Sunday, Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. June 18, 2017.
1st Reading:Deuteronomy 8:2-3.14b-16a.
Moses said to the people: “Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments.
He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.
“Do not forget the LORD, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery; who guided you through the vast and terrible desert with its saraph serpents and scorpions, its parched and waterless ground; who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock and fed you in the desert with manna, a food unknown to your fathers.” The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Ps:147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
R/. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
2nd Reading:1st Corinthians 10:16-17.
Brothers and sisters: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. The word of the Lord.
Holy Gospel: John 6:51-58.
Jesus said to the crowds: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” The gospel of the Lord.
SUNDAY REFLECTIONS:
Happy Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, our Lord and God! What a Gift we celebrate today! The Eucharist is everything. It’s all things, the fullness of life, eternal salvation, mercy, grace, happiness, etc. Why is the Eucharist all this and so much more? Simply put, the Eucharist Is God. Period. Therefore, the Eucharist is all that God is. This statement of faith reveals that when we worship before the Eucharist, we worship God Himself hidden under the appearance of bread and wine. Our senses are deceived. What we see, taste and feel do not reveal the reality before us. The Eucharist is God.
Throughout our lives, if we were raised Catholic, we were taught reverence for the Eucharist. But “reverence” is not enough. Most Catholics reverence the Eucharist, meaning, we genuflect, kneel, and treat the Sacred Host with respect. But it’s important to ponder a question in your heart. Do you believe the Eucharist is God Almighty, the Savior of the world, the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity? Do you believe deeply enough to have your heart moved with love and profound devotion every time you are before our divine Lord present before us under the veil of the Eucharist? When you kneel do you fall down prostrate in your heart, loving God with your whole being?
Perhaps this sounds like it’s a bit excessive. Perhaps simple reverence and respect is enough for you. But it’s not. Since the Eucharist is God Almighty, we must see Him there with the eyes of faith in our soul. We must profoundly adore Him as the angels do in Heaven. We must cry out, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.” We must be moved to the deepest of worship as we enter into His divine presence.
Together we pray: I devoutly adore you, O hidden Deity, Truly hidden beneath these appearances. My whole heart submits to you, and in contemplating you, it surrenders itself completely. Sight, touch, taste are all deceived in their judgment of you, but hearing suffices firmly to believe. Jesus, I trust in You that You alone will heal our sick brethren and set them free. May the souls of our faithful departed brethren rest in perfect peace, amen. Have a blessed and fulfilled Sunday.