Solemnity of Corpus Christi, June 14,2020

May the participation in this Sunday's Eucharistic celebration offer us not only the opportunity of a life of communion with the Blessed Trinity, but also the graces to be docile to the will of God in our lives.

Happy Sunday!

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Deut 8,2-3.14b-16a; 1 Cor 10, 16-17; John 6,51-58: Solemnity of Corpus Christi, June 14,2020)

On this Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. The readings of the Mass do not tell us about the institution of the Eucharist, but speaks about the Eucharist in other ways. The first reading speaks of manna, which is a prefiguration of the Eucharist. In the second reading, Paul speaks to us of communion with the Body and Blood of Christ. The Gospel presents the last part of Jesus' discourse on the bread of life.

In the second reading, Paul reminds the Corinthians that the Eucharist gives us communion with the Body and Blood of Christ: Is the cup of blessing that we bless, not, perhaps, communion with the blood of Christ? And the bread that we break, is it not a communion with the body of Christ? The answer to these questions is obviously in the affirmative: the consecrated chalice contains the Blood of Christ; the consecrated bread gives us communion with the Body of Christ. It is a profound mystery, a mystery of love, a real mystery of communion. Communion means intimate, profound union. Jesus wanted to offer us communion with himself, the Word of God incarnate; that is why he offered us communion with his Body and his Blood. This communion is not only the union of each of us with Jesus, but also the union with one another. The Eucharist is the source of love, not only for God, but also of fraternal charity. Paul says: Since there is only one bread, although we are many, we are one body: in fact we all participate in the one bread. In this participation in one bread, the profound union of all believers is realised. Let