|
Body & Blood |
|
|
Dear Preachers:
Today’s solemnity developed in the Church during the Middle Ages as a way to focus special attention on Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist. We celebrate the Eucharist at every Mass but today invites us to praise and reflect more deeply on the gift Jesus gave at the Last Supper: his Body and Blood offered for the life of the world.
The feast began in the 13th century and was promoted by a Belgian nun, St. Juliana of Liège. At that time there was growing theological reflection on the Eucharist, as well as debate about how Christ is truly present in the bread and wine consecrated at Mass. The feast helped strengthen the Church’s teaching that Christ is truly and substantially present in the Eucharist – not merely symbolically but really present under the appearances of bread and wine.
In our Brooklyn parish, today’s feast was an occasion for a Eucharistic procession. The consecrated host was carried through the streets while the congregation followed behind, praying and singing hymns. We had a sense of walking together with Christ, not just within the church walls, but into our everyday lives in the world. We were expressing devotion but also making a public proclamation of faith to our Protestant and Jewish neighbors. What drew some of us kids to the procession – besides our principal, Sister Albina’s orders – were the snacks we had afterward in the church basement.
The readings for Corpus Christi emphasize themes of covenant, sacrifice, nourishment, and community. We are reminded today that the Eucharist is not only something to be adored, but also a call to become the Body of Christ for others through lives of charity, reconciliation, and service.
Today we celebrate that our God has come close to us and does not leave us. The Eucharist reminds us that Christ continues to feed, strengthen, forgive, and unite us as God’s people. We are called again to gratitude, reverence, and renewed commitment as we endeavor to live what we profess at the altar.
In today’s Gospel (John 6:51–58), Jesus speaks words that startled his listeners and continue to challenge us today: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.” He does not merely describe himself as a teacher who offers wisdom and guidance. He offers his very self as food for the life of the world. At the heart of today’s feast is this astonishing gift: Christ remains with us, nourishing us through the Eucharist.
Many found Jesus’ words hard to understand. They understood only physical hunger and physical bread: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” But Jesus was speaking about a deeper hunger within the human heart – hunger for meaning, forgiveness, communion, hope, and eternal life. The Eucharist answers that deeper hunger because it is not simply a sacred symbol; it is Christ giving himself completely to us.
Every time we come to the altar, we are invited into communion not only with Christ, but also with one another. The Eucharist is never a private devotion alone. We receive the Body of Christ so that we may become the Body of Christ in the world. Bread is broken at the altar, calling us to become people who are broken open in love and service for others.
Today’s feast reminds us that God does not remain silent or distant. In Jesus, God chooses closeness. The Eucharist is Christ’s abiding presence among us: strengthening the weary, forgiving sinners, comforting the sorrowful, and drawing the Church together across every boundary.
Today we are invited not only to adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, but also to recognize him in daily life: in the poor, the forgotten, the suffering, and those who hunger for compassion and dignity.
A Brief Look at the Deuteronomy Reading
The reading from Deuteronomy prepares the way for understanding the Eucharist by recalling God’s gift of manna in the desert. Moses reminds the people that during their years of hunger and wandering, God fed them with “food unknown” to them, teaching that “not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
Placed alongside the New Testament Eucharistic readings, the faithful learn that just as God fed Israel on the journey through the wilderness, Christ now feeds God’s people on their journey through life with the “living bread come down from heaven” in the Eucharist.
Deuteronomy emphasizes memory and gratitude: “Do not forget the Lord.” Corpus Christi is also a feast of remembrance – not mere recalling but entering again into Christ’s saving gift made present in the Eucharist. Israel survived because God nourished them daily; so too does the Church. Believers are spiritually sustained by Christ’s Body and Blood.
Just as God fed Israel in the wilderness, so too our lives can feel like a desert marked by hunger, testing, and uncertainty. The Eucharist is food for pilgrims, strengthening believers just as manna strengthened Israel.
The Deuteronomy reading helps us see the Eucharist not simply as a ritual meal, but as God’s faithful provision for God’s people on our journey toward the promised Kingdom.
Click here for a link to this Sunday’s readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060726.cfm
“Carrying the Blessed Sacrament through the streets means bringing Jesus into the daily life of the people.” ------Pope Francis
----Corpus Christi Homily, 2019
“We, though many, are one body.” —1 Corinthians 10:17
Today’s scripture passage made me think of a term made popular by Saint Pope John Paul II—solidarity. I have an old book of inspirational thoughts called Leaves of Gold (Coslett, 1948) that I like to open on occasion and then reflect upon the words I find written there. One of its little pieces of wisdom seems to be a good definition of the meaning of solidarity.
