June 14—Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ

Readings: Deuteronomy 8: 2-3, 14b-16a; Psalm 147, Response: Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.; 1 Corinthians 10: 16-17; Gospel: John 6: 51-58

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, remembering God’s great gift, the Holy Eucharist. During Holy Thursday we also celebrate the Institution of the Holy Eucharist in the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

However, that had a more somber atmosphere, as it was the night before Jesus died and the night of his betrayal by Judas.

Today’s feast is celebrated with the joy of Easter, and with a spirit of generosity and devotion as we live our lives sharing in the mission of the Risen Lord and the his Church.

This is the last of the Sunday liturgy celebrations before we completely move into ordinary time, even on Sundays. It is truly a fitting synthesis to the seasons of Lent, Holy Week and Easter.

I invite you today to reflect on the gift of the Holy Eucharist in our day-to-day life.

There are three narratives from the Gospels that I will reflect on. One is the multiplication of the loaves and fish. Two is the account of the Last Supper. Three is the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

In the multiplication of the loaves and fish, we bring to the Lord the limits of our humanity. It shows that amid human scarcity, the miracle of God’s abundance of grace takes place.

In the version of John, Andrew brings the young lad with five loaves and two fish to the Lord. In a similar way, we humbly bring ourselves, the poverty of our sinfulness, to the merciful and forgiving love of the Lord during the penitential rite at the start of the Eucharist.

Special encounters

Both moments are special encounters with the Lord, in which the power of our humanity ends and the divine love takes over to transform this helplessness into the power of God’s grace and love.

This is our first spiritual communion at Mass, a communion that is further nurtured through the feeding of our mind, heart and soul with God’s word from scripture and the reflections in the homily. This prepares us for the sacramental communion in the liturgy of the Eucharist.

The account of the Last Supper in Luke, repeated by Paul in his Letter to the Corinthians, shows us the moments when Christ took the Eucharist, gave thanks, broke and gave. This is the pattern of Jesus’ life, passion, death and Resurrection.

This is the flow of the grace of the Eucharist. We take—take stock of our life—reintegrate, heal and become whole, and, in doing so, discover God’s faithful love and providential presence in our life, graciously showering us with blessings and gifts, and mercifully healing our brokenness and forgiving our transgressions.

We rediscover our wholeness and integrity as a person, and we discover God’s love that makes us whole and holy. Our response to this love is gratitude. We bless God and give thanks.

Out of gratitude we offer back to God, “returning love for love.” We “break,” offering back to God all that he has given us. To paraphrase St. Ignatius of Loyola, all that we are and have we see as gifts from God, and our only desire becomes seeking only his love and grace.

This culminates in the giving of self in love and service to God and to others.

Jesus as companion

Our final point for reflection on the Holy Eucharist is from the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. There are two graces we see in this narrative.

First is the moment of recognition of Jesus, “… how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” (Luke 24:35)

In every Eucharist, it is this presence of Jesus that is given to us as the grace of the Sacrament. It is a recognition of Jesus as companion on the road, helping us remember how much he loves us.

This is the encounter when we feel once more “our hearts burning [within us]” (Luke 24:32), renewing the inspiration to live in and for this love. With hearts burning, we bring Jesus into the world.

Each celebration of the Eucharist is a renewal of mission that sends us out into the world to proclaim Jesus’ love for us.

In this time of pandemic, when our physical reception of the Holy Eucharist was not possible for months and still limited to this day, God has blessed us with another grace, beautifully expressed in this prayer of St. Alphonsus Liguori:

“My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.” —CONTRIBUTED