HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI

 HOMILY FOR SOLEMNITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI (SOLEMNITY OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST) YEAR C 

Genesis 14: 18-20; Psalm 110: 1, 2, 3, 4; 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26; Luke 9: 11b-17

THE TREASURE OF THE BLOOD AND BODY OF CHRIST

I pray for you: May you continue to come to the Lord Jesus and be fed by Him and in return give thanks to God as you proclaim the Good News by your living out your relationship with Jesus. AMEN

Today is the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. It is also called Corpus Domini. It is celebrated sixty days after Easter. It is today that we have procession of Corpus Christi. In most regions, the procession is shifted to the 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time, which is the Solemnity of Christ the Universal King, because of Pastoral reasons, which include rainy season. 

Again, in some countries such as Switzerland, Germany, Brazil and others, they celebrated this Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ last Thursday, June 8 2023, which is the actually day for the solemnity. In these countries, the Thursday of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi is always a public holiday.

Dear Sisters and Brothers, today we are celebrating the BELIEF in the body and blood of Christ Jesus. Today, we are also celebrating the REAL PRESENCE OF JESUS CHRUST in the Holy Eucharist. 

The Eucharist, in addition to being a meal, is also a sacrifice. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29), and as the sacrificial lamb on the altar of the cross, he took upon himself the sins of us all (Isaiah 53:6b). It was his supreme act of love because there is no greater love than this, for a person to lay down his or her life for his or her friends (John 15:13), and Jesus Christ did this for us while we are still sinners (Romans 5:8). Jesus Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering (Ephesians 5:2). 

At Mass during the consecration, when the priest says the Words of Institution, he uses the words of Jesus Christ at the Last Supper: This is my body, which will be given up for you. To give up means that “he would offer his body in sacrifice”. Next, the priest says, This is the chalice of my blood  which will be poured out for you. The “pouring out” would be a blood sacrifice, and the purpose would be for the forgiveness of sins. We are now justified by his blood (Romans 5:9). 

The celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not a reenactment of the sacrifice of the Cross, rather it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The sacrifice cannot be repeated (cf. Hebrews 9:12). The sacrifice that Jesus Christ offered on the Cross was perfect and complete, and there is nothing that can be done to add to it. 

The Mass is a memorial in which Christ is made present. This blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, dear sisters and brothers, is connected to two other major Old Testament events. On the first Passover, the paschal lamb was sacrificed, its blood was smeared on the lintel and the two doorposts, and the blood saved the lives of the Hebrew people (Exodus 12:21-23). On Good Friday, Jesus Christ, the innocent and unblemished lamb, was sacrificed, his blood was smeared on the wood of the cross, and his blood is life and salvation for all. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai and ratified the covenant, he ordered the sacrifice of young bulls, that the blood be collected in large bowls, and that half of the blood would be sprinkled on the altar, which represented God, and the other half sprinkled on the people. Moses explained: This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you (Exodus 24:8). 

The blood that Jesus offered at the Last Supper and shed on the cross has sealed the new and eternal covenant. Thus, the love of Jesus begs a response from us  love in response to love, sacrifice in response to sacrifice. St. Paul instructs us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God (Rom 12:1).

Sharing a meal with another symbolizes a desire to be united with that person. In our various cultures and traditions, it is quite glaring that we celebrate key points in our lives by coming together and eating. It also gives us an opportunity to share our story with others. It is no wonder that Jesus chose to allow His followers to stay in touch with Him by sharing a meal and remembering Him.  How blessed are we as we come to the table of the Lord Jesus and feast on Him who died and rose for us. May we continue to give thanks to God for allowing us to be one with the Lord Jesus.​​ AMEN

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) nos. 1324-1327 said much about the Eucharist. The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life” (LUMEN GENTIUM 11).  It means that the other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch (Presbyterorum Ordinis 5). 

