Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Year B)

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Year B)

Ex 24:3-8; Heb 9:11-15; Mk 14:12-16, 22-26

image courtesy: Google

Augustinian nun Juliana of Liege, in Belgium, from her early youth, had a great veneration for the Blessed Sacrament and always longed for a special feast in its honor. This desire is said to have been increased by a vision of the Church under the appearance of the full moon. The moon was perfect but having one dark spot which signified the absence of a feast of the Eucharist. She made known her ideas to Robert de Thorete, then Bishop of Liege and others and finally Pope Urban IV. This led to the celebration of the Body of Christ, Corpus Christi, which was introduced into the church calendar in 1264.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. In one word we say Eucharist. Eucharist means thanksgiving and blessing.  We express our gratitude to God for all the gratuitous gifts God has given us in Jesus and we offer back to him the gratitude in the form of bread and wine. Eucharist means a Blessing.  Blessing actually means prayer of praise and glorification for all the Lord God has done for us in Jesus. It is a meal shared by the community in the name of Jesus. It is a sacrificial meal, meaning it is an offering to God as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus uses here the symbol of a simple meal to show his presence to us and chooses the simple sign of bread and wine, a poor person’s meal to manifest his presence. 

Here the emphasis is more on the community dimension of the celebration of the Eucharist rather than individual participation. Eucharist indeed is a communal celebration where we all share in one bread and one cup. During this Covid pandemic, in our online Eucharistic celebration, we come together in our families as one Family or Community of Christ. A priest as the leader of the group only presides and leads the community in the offering of the sacrifice. 

The Feast sums up three important confessions about our Faith. 

First is that God became physically present in the person of Christ, true God and true Man. 

Secondly, God continues to be present in His people as they form the Mystical Body of Christ in his church. 

Thirdly, the presence of God in the form of bread and wine is made available to us on the altar at Mass and preserved there for our nourishment and worship. Jesus gives us his Body and Blood so that he might live in us and become life for the world.

The Gospel today brings us to the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples. It is the first day of Unleavened Bread, the day when the Passover lamb was sacrificed and the Pasch was celebrated. It was the biggest event in the Hebrew calendar, the celebration of their liberation, under the leadership of Moses, from a life of slavery in Egypt. The institution of the Lord’s Supper is the ultimate act of love of Jesus towards his disciples and all others who believe in him.

One day there was a little Italian wedding in a parish.  The regular priest was away and the assistant conducted the wedding. After the wedding there was rain and the place they had arranged was in the open and far away. So they went to the young priest and asked whether they could use the church for a short reception.  The priest knowing his boss well refused. But they insisted and even cried and being a man of kind heart he permitted on condition there should be no drinks and no dancing since it is the church. They happily promised.  But as the party progressed all promises were forgotten and some wine and some dancing started. To their misfortune, the Parish Priest arrived early. He called the young priest and shouted at him. The young man apologized and said, after all, they were poor and we had to help.  Then he reasoned out how at Cana Jesus was there at the wedding and he worked a miracle and they had a lot of wine and surely dancing too.  The priest looked at him and said well true Jesus was there. But there was no Blessed sacrament in that place. Just think Jesus there.

The presence of the Eucharistic Lord demands our deepest reverence in our day today life. A simple bow helps us to acknowledge before God our humility and our worship to him. 

Just as Jesus took the bread, broke and gave to his disciples, we too in our life take ourselves before the Lord, break and share ourselves in the service of those suffering humanity. 

(You are most welcome to add your thoughts and reflections in the comment section below)

Happy Feast