Sunday 7th June –Solemnity of the most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)

Reflection: Mark 14: 22-26

LOOK BEYOND THE BREAD YOU EAT…

The body and blood express the life of the being that possesses them. Christ once taught His disciples in these words at the close of His earthly life: “Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). There is therefore no greater expression of love than a sacrifice of life in its totality.

God; who is Love, gives His life in the sacrifice of His begotten Son (true God from true God and consubstantial with the Father). Christ out of perfect love gave a sacrifice of Himself for the salvation of the world at the first Eucharistic feast (Mass) during the Passover; with a perfect accomplishment of this ‘once for all’ sacrifice by His death on the Cross (Hebrews 9:12-14). At the Last Supper, He instituted the Eucharist as a memorial of His infinite Love. He gave us a daily nourishment of His true life: in the appearance of bread and wine that we may live His life of Love here on earth and join in the unending feast in heaven. With this perfect sacrifice, He sealed His covenant of love with us; as with the Israelites when Moses sprinkled the blood of sacrificed oxen after all the people had promised to live by the same divine covenant (Exodus 24: 3-8).

Friends in Christ, today we celebrate God’s love for us fully expressed in the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. Let us learn from Christ’s sacrifice as we feast at His table. Let us love as we have been loved: this is living by the divine commandment. Look beyond the bread you eat, see your savior and God. Look beyond the wine you drink, see His love for the world.

PRAYER: Dear God, give me perfect love like Yours. Amen.

KNOW YOUR FAITH: YOUCAT 211 – How important is the Eucharist for the Church?

The celebration of the Eucharist is the heart of the Christian communion. In it the Church becomes Church.
We are not Church because we get along well, or because we happen to end up in the same parish community, but rather because in the Eucharist we receive the Body of Christ and are increasingly being transformed into the Body of Christ.

HIDE A TREASURE: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” John 6: 56 RSV-CE

Today’s Readings: Exodus 24: 3-8; Psalm 116: 12-13, 15-18; Mark 14: 12-16, 22-26