First Reading: Exodus 24:3-8 / Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 116:12-13.15.16bc.17-18 (R. 13) Second Reading: Hebrews 9:11-15 / Gospel Accl.: John 6:51/ Gospel: Mark 14:12-16.22-26
Theme: I Seek Union With You
Today, the universal Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, which in Latin is called Corpus Christi (Body of Christ). Liturgically, it is observed on the Thursday after the Solemnity of Holy Trinity which we celebrated last Sunday. However, in places where it is not celebrated as a holy day of obligation, it is postponed to the Sunday after Holy Trinity which is today. History has it that St. Juliana of Mont Cornillon, who was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1203, had a great veneration for the Blessed Sacrament (together with other women who were dedicated to Eucharistic worship). St. Juliana always longed for a special feast outside Lent solely in honour of the Eucharist, since Holy (Maundy) Thursday focused not only on the Institution of the Holy Eucharist but also of the Priesthood, Christ’s washing of his disciples’ feet and his subsequent agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. She had seen a vision of the Church in the appearance of a full moon having one dark spot, signifying the absence of such a solemnity, but she kept it secret. This vision was repeated for the next twenty years till under the guidance of her confessor, she submitted the revelation to the Bishop of Liège, Msgr. Robert de Thorete, who promoted it in his diocese about the mid-thirteenth century, and to other Church officials and finally to Pope Urban IV, who popularised it in the entire Church. The Pope issued a Papal Bull, Transiturus in 1264 and requested St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelic Doctor) to compose an Office to commemorate the Solemnity in the Roman Breviary. The Pange Lingua hymn sung on Holy Thursday and whose last two verses constitute another hymn, Tantum Ergo, is used for Benediction together with the O Salutaris Hostia hymn, also composed by St. Thomas Aquinas.
The main focus of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi is the Holy Eucharist and the entire church as members of the Body of Christ. The Church is called the Body of Christ, as St. Paul emphasises in his writings. This is due to the intimate communion Jesus has with all his followers, of which we are part. In most places, there is Eucharistic procession with the monstrance through principal streets to communicate to the world that Christ is really present in the Eucharistic species; that, indeed, among men is the dwelling place of God, the Word which became flesh is dwelling among us (cf. Rev. 21:3; Jn. 1:14). The procession ends with Benediction, whereby people are blessed with the Blessed Sacrament. Corpus Christi signifies the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion). It is the belief of Catholics that through the invocation of the Holy Spirit by the priest, bread and wine are transubstantiated into the actual Body and Blood of Christ for which we are invited to eat and drink. In view of this, we offer thanksgiving to God for giving us his very life. It is Eucharistia (The Greek word for thanksgiving). For other Christians, the Eucharist is just a symbol or a metaphor representing Christ, and not the real presence. Others too do not celebrate it at all. Be that as it may, our faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and our reception thereof is solidly grounded in Divine Revelation (Sacred Scriptures and Sacred Tradition) and are confirmed by centuries of miracles. Blood has flowed from the sacred host during Mass; Christ has appeared as an infant in place of consecrated host and in the midst of fire, consecrated hosts have remained unconsumed.
Turning our attention to today’s scriptural passages, we see Moses in the first reading taking the blood of oxen sacrificed to God to sprinkle on the people as a sign of their covenant relationship with God on Mount Sinai. Moses says: “Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words” (Ex. 24:8). Thus, blood ratifies and enacts the covenant between God and the Israelites for which they pledge their loyalty to the Law of God. The blood serves the purpose of expiating their sin and guilt. This was the belief of the Jews, and it was done ceremoniously, ritually, religiously and solemnly. However, year by year, animal sacrifices have to be made repeatedly for the atonement of sins – the sins of the officiating priest and those of the people of Israel (see Lev. 16: 3, 5-6, 11, 15, 21-22, Num. 19).
The Responsorial Psalm in the context of the Passover feast and in a mood of offering a sacrifice of thanksgiving,sings the potency of the blood of the covenant when it says: “The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the name of the Lord” (Ps. 116:13). This is one of the psalms (Psalms 113-118) sung after the Passover meal, and it is believed Jesus and his disciples sang this Psalm after the Last Supper (cf. Mk. 14:26). This should inform our disposition anytime we celebrate the Eucharist, which is a thanksgiving meal, and thereby offer fitting praise and sincere appreciation to God for granting us access to him through the sacrifice of Christ.
The use of animals for sacrifice foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (cf. Jn. 1:29). Ceremonially, the Israelites felt sanctified and justified when animals were sacrificed and their blood sprinkled on them. However, as earlier on highlighted, that could not wipe away their sins since the sacrifice has to be repeated every year, and the weight of sin and guilt was always heavy on their minds because of transgression of the Law. This notwithstanding, the coming of Jesus Christ and his subsequent once-for-all death on the cross ensured the perfect and superior sacrifice that brought our salvation. In view of this, the second reading says of Christ: “he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12). The blood of Christ, we are told, purifies our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (cf. Heb. 9:14). By this, Christ replaces the old covenant with the new and seals it with his own precious blood. Thus, the new covenant, based on agape love, is superior to the old.
It is in line with the aforementioned that in the Gospel, Jesus gives us his Body and Blood as a memorial of his death, and even commands us to “do this in memory of me” (I Cor. 11:24-25). Jesus tells us: “take; this is my body”; “This is my Blood, the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (Mk. 14:24). In this new covenant of love, Christ offers his very being, his very life – Body and Blood – for our redemption. The sacrifice of the New Covenant is the shedding of Christ’s blood to redeem us. This is the sacrifice B. F. Westcott calls voluntary, spontaneous, rational and moral. Unlike the animal whose life was forced out of it, Christ voluntarily laid down his life. Out of love, not the Law, Jesus decidedly gave his life for us, a spontaneous action motivated by love. Again, unlike the animal victim ignorant of what was happening to it, Jesus, knew all the time that he was going to die to save humankind. The animal sacrifice was a prescribed ritual mechanically carried out. However, the sacrifice of Jesus was moral since he willingly obeyed God so as to bring about the redemption of human beings.
From the foregoing, it is quite clear that the Eucharist we celebrate is the sacrifice of the new covenant. The old covenant as witnessed in the first reading was imperfect. Christ has given us the one and only satisfier whose effects are miraculous. Just as material food assimilates into the body, so also in the Eucharist, we are assimilated into Christ and Christ into us; united so closely. Notice what Christ says: “He who eats my body and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him” (Jn. 6:56). Paul says: “I live, not I but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). As well, food merely prolongs our lives; however, the Eucharist gives us eternal life. That is why Christ says: “He who eats my body and drinks my blood will have eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day” (Jn. 6:54). Beloved in Christ, by giving us his Body and Blood in the context of a meal, Christ not only wants to nourish us with grace, but to unite himself with us, abide with us, heal, sanctify, restore, protect and guide us on our journey through life. Nothing should prevent us from receiving Holy Communion. We need to repent quickly and frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). Again, we need to approach the Eucharist with the right disposition, sense of adoration and a sincere desire to be Eucharist to other people in terms of love, sacrifice, unity and appreciation. Christ says: ‘I seek union with you.’ Will you let him? Do have a solemn celebration of Corpus Christi. God richly bless us! Remember: #I-Seek-Union-With-You#
By Rev. Fr Lucas Binnah Junior
