The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
“Eat and Be Satisfied”
Today we celebrate that wonderful Feast of Corpus Christi, celebrating the Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus, the sacred mysteries we celebrate at every Mass, and every time we come to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. This is a wonderful feast because it highlights for us the amazing gift Jesus has given to us of Himself, under the appearance of bread and wine.
It is precisely the symbol of bread and wine—signs that in the Eucharist point to the supernatural realities behind them which provide for us the very divine life of the Trinity—which makes today’s first reading from the Book of Genesis so important. The Letter to the Hebrews, quoting from Psalm 110 (today’s Responsorial Psalm), tells us that Jesus is a priest according to Melchizedek. In Genesis 14 , in today’s reading, we encounter this mysterious figure Melchizedek for the first time.
Melchizedek is the King of Salem, a city whose name gets changed later in Israel’s history to Jerusalem. Melchizedek, furthermore, is not really a name but a title, meaning in Hebrew, “righteous king.” This king functions in this passage like a priest, in fact, the first time the Bible uses the word priest, is here when Genesis states that Melchizedek is “a priest of God Most High” (14:18). Moreover, like a priest, Melchizedek gives Abram his blessing, and Abram pays him a tithe, a tenth, as one would do to a priest (19-20). Most significantly, as far as today’s feast is concerned, Melchizedek presents an offering of bread and wine, which, since he is a priest, would be seen as an unbloody sacrifice. The bread (and wine) kept on the holy table in the later temple, representing the presence of God, was also seen in the biblical tradition as an unbloody sacrifice, since no animal slaughter was involved and yet the table was called an altar, and the incense of sacrifice was kept burning by the altar over which blood was not spilled.
This offering of bread and wine points towards Jesus’ offering of bread and wine, where He is actually present, providing us the true presence of God. At the Last Supper, which St. Paul mentions in today’s second reading from his First Letter to the Corinthians, Jesus made His own sacrificial offering of His Body and Blood, under the appearance of bread and wine.
In the Eucharist, we have Jesus given for us. Jesus is both the gift-giver and the gift-given. Today, let us strive to deepen our Eucharistic devotion. I think many of us often take the wonderful gift we have in the Eucharist for granted. Certainly none of us likely appreciates it as much as we should every time we receive Holy Communion or pray before the Blessed Sacrament. Let’s take some time today to really reflect upon what an amazing gift the Eucharist actually is. It is the only spiritual nourishment that we can eat and be truly satisfied. If we’re not able, for some reason, to receive worthily Holy Communion, we should say a prayer of spiritual communion (many of which can be found online or in a Catholic prayer book). In fact, the practice of saying a spiritual communion can be done by any of us, whenever, and can be a great way to prepare ourselves for receiving Holy Communion Eucharistically. But we can receive the grace of Communion through such a prayer, even if we are unable to receive Holy Communion for some reason. If we deepen our devotion to the Eucharist, we can better incorporate the Eucharist into our daily lives and live the Eucharist, which is what the Blessed Sacrament is all about, helping transform us into other Christs, so that we may transform the world.
- Jeff Morrow