The Readings:
June 26, 2011
Liturgical Year A, Cycle I
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
First Reading: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:16-17
Gospel: John 6:51-58
These readings can be viewed at http://www.usccb.org/nab/062611.shtml
Gospel Reflection
This Sunday our Church celebrates the Feast of ‘Corpus Christi’, Latin for ‘The Body of Christ’. It is important to remember that we are not celebrating merely a ‘teaching’ on this Sunday, but we are actually celebrating a teaching about a Person, Jesus Christ, and how He reaches out to us to draw closer to us. The Church pauses this Sunday to reflect upon the great gift that Christ has given us of His Eucharist, the Real Presence of Christ given to us in Communion. Our Gospel passage goes right to the heart of the matter, in which Jesus says very clearly that we must eat His Body to have eternal life. We see that Jesus is very explicit in telling us that we are to eat His Body. He doesn't mix words here, nor does He tell us that what we must eat is just a symbol of His Body: We are called to eat the Bread of Life, which is His Body. If we continue reading this passage we see that many of Jesus’ followers left Him because they couldn’t…stomach…the impact of His words. We shouldn’t be surprised that today many Catholics and non-Catholic Christians struggle with the reality of the Real Presence. In this passage, we also see that Jesus connects eating His flesh with eternal life. Most Christians today would say that, to have eternal life, we must confess Jesus as our personal Lord. While that is important, the Biblical way to eternal life is to eat Jesus’ flesh. Where do we have the opportunity to eat Jesus’ flesh? We eat Jesus’ flesh in the Mass, where, through the priest, Christ offers His Body to us so that we can be united with Him. This brings us to the last point of this passage: Christ offers His Body to us so we can have intimacy with Him. This Sunday is ultimately about a God who would do anything for us to be close with us and to have a loving relationship with us – even if that means He has to humble Himself and take on the form of bread to reach us. This Sunday is an opportunity for all of us to examine how well we participate at Mass. Do we come to Mass looking for Jesus? Are we attentive to the readings? Do we listen to the priest’s homily? Have we prepared ourselves through prayer and Sacramental Reconciliation to have Jesus dwell in us? The Eucharist is the greatest gift that Christ has given the Church. The Spirit transforms bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood, and through eating the Eucharist, our whole being – body and soul – is untied with Christ. On our part, we have to live up to the calling to become what we eat: Jesus Christ. If we continue to sin, then we are only fooling ourselves. Participating in the Lord’s Supper calls us to love holiness over anything else in our lives. May we have the faith in God to humbly receive the love Jesus offers us in the Eucharist and transform our lives into a living sacrifice of praise.
Reflection Questions
1. Have you (are anyone you know) ever struggled with the reality of the ‘Real Presence’? If so, how did you (or they) come to accept it as Christ’ Body and Blood?
2. Why would Christ choose bread as His way of being truly present with us? Isn’t it just enough for Him to be present to us in other people?
3. If the Eucharist isn’t really Christ’s Body and Blood, then what is it? How does this Gospel passage refute (argue against) those other explanations?
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