The Eucharist is the culmination both of the action of God in sanctifying the world in Christ; and of the worship men offer to Christ and through him to the Father in the Holy Spirit (Congregation of Rites, instruction, Eucharisticum mysterium, 6). By the Eucharistic celebration we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life, when God will be all in all (Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:28). 

In brief, the Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith: "Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking" (St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 4, 18, 5: PATROLOGIS GRAECA 7/l, 1028). CCC 1333 says: At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration are the bread and wine that, by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ's Body and Blood. In CCC 1377-1378, the Church teaches: The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist (i.e as long as the Eucharistic Species last). Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ (Cf. Council of Trent: DS 1641). 

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT BELIEVE IN THE EUCHARIST IS THAT CATHOLICS BELIEVE IN THE REAL PRESENCE OF CHRIST IN THE EUCHARIST. In the liturgy of the Mass. we express our faith in the real presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine by, among other ways, genuflecting or bowing deeply as a sign of adoration of the Lord (cf. Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei 56).

The FRUITS OF HOLY COMMUNION (BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST) are as follows (CCC 1391-1398): FIRST, the principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus (cf. Jn 6:56, 57; Fanqith, Syriac Office of Antioch, Vol. 1, Commun., 237 a-b). SECOND, it preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace received at Baptism (cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis 5). THIRD, Holy Communion separates us from sin. The Eucharist cleanse us from past sins and preserves us from future sins (cf. St. Ambrose, De Sacr. 4, 6, 28: Patrologia Latina 16, 446; cf. 1 Cor 11:26). FOURTH, the Eucharist restores our strength, strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this living charity wipes away venial sins (Cf. Council of Trent (1551): Denzinger Schonmetzer 1638). By giving himself to us Christ revives our love and enables us to break our disordered attachments to creatures and root ourselves in him (St. Fulgentius of Ruspe, Contra Fab. 28, 16-19: Corpus Christianorum Series Latina, 19A, 813-814). FIFTH, Eucharist preserves us from future mortal sins. The more we share the life of Christ and progress in his friendship, the more difficult it is to break away from him by mortal sin. It does not mean that Eucharist forgives us of mortal sins, No. It is the work of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. SIXTH, the Eucharist makes the Church. Those who receive the Eucharist are united more closely to Christ (Cf. 1 Corinthians 12:13; 10:16-17; St. Augustine, Sermo 272: PL 38, 1247). SEVENTH, the Eucharist commits us to the poor. To receive in truth the Body and Blood of Christ given up for us, we must recognize Christ in the poorest of his brethren (St. John Chrysostom, Hom. in 1 Corinthians 27, 4: PG 61, 229-230; cf. Matthew 25:40). 

The First Reading describes the gifts of Melchizedek, the priest-king of Salem (Shalom - peace).  The gifts were bread and wine. Melchizedek was one of the kings during the time of Abraham.  He was King of Salem (king of Shalom/peace). Not only was he a king, but he also was a priest.  Nothing is known of his origins or his history in the Old Testament other than the verses in Genesis.  He offers Abraham, the chosen one of God, bread and wine. In turn, Abraham gives him a tithe (10%) of his possessions. Melchizedek is seen as a prefigurement of Jesus in many ways. Jesus is truly the King of Shalom (Peace), since He has come to reestablish the peace relationship between God and us, the people. Jesus is the priest, king, and prophet par excellence. Jesus takes the gifts of bread and wine, transforms them into His own Body and Blood, and gives them to us as our food.  Jesus, like Melchizedek, has origins and history which are beyond the normal scope of knowledge.  

The Responsorial Psalm describes the Lord of David, his descendant who will be more important than David himself, who will be both king and priest. The Responsorial Psalm is the prayer of David.  In this prayer, David hears the Lord God call upon one of the descendants of David and call him Lord. This person will be like Melchizedek of old, priest and king, and will rule as King of Jerusalem and more. This descendant of David will be able to be called not only descendant of David, but also the begotten one of God. It is no wonder that this psalm is applied to Jesus, the King of Peace, and only begotten Son of God, who is the King and Priest (and Prophet).