There is an old legend of a general who found his troops disheartened. He believed it was owing to the fact that they did not realize how close they were to the other divisions of the same army on account of a dense growth of small trees and shrubbery, Orders therefore were given to “Burn the underbrush.” It was done and they saw they were not isolated as they had supposed but were part of one great army. . .So let us burn the brushwood. . .of prejudice, mistrust, and separation. We all have far more in common than we think. We are all under the same great Captain. (127).
Our U.S. Catholic Bish ops have expressed the same sentiment: We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/solidarity.cfm
Taking our understanding of solidarity a step further, the First Letter to the Corinthians states in 12:26, “If one member of Christ’s body suffers, all suffer.” What is the solution for Catholic Christians? The USCCB document, Economic Justice for All (365) gives us the answer: We have to move from our devotion to independence, through an understanding of interdependence, to a commitment to human solidarity. That challenge must find its realization in the kind of community we build among us. Love implies concern for all - especially the poor - and a continued search for those social and economic structures that permit everyone to share in a community that is a part of a redeemed creation (Rom 8:21-23).
How are you practicing solidarity? What steps are you taking to bring down the human walls of prejudice, mistrust, and separation? We are one body.
Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC
Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home. From today’s Deuteronomy reading:
Moses said to the people; “Remember how for forty years now the Lord, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert....”
Reflection:
“Remember,” Moses instructs us. And so, we do. We recall how the bread of life has fed us day by day, often in ways we did not recognize at first. But now we do and now, at this community meal, we remember and give thanks.
So, we ask ourselves:
•The last time I went through a difficult period, who or what gave me strength to continue my desert journey? •How can I now serve the “bread of life” to another who is finding the daily journey hard?
POSTCARDS TO DEATH-ROW INMATES
---Pope Francis
Inmates on death row are the most forgotten people in the prison system. Each week I am posting in this space several inmates’ names and locations. I invite you to write a postcard to one or more of them to let them know that: we have not forgotten them; are praying for them and their families; or whatever personal encouragement you might like to give them. If the inmate responds, you might consider becoming pen pals.
Please write to:
•Roger Blakeney #0033802 (On death row since 9/10/1997) •Marcos Mitchell #0488288 (11/4/1997) •Erroll M. Moses #0552017 (11/18/1997)
Central Prison, PO Box 247, Phoenix MD 21131 (While the prison is in Raleigh mail for inmates is processed at this address)
For more information on the Catholic position on the death penalty go to the Catholic Mobilizing Network: https://catholicsmobilizing.org/
“First Impressions” is a service to preachers and those wishing to prepare for Sunday worship. It is sponsored by the Dominican Friars. If you would like “First Impressions” sent weekly to a friend, CLICK HERE. If you would like to support this ministry, please send tax deductible contributions to:
Fr. Jude Siciliano, OP St. Albert Priory 3150 Vince Hagan Drive Irving, Texas 75062-4736
Make checks payable to: Dominican Friars.
Or go to our webpage to make a secure online donation: https://www.PreacherExchange.com/donations.htm
FREE EMAILS:
We have two English email lists available: a. A preacher's early reflections on the upcoming Sunday's readings and liturgy, always at least one week ahead of the Liturgical Calendar. “A tool to help Preachers prepare for their next trip to the Ambo.” Available in Spanish & English and authored by Fr. Jude Siciliano, OP. b. Click Here to Sign Up. 2. “VOLUME II”
If you would like to submit a reflection of your own, then Click Here to send it as a “Request to Post” to the Webmaster. Deadline is Monday of each week for the upcoming Sunday.
OUR WEBSITE:
https://www.PreacherExchange.com - Where you will find Preachers Exchange, which includes “First Impressions,” and “Volume 2” as well as articles, book reviews, daily homilies and other material pertinent to preaching and Scripture reflection.
FOR INFORMATION OF “ANY KIND” OR TO MAKE A SUGGESTION: Click Here
(Always includes the 6 latest reflections with the newest first.)
• |
|
Today
we celebrate Corpus Christi – The Most Holy Body and Blood of
Christ. It is the third in a series of “big feasts,” preceded by Pentecost
and last week’s Trinity Sunday. Next week we return to Ordinary Time, counting,
with a few exceptions, the Sundays until Advent.
“One
has to strongly affirm that condemnation to the death penalty is an inhuman
measure that humiliates personal dignity, in whatever form it is carried out.”
