Celebrating the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

This weekend across the world, Catholics will attend Mass and be told it is the Feast of the Body & Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi.  Since the beginning of Christianity and for ages unending it is the teaching of the Catholic Church that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharistic species.  Jesus is truly present in the bread, sometimes referred to as hosts, and in the wine.  We know this to be so because it is a teaching handed on to us by Jesus.  We will read this weekend from John Chapter 6, the Bread of Life discourse.  Jesus uses strong and unambiguous language, speaking literally, to tell us that one must eat his flesh and drink his blood to have life!  There is no symbolic words used here, this is not a parable or a story.  Jesus, giving us an Amen, Amen, meaning listen up, this is important says whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day!!  Jesus tells us that his flesh is true food and his blood true drink.  Again, nothing symbolic here!


We also have the powerful reading from St. Paul written to the fledgling Christian community of Corinth.  St. Paul expresses beautifully that the cup and the bread is a participation in the blood and the body of Christ.  Now there are some important things to consider when we pray with this Scripture.  First, St. Paul was no where near the Bread of Life discourse or the Last Supper or Good Friday.  Yet here he is, decades later accepting with no argument that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist.  And how would this have been handed on to Paul?  He received this teaching by word of mouth.  Why would this be important for St. Paul to know and teach and share now?  It is strongly implied that there was some form of Mass, a Eucharistic celebration where bread and wine must become the Body and Blood of Christ.  And this remains true even to this day at every Mass, in every corner and crevasse of the world. 


We call the action that takes simple gifts of bread and wine and changes them to the Body and Blood of Jesus transubstantiation.  Without losing any physical aspects of bread and wine, the gifts indeed become the Body and Blood of Jesus by the words and actions of the Priest.  It is important to teach that we do not sacrifice Jesus over and over again at every Mass, no, the Mass is the re-presentation of Calvary, the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ, in an un-bloody manner on the altar.


Finally, in this 1st post celebrating this feast, we, as Catholics should be mindful that we should receive Jesus in the Eucharist reverently and properly disposed, having confessed any sins that would prevent us from receiving Holy Communion.  I will have more on this tomorrow.


O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine!!!