REFLECTION FOR THE HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST (CORPUS CHRISTI) YEAR C.
By Rev. Fr. Sylvanus Ifeanyi Amaobi
(1st Reading, Gen. 14:18-20, 2nd Reading, 1 Cor. 11:23-26, Gospel, Lk. 9:11-17)
Dear brothers and sisters, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24).
THE EUCHARISTIC MEAL, INSTITUTED BY CHRIST AND HANDED OVER TO US
Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as the Eucharist in the Catholic Church. The celebration of today reminds us of the event of the Last Supper. At the Last Supper, the meal of Jesus Christ and His disciples, Jesus changed the bread and wine to be His Body and Blood (cf. Luke 22:14-20). Thus, Jesus Christ instituted the Eucharist as the meal of His Body and Blood and charged the apostles to do it in remembrance of Him.
St. Paul elucidated this in his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 11, verse 23 ff, which was read as the second reading, "On the night He was handed over, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread, and after He had given thanks, broke it and said, this is my Body. Similarly, after supper, He took the cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. As often as you drink it, do this in remembrance of me." Thus, St. Paul talks about the celebration as a Tradition received from the Lord, which He has handed over to us. This is what we always do when we celebrate Mass.
At Mass, during the consecration, the bread changes its substance into the substance of the Body of Christ and the wine into the substance of the Blood of Christ, in a process known as "TRANSUBSTANTIATION." The physical presence of Jesus Christ in the bread and wine is called REAL PRESENCE.
THE EUCHARISTIC MEAL, A REAL SPIRITUAL FOOD FOR OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE
The Body and Blood of Christ are real food and drink for the spiritual life of any Christian. Jesus gave Himself to us as the source of our spiritual nourishment because He loves us. In the Gospel of John, Jesus unequivocally states the importance of eating His Body and drinking His blood. He says, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. And again, He says, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you …, for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink" (John 6:51-56).
By eating the Body and drinking the Blood of Christ, we become united to the person of Christ. We become united to His humanity and also share in His Divinity. As such, we become one with Christ, reminiscent of Jesus' statement, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him" (John 6:56).
Our participation in the eating and drinking of the Body and blood of Jesus Christ is a glorious privilege given to us. It is about humans being allowed to partake in the Bread of Angels, Bread from heaven, and medicine of immortality (CCC 1331). In the Eucharist, we have our 'viaticum,' a food to strengthen us in our journey as a pilgrim people, a pilgrim Church.
JESUS, A MIRACLE WORKER
In today's Gospel, we see Jesus Christ manifest His love and compassion. He had finished speaking to the crowds about the Kingdom of God and healed those who needed healing. He recognized that they were hungry and needed physical food. The twelve wanted Him to send them away, but He ordered, "Give them some food yourselves."
How on earth can this be done, the apostles may have thought; we have only five loaves and two fish. Of course, that is too little to feed five thousand! But Jesus knew that their little would be enough because He is a mighty multiplier, a miracle worker. And so it happened. He performed the miracle of multiplying the loaves. They all ate and were satisfied, and they gathered about twelve wicker baskets filled with leftover fragments.
Our coming to the house of God is not only to nourish ourselves spiritually but also to receive divine assistance with our physical and material needs. God is the ultimate provider of all we need, both spiritually and temporally, physically and materially.
Always remember that Jesus loves you!