The second reading is the first written account of the celebration of the first Eucharist at the Last Supper and its application to the regular worship service of the early Christians. The Second Reading of today, which comes from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians, was written less than 30 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus (circa 57 AD). It is the first written account that exists of what took place at the Last Supper and what continues to be the core of the Eucharistic celebration of the days of Paul, and ours, too. Paul begins by saying that he is handing down (traditio) what has been handed down to him by Jesus. This tradition is what Jesus did at the Last Supper, on the night before He died. Paul describes the action with which we are so familiar: that the Lord Jesus. . .took bread. . .giving thanks, broke it and said, This is My body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me. Paul concludes this section by proclaiming, For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. It is in our sharing in this Eucharistic (thanksgiving) celebration that we truly continue the proclamation of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The Gospel of today is one of the multiplications of loaves by Jesus in order to feed the people. It is seen as a foretaste of His feeding His disciples with His own Body and Blood. The actions of Jesus are the same as those related by Paul in the Second Reading of today, and to the actions we use in our Eucharistic celebrations today: Taking bread, looking up to heaven, blessing (saying a benediction), breaking, and sharing. By taking the bread Himself, Jesus is personally involved in the action of feeding and nourishing the people. In looking up to heaven, He shows His unity with His heavenly Father.  In blessing the bread, Jesus demonstrates His saying well (Latin bene dictio) of not only the bread but also what is implied in the bread, the feeding of the people.  And finally in His giving and sharing, He shows that He continues to bestow His gifts on others.  Then Jesus has His disciples be a part of His action by their distribution.

Dear Sisters and Brothers, as I reflect on the gift that Jesus gave us, the gift of salvation through the giving of His Body and Blood both sacramentally and physically on the cross, I am once again in awe at the magnificence and perfect plan of God. Jesus is very much aware of the Hebrew (and other nations) significance of a covenant, a relationship which binds people, often celebrated with a meal.  He also realized the power of zikaron, that is, the remembering and re-enacting and making present again. Jesus wanted His disciples to celebrate His saving death and to remember how He had brought about our salvation. Obviously they could not offer another perfect sacrifice, since His perfect sacrifice was a once and for all sacrifice. But, in zikaron (remembering and re-enacting), they were able to make present the Lord Jesus giving of Himself, His Body and Blood. They were able to take up the bread and the cup and He would be present with them again as they proclaimed His death until He comes again. They would be able to be one with Him at His table and receive Him once again.  

Dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, how awesome is our God who allows us to bind ourselves again (re-ligio) by remembering and re-enacting the saving moments of our salvation. We renew our blood covenant, the New Covenant in the Blood of Jesus, whenever we come together and give thanks (eucharistein). We proclaim His death and resurrection as we await His return. We zikaron (remember and re-member) the gift of Jesus Himself and take Him into our very being. 

The words of Jesus in John 6: 53-57 become so meaningful to me: Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise that one up on the last day. For My Flesh is real food and My Blood is real drink. Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood remains in Me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me.

     

MEDITATION How well do I proclaim the death of the Lord through my participation in the Eucharistic celebration? Can people sense my communion (union with) with Jesus as I receive the Bread of Life and drink from the Cup of Salvation? When I leave church after participation in the Eucharist, do I continue to proclaim the death and resurrection of Jesus by the way I treat others?   

PRAYER Lord God, we thank You for the time when we will be allowed to fully participate in this sacred feast and proclaim His death and resurrection whenever we eat this Bread and drink the Cup.  We lift up this prayer of Eucharist (thanks and praise) to You through the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.  Amen.

O DIVINE WORD WHO TOOK FLESH FOR HUMAN SAKE, REDEEM US IN OUR SITUATION

© Rev Fr Utazi Prince Marie Benignus Zereuwa