Zondag 11 juni 2023, Solemnity

Sunday June 11, Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Today we celebrate the solemn feast of Corpus Christi. It is three feasts in one: the feast of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the feast of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and the feast of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

Although we celebrate the institution of the Holy Eucharist on Holy Thursday, the Church wants to emphasize its importance by this special feast. Because we are reminded, once again, of the abiding presence of our loving God as Emmanuel (God with us), in order that we may give collective thanks to our Lord for his living with us in the Eucharist. Further, we get yet another occasion to learn more about the importance and value of the “Real Presence” of Jesus in the Eucharist, so that we may appreciate the Sacrament better and maximum benefit from receiving Communion.

We believe in the “Real Presence” of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. The eucharistic theologians explain the real presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist by “transubstantiation”  which means the entire substance of bread and wine is changed into the entire substance of the risen, living, glorified Body and Blood of Christ, retaining only the “accidents” (taste, color, shape) of bread and wine. In coming to us and giving himself to us in his Flesh and Blood, Jesus is not humiliating himself; rather, he is expressing his everlasting love for us.

Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist during the Last Supper as a Sacramental banquet and a sacrificial offering. As a sacrament, the Holy Eucharist imparts to us Jesus’ abiding presence in our souls, nourishing and strengthening us for our journey through life. As a sacrifice, the Holy Eucharist is the re-presentation or re-living in an unbloody manner of Christ’s Death on Good Friday and of his Resurrection on Easter Sunday. And this re-presentation assures us of Jesus’ love for us and of his forgiveness of our sins.

Life messages

  • Let us appreciate the “Real Presence” of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, by receiving him with true repentance for our sins, due preparation, and deep reverence.
  • Let our sharing in the same Bread and the same Cup strengthen our sense of unity and love.
  • Let us be Christ-bearers and conveyers: By receiving Holy Communion, we become Christ-bearers as Mary was, with the duty of conveying Christ to others at home and around us, through love, mercy, forgiveness, and humble and sacrificial service.

“O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine! All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine”  (St. Thomas Aquinas)

Wishing you all a Happy Feast of Corpus Christi – Fr Jomon Thomas