Let’s examine some of the themes in the Mass readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, sometimes called Corpus Christi.
1st Reading – Deuteronomy 8:2-3,14b-16a
Moses reminds the people how they were fed by God with Manna during their journey of forty years.
Moses goes on to exhort the people to never forget the Lord their God and the marvels that they experienced.
Psalm – 147:12-15,19-20
“Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.”
We glorify God as we recall how the Lord strengthens and blesses the people with peace.
2nd Reading – 1st Corinthians 10:16-17
The cup of blessing and the bread we break are part of our communion with the blood and body of Christ.
This communion unites us to God and one another.
Gospel – John 6:51-58
Jesus proclaims that he is “the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will last forever.”
The Lord’s flesh is true food and his blood is true drink; whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood has eternal life, and Christ will raise us up on the last day.
St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians underscores the teaching of the Eucharist, emphasizing that Christ both defines what it is and then commands the disciples to do it in his memory.
At the Passover meal with his disciples, Jesus inaugurates a new covenant in his Body and Blood that we might enter into Holy Communion with the Lord and one another.
On this feast of Corpus Christi, we gratefully acknowledge the sacrament that Jesus defines and commands us to receive. May this precious gift of the Real Presence strengthen us for our work on earth and guide us safely to Heaven.
At every Mass the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, what we call the Real Presence. In his teaching to the disciples, the Lord defines and commands us to receive him in Holy Communion. In light of the past year with the pandemic, we have discovered just how crucial it is for us to carry out this command of Christ.
Three Great Things 