CORPUS CHRISTI: THE REAL PRESENCE OF CHRIST WITH US
The Solemnity of Corpus Christi was intended to affirm Catholic belief in the Real Presence of the Risen Christ in the consecrated bread and wine at Mass. A firm belief in the Body and Blood of Christ and regular reception of the Blessed Sacrament or Holy Communion is fundamental to Catholic doctrine, spirituality and growth in holiness. It is our inheritance.
The feast came to be accompanied by processions where the Blessed Sacrament, held in an elaborate monstrance, would be carried to “altars of repose,” for adoration by the faithful and Benediction (blessing) with the Blessed Sacrament.
The Eucharist is the centre of our catholic faith and liturgical celebration. It is the perfect and highest form of prayer offered in adoration of God, in thanksgiving for graces and favour, in reparation for sins and petitions of our needs.
The implication of the Eucharist in our daily lives is that the Eucharistic meal invites us to become what we eat: Lord Jesus Christ in the fullness of divinity and humanity. We must become Christ, Christ-bearers and Christ-conveyers.
The Eucharistic meal challenges us to fellowship, unity, and genuineness, becoming what we share and eat- namely: LOVE. It is not a moral meal of RIGHTNESS AND WRONGNESS. It is a feast and celebration of love, peace, unity and reconciliation. A meal of giving, sharing and pouring out a life for others in loving service.
THE HOLY MASS IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF PRAYER
The Holy Eucharist, Vatican II tells us, is “the source and summit of the Christian life”. This is because we are baptized, confessed, confirmed, wedded, ordained, and visited to celebrate and receive the Holy Eucharist worthily.
It is also the sacramental mystery of the Church as indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it.
The Eucharist in Latin “eucharistia”, is from the Greek word “eukharistia” which means “thanksgiving, gratitude.” The Greek word “eukharistos” signifies “grateful,” where “eu” means “well” and the stem of “kharizesthai” signifies “show favour,” from the word “kharis” which means “favour, grace.”
OUR SENSE OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST
The sense of meal is what makes a family house a home. It is a place of loving encounters that deepens family and friendship ties. Hence, at meals bellies are not just being filled, at meals memories, laughers and joys are shared. It is a profound gesture of togetherness, harmony and peace as the meal is never shared with a perceived enemy without reconciliation first. This is my African sense of meal.
The Eucharistic meal in the same way is a Peace meal of reconciliation with God and our brothers and sisters. It is a meal of God’s family, where the Church is the home of sharing for all. It is a place of feasting and celebration, but over and above all, the Eucharist is the CENTRE OF OUR FAITH, OF OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE AND COMMUNAL LIFE AS A CHURCH.
FIRST READING: DEUTERONOMY. 8:2-3, 14-16
In the Book of Deuteronomy, today Moses reminds his people when they are about to enter the Promised Land, of the many gifts that God has given them, not only freeing them from Egypt. He also reminds them how God help them on their long pilgrimage through the desert, especially in as for food and drink, drawing water from the rock and feeding them manna in the desert.
Moses prefigured the Eucharistic meal as a rich memory and thus enjoined the Israelites to be faithful to God’s word and learn from the forefathers’ memory.
THE PSALM AND THE SEQUENCE
The psalmist through Psalm 116:13 invites us to be appreciative and thankful to God for the Body and Blood of his Son: Jesus Christ. He acclaims, “I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.”
This acclamation or responsorial is my act of thanksgiving whenever I celebrate the Eucharist since my ordination. Especially, as an unworthy person or instrument privileged to celebrate in the Person of Christ.
The Sequence Hymn for the Feast of Corpus Christi: “Lauda Sion Salvatorem” is a song of praise and adoration to the Immolated Lamb of God whose Body and Blood is our Salvific Meal: the Eucharist. It is one of the hymns composed originally by St. Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274) for the liturgical celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.
The Palmist and the Sequential Poet sang the praise of Christ, the sacrificial Lamb in the eternal feast of joy and love.
SECOND READING: 1 CORINTHIANS. 10:16-17
In memory of the One Shared Bread and the One Shared Cup, St. Paul urges us to form one single indivisible body of Christ: the Eucharistic Assembly or Gathering with Christ as its Centre.
Hence, Saint Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, reminds them of the community consequences that derive from participation in the Lord’s Table: those who eat together that unique bread, which is Jesus, cannot live disunited.
THE GOSPEL: JOHN. 6:51-58
If in Saint Paul we already found some effects of our participation in the Lord’s Banquet, Jesus himself in the Gospel of Saint John confirms what happens when we participate in that very special sacrament, in which we eat his body and drink his blood.
The Eucharistic meal where Christ gives his TRUE BODY AND BLOOD, as real food for eternal life is not a logic or doctrine of faith but a celebrated mystery of faith we are all called to share and participate.
EACH EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION WE CELEBRATE OR ATTEND AS CHRISTIANS ARE FOR FOUR INTENTIONS:
(a) It is an act of thanksgiving for all He has done, is doing and will do for us, especially the salvific work of our redemption.
(b) It is an act of reparation for our sins, to be worth partaking in the most holy, perfect and living sacrifice.
(c) It is an act of petitions for our needs, the needs of the universal church, and the needs of others both living and dead.
(d) It is also an act of adoration to God, perfect worship renders to God: Father for the work of our creation; the Son for our redemption and the work of our sanctification through the Holy Spirit.
The feast is liturgically celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday or, where the Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is not a holy day of obligation, it is assigned to the Sunday after the Most Holy Trinity as its proper day.
THE EUCHARISTIC MEAL IS A PEACE AND RECONCILIATION MEAL
The sense of meal is what makes a family house a home. Mealtimes are not just rituals but fundamental moments to deepen family and friendship ties. This is not just a tradition or cultural trend, it is also spiritual. Having meals in the family in the African sense is not just a moment to fill the belly. It is a profound gesture of togetherness and peace. This is why enemies or perceived enemies are not welcome to share our table.
Traditionally, when there is a cleansing rite of reconciliation or peace, the ritual is concluded with partaking in a shared meal as a sign of unity and togetherness. It is friends who share a meal, not enemies. A reconciled party must or should eat together as a sign of peace and reconciliation.
The Eucharistic Meal in the same sense, is a peaceful meal of reconciliation with God and humans. It is the meal of brothers and sisters of the family of God and the Church is the home for sharing. This is the community sense of the Eucharist as a celebration! However, over and above this sense, the Eucharist is the CENTRE OF FAITH; OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE AND THE COMMUNAL LIFE OF THE CHURCH.
EUCHARISTIC PEACE AND ITS IMPLICATION
In the same way or manner, we cannot approach the sacrament of the Eucharist with hate, bitterness or rancour in our hearts against a fellow Christian brother and sister. The worthy reception of the Eucharist is with a reconciled heart and forgiving spirit towards all who offend us or those we offend as well.
Fundamentally, the Eucharistic meal invites us to become what we eat: Lord Jesus Christ in the fullness of divinity and humanity. We must become Christ, Christ-bearers and Christ-conveyers. It implies when assisting at the celebration of the Eucharist, we draw strength and grace from Christ. When the celebration is over liturgically, we go into the world to become what we celebrate. That is becoming a perfect and living sacrifice for others as well.
OUR PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, the Eucharist is our strength and joy, our faith´s commitment and the love that gives meaning to all our existence. Help us to appreciate your self-gift to us in the Real Presence, and may we offer our lives for what we partake in you a sacrifice and become you: our Eucharistic meal. Amen
