Dear friends,
At the Vatican Council II, the Church declared that “the Eucharist is the summit and source of Christian life.”This is because the Christ who is the foundation of the church and of our life is truly therein. In other words the Eucharist makes the Church in order for the Church to celebrate the Eucharist.
Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi. From today’s readings, three truths can be drawn about the peculiarity of the holy mass as fulfillment of the Covenant. First of all the Eucharist is given to us as superseding all the sacrifices of old. The Letter to the Hebrews reveals to us the power of the Mass. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ renders obsolete all the sacrifices of blood of animals that were performed in the Temple on the Day of Atonement. Today, this opportunity is given us to participate in the true and complete sacrifice of our salvation that was performed once for good by Jesus Christ. From this perspective, when we approach the table of the sacrifice, we are meant to deepen our appreciation of the sacrament through and in which we celebrate our own salvation and redemption.
The second truth from today’s readings is that in the Mass we experience the everlasting presence of Jesus Christ in fulfillment of what He told His disciples: Behold I am always with you until the end of times. At the Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples” “This is my Body, this is my Blood.” While we can experience the presence of Jesus in many ways, the gospel reading shows us that Jesus is fully present in the Eucharist without obstruction or interference. This presence, which is not limited only at Mass is also demonstrated by the red lamp which is beside the tabernacle. It signifies that Jesus is really present there. The presence of the red lamp becomes then a challenge to all and everyone of us. It questions not only the ways we present ourselves in the church but also our conduct and behaviors.
The third truth we carry with us today is that as reenactment of the Sacrifice of Christ, and therefore of the New Covenant, the Holy Mass is the place of the exchange of promises between God and His people. In the mountain, when He gave his Law to the people of Israel, it was the Covenant in which God promised that He will be their God and they will be His people, his nation. Now the key here is “promise.” In the Eucharist Jesus fulfills His promise of being our God and being always with us, never leaving us anymore. We, in return are renewing our promise when we receive Him: on our tongues or in our hands. On our tongues, we promise him to consecrate our mouth to be instrument for the proclamation of His kingdom. We promise that our tongue will not lie, deceive, slander, gossip or speak in a way contradictory to our Christian identity. And when we receive communion in our hands we promise that we will not turn our hands to violence or destruction but rather, we will use them to build up the kingdom. For Jesus has no hands now but ours, no feet now but ours and no mouth now but ours…
So today, as we approach Jesus Christ in the Eucharist we are invited to meditate on the meaning of what we are doing and Who we are receiving. And let us continue to pray for one another and for our parish family.
Father Emery