Commentary on the Gospel of
Corpus Christi
Read:
King and priest Melchizedek offers up bread and wine. In Paul, we have the earliest account of the institution of the Eucharist. Jesus feeds about five thousand men.
Reflect:
The Feast of Corpus Christi affirms the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist— a scandal for many, but a core experience of faith for the believer. Writing on the Real Presence, Flannery O’Connor, a thoroughbred catholic story teller, recalls an encounter with another author, a fallen-away catholic:
“[She] said that when she was a child and received the Host, she thought of it as the Holy Ghost, He being the ‘most portable’ person of the Trinity; now she thought of it as a symbol and implied that it was a pretty good one. I then said, in a very shaky voice, “Well, if it’s a symbol, to hell with it.” That was all the defense I was capable of but I realize now that this is all I will ever be able to say about it, outside of a story, except that it is the center of existence for me; all the rest of life is expendable.”
Pray:
For an unshakable faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Act:
Today, tend to the Corpus Christi in the body of a needy person.fend us.
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Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus - "The Eucharist, Sacrament of Charity".
In the apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist, Benedict XVI called it the "Sacrament of Charity'' .The church has united Corpus Christi Day and Charity Day. One cannot receive Christ without receiving one's brother.
The Gospel of the multiplication of the loaves was proclaimed where Jesus says to his disciples: "Give him something to eat. "
(Lk.9,13). Christ commands us to take care of the problems of our brothers and sisters. St. John Paul II in his encyclical "Sollicitudo rei socialis" stated: "The Church's most ancient teaching and praxis is the conviction that she herself, her ministers and each of her members are called to alleviate the misery of those who suffer near or far, not only with what is superfluous, but also with what is necessary.
St Vincent de Paul expressed it in these terms: "To be a Christian and to see your brother suffering, without weeping with him, is to be a fake Christian".
The story of the multiplication of the loaves is sobering. It shows us that when we free ourselves from human selfishness, we have enough bread to meet the needs of all, and if we understand the phrase: "Give him something to eat", which Christ uttered, we will have understood the message he wants to convey to us today. Only in that case would the Corpus Christi procession, the flowers, the candles... be justified.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta was asked to give a slogan to work for the most-poor, and she answered: "Let them celebrate the Eucharist well. If I dedicate myself to the marginalised and care for them, it is because I have just received communion, it is Christ Himself, whom I have adored and received at mass, that I see present in the person of my neighbour, especially in the poorest".
God cannot cease to love because he would cease to be God. Don't ask how to define God's love; ask how to experience it, how to understand it, and how to be transformed by it (Raynor Torkington).
Lord: Teach us to put what we have, even if it is only five loaves and two fish, at the service of others.
(Psalm 109) You are an everlasting Priest, according to the rite of Melchizedek.
HAPPY SUNDAY TO YOU ALL
