Corpus Christi
As we gather for the feast of Corpus Christi we remember all those places at war this weekend sadly we add Iran to the list of countries at war. With all that is going on it would be very easy to loose hope or at least be a lot less hopeful that things will improve but I am reminded of the saying that hope springs eternal. Even though things seem to be hopeless for so many we have to continue our prayer for peace and not loose our hope. Our prayer for peace as well as praying for the leaders of the nations to have the wisdom to do the right thing are indispensable and we have to keep on praying especially in the current world situation.
In the First Reading Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God, brought bread and wine and blessed Abram. Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything. In the Second Reading Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper, saying the bread is his body and the cup is the new covenant in his blood, to be done in remembrance of him. In the gospel we hear the story of the feeding of the five thousand. The reading and the feast itself are filled with the richness of faith. Jesus fills us with nourishing food both spiritual and physical. Then we are sent out to proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom to all around us, in doing this we provide spiritual food for others through the Word of God and the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the sacrament of thanksgiving. When we see the Eucharistic Bread, we believe that it is Jesus who is there before us in the real presence such is our faith in the Blessed Sacrament. The Church tells us that the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” (CCC 1324)
At the Eucharist God sees our hunger and feeds us through Word and Sacrament. Remember, the crowd in our gospel story was first taught, healed and then fed. Their hungers were both spiritual and physical . Now it is our turn, as well-nourished disciples, to find ways to address the physical and spiritual needs of the people we have noticed along the way who may be hungry. These needs can seem overwhelming. But, as with the bread and fish in the gospel story we take what the Lord has given us and give it freely to others. He will do the rest and all will be satisfied. The eucharistic meal is also a promise: one day we will sit at the banquet feast where there will be no more hunger, no more illness and our satisfaction in God will be complete. Corpus Christi is the solemn commemoration of the institution of the Eucharist on the first Holy Thursday in the upper room. It is the Church’s act of homage and thanksgiving to Christ, who by instituting the Holy Eucharist gave us the members of the Church the body of Christ our greatest treasure.
The feast of Corpus Christi celebrates the enduring sign of Christ’s presence with us personally in the Bread and Wine. It also celebrates Christ’s presence with us in the community of faith where we are. The Eucharist is our sacrament of communion, not only with Christ and God, but also with all those called into the Christian faith. Our communion binds us to one another in a sacred union of mind and heart with Jesus the Son of God our hope in an often times hopeless world.
Fullerton T 