament of the Eucharist and will be with them till the end of times. But his sacrifice was complete onCalvary when he shed his last drop of blood and water for the sake of humanity. This offering is a gift and everygift involves the giver and the receiver. It is sacrifice to the giver and gift to the receiver. Jesus here uses thesymbol of a MEAL to make us realize his presence. Every meal has its social dimension. Each and everycelebration of ours, religious or secular, ends with a meal. A meal unites people, holds the family together andbuilds a community. Jesus uses this simple celebration of a meal to give us his closeness to us. It is built up onthe idea of a family, where everyone shares the common food and all are equal. Let the body and blood thatwe will consume also give us the strength to be faithful to this covenant with God, day by day.

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