BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
11th June 2023 (Sunday) Readings and Reflection
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a
Moses spoke to the people, saying, You shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. "Take care lest you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know.
Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20 (12a)
R/. O Jerusalem, glorify the Lord! Or: Alleluia.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:16-17
Brethren: 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 there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
Gospel : John 6:51-58
At that time: Jesus said to the crowds of the Jews, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever."
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Main Theme: Life, possible because united!
Indicative: The FEAST of Corpus Christi that we celebrate today is truly a feast of life and oneness. It is a call to live in communion and commitment{alertSuccess}
1. This Sunday we celebrate the FESTIVITY of the Body and Blood of Christ. One may ask why to speak in this separatist language. Why can't we speak more holistically and personally as "the person" of Christ?
2. Here the point is not language or technicality. We are not speaking of two separate items, body and blood.
3. Rather, it is in specific reference to the sacramentality of the person of Christ. The reference is to the sacrament of the holy Eucharist. It is the Sacramental mode of the Eucharistic presence of the Lord.
4. It signifies the eternal nourishment by the Eucharistic Lord. It points to the marvellous transformation of bread as his own body and the wine as his own blood to feed us and nourish us.
5. Thus Body and blood of Christ are not merely physical or biological components. They are the essence of Christ and his sacramental presence and wholeness.
6. Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life; whoever eats of my flesh and drinks my blood, will not die, but will live forever” (Jn 6. 35-58). It will be simplistic and even foolish to mistake it literally and mock it as cannibalism, as some do.
7. Such a protest is not worth our reflection now. Here very clearly the whole concern of Jesus is “Life”, the kind of life that he offers to us, the quality of life that we must live.
8. Our God is God of life, a living and life-giving God. We are His children. We are destined for eternal life. We are meant to live our life fully (Jn 10. 10: “I came to give life and life in its full measures”) and joyfully (Jn 15. 11: “so that my joy be in you and that be complete”).
9. Therefore, we are people of a culture of life. We need to live this life of God, the divine and the spiritual life, and not merely the earthly, the material and the worldly life. We are called to live more than the "natural" existence. It is a call to live the "supernatural" life, the life of grace.
10. So, any attempts and actions against such a culture of life are counter- productive and counter- witnessing. Sadly, in our times a culture of death is virulent in its diabolic forms of aggression, violence, hatred, retaliation and destruction.
11. In our present times, a culture of death is viral. The beauty, value and the power of life are reduced and despised. Consequently many live without the inner vitality, without the dynamism and the direction of life.
12. Life in the case of a good number appears to be empty, weak and aimless. It is in such a context, the feast of the most holy body and blood of Christ, the feast of the Holy Eucharist, is a timely and perennial recall and recharge.
13. This devilish culture is a blatant contradiction to the very nature of life, our existence as human beings, our identity as God’s children and our destiny as heirs of eternal life.
14. Apart from these explicit forms of death, there are also other passive aggressive forms of death in the form of excessive fear and tension, depression and emptiness. These forms take away the beauty and charm, the worth and value of life. They make life a dry, barren, burdensome and joyless enterprise.
15. It is in this context, Jesus assures us of the abundance and beauty of life. He also shows us how to obtain it and live it so. “Live interiorly, with the inner power; Live vibrantly and rightly, by the guidance and strength of this inner power; Live high and above with a sense of orientation for the eternity”.
16. This is what Jesus means in Jn 6. 56-58, disclosing the three fundamental signs and effects of the Holy Eucharist: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever”.
17. Therefore, an intimate mutual interior dwelling, vigorous process of living and focused orientation to eternity – this is what the whole life is about. In other words, interiority (of divine presence), dynamism and vigor (of the way of life), and the focus and direction (towards eternity) are the hallmarks of a culture of life, the new life that Jesus offers us.
18. Seen in this wider perspective of life, we must constantly deepen and enhance our reverence and devotion to the holy Eucharist. We must desire to receive it regularly and frequently. We must avoid the danger to reduce the Holy Eucharist only to a pious practice, a thing to be venerated and worshipped.
19. The holy Eucharist is much more than that. It is the person of Christ himself. It is the fount of life. It is the link of bonding. It is the source of communion. It is the interior power. It is the energy of living. It is the direction to an eternal destiny.
20. How sad it is that venerating and receiving the holy Eucharist, we do not experience the presence of Jesus, his abiding in us! Why do we not feel the bond of communion with him and with others in our believing community?
21. Why do we live so shallow lives, without depth and interiority? Why do we often feel weak and under-nourished, in spite of this greatest nourishment? Why do we often let ourselves misguided and controlled by other forces of evil and the world? Why are we often without any higher goals, without a sense of purpose and destiny?
Imperative: The Body and Blood of Christ should remind us that we are all one Body of Christ and we all have the same blood of God's own Spirit flowing in each of us. Sharing the same body, we cannot rupture it. Sharing the same blood, we cannot shed blood of others.{alertSuccess}