Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Receive the Body and Blood of Christ
On Sunday we celebrate the Body and Blood of Christ, when we are reminded of our faith in the gift of Jesus’ very self for our salvation and the centrality of the sacrament of the Eucharist in how we practice our faith.
In our Gospel reading from John (6:51-58), Jesus speaks to the crowds:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
Jesus speaks of His giving His life, His total self, for our salvation. And when the people have trouble understanding how He can “give us his flesh to eat,” Jesus goes further in speaking about the Eucharist: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.”
We in the Church believe that when we receive the Eucharist, the bread and the wine which we believe becomes the Body and Blood of Christ, we are sharing in the sacrifice Jesus made “once for all.” The sacrifice is made present for us every time we celebrate Mass. As we hear in our second reading from St. Paul (1 Corinthians 10:16-17):
“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?”
When we celebrate Mass, and we receive Holy Communion, we take Jesus into ourselves in a special, intimate way. The Eucharist leads us once again into the mystery of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ. It leads us to the depths of that love in the sacrifice Jesus made for us. And it leads us not only to communion with God, but communion with each other. Again, in our second reading, St. Paul writes: “Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.”
If we consider the immensity of God’s love for us shown in the Eucharist, we can see that it is meant to give meaning to our lives outside of Mass on Saturday evening or on Sunday.
Can we accept the depths of God’s love for us? When the crowds hear Jesus’ words, they quarrel among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Perhaps we ask ourselves, “How can God love me so much?” We may not fully understand God’s love for us, but when we receive Communio, we are declaring our willingness to accept that love.
Are we willing to love each other, witnessing to our connection to each other as the Body of Christ? The world seems to believe in division rather than connection. And, having been fed with Jesus’ gift of Himself, are we willing to give of ourselves to others, both inside and outside the Church? That is what we declare when we get in line to receive Communion.
Are we willing to live out the Eucharist in every aspect of our lives, by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit?
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
In the Body and Blood of Christ,
Phil, CP
