Sunday, June 14, 2020

THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST (CORPUS CHRISTI)

"Receive Communion often, very often...there you have the sole remedy if you want to be cured. Jesus has not put this attraction in your heart for nothing."
~ St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Today is a day where being Catholic is just awesome! A day where we publicly affirm the fundamental teaching of the ”True Presence” of our Lord in the Holy Eucharist as we celebrate the Corpus Christi. A doctrinal feast. We commemorate this profound mystery of our Lord in His precious Body and Blood. The Holy Communion: a food for our souls (Via Te Cum).

As we recall the institution of the Holy Eucharist, it portrays the Church’s official act of homage and gratitude to Christ. The greatest treasure that accentuates the joyous part of the Holy Thursday. Corpus Christi manifests the abiding presence of God as Emmanuel - God With Us (an appreciation of the ”Real Presence” of God in our families, lives, faith communities and societies.)

Historically, Pope Urban IV instituted the solemnity of Corpus Christi in 1264, hence making it a universal feast in the Latin Church. The  Council of Trent (1545-1563) succinctly said, ”The Catholic Church teaches that in the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of God-man are really, truly, substantially and abidingly present together with His Soul and Divinity by reason of Transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. This takes place in an unbloody sacrifice of the Mass.”

Our first reading, about Moses and the Israelites, gives the setting near the end of the Exodus from Egypt when they were at last about to enter their long-promised new homeland. So Moses had a foresight that the comfort/security in Canaan may dull them and soon they may forget the Lord on whom they depended. Hence, his call ”not to forget” and ”to remember” about the indispensable role the Lord had played in their historical journey. 

We are also enjoined not to forget and to remember (especially in this COVID-19 pandemic) what the Lord has done in our individual lives, families, faith communities, societies, whenever we receive the Holy Eucharist (to which Manna pointed). An expression of Thanksgiving and honor to Him.

---

The Apostle Paul, in our second reading, tried to help the Corinthian Christians to accord the Holy Eucharist the appropriate reverence as he distinguished it from their usual pagan ritual meals. 

He further teaches about the two-division of the Body of Christ: 1. People who have a common share in the Holy Eucharist, and 2. People who come together as a community of believers, united with the risen Christ. It therefore expresses the union of all believers with Jesus Christ and with one another. In fact, this is the essence of the Body and Blood of Christ; transcending all barriers and divisions in human condition. Making us one people of the same Body of Christ.

Finally, the gospel presents Jesus’ Eucharistic discourses in the Johannine ”Bread of Life Discourse”(John 6:22-58). The reference to the Manna in the desert alludes to the divine care for the Israelites during the years of their desert wandering. All those who receive the Holy Communion, this particularly concretizes/energizes our relationship with Christ and one another. Therefore, it becomes not only an obligation, but also an imperative for every baptized Catholic to receive the Eucharist, such a precious gift to humanity. 

For, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1324, the Holy Eucharist is the "source and summit" of our Christian life. St. Pope John Paul adds that it is the center of our Catholic spirituality. Indeed, it is the mystery of faith, the mystery of love, and the mystery of hope in our journey to the ”promised land” (eternal home - Heaven). Treasure the precious Body and Blood of Christ and your life will never be the same!

Stay Healthy... PRAY... Keep the Faith... Enjoy the Sun!

Let the Body and Blood of Christ lead...
Fr. Emmanuel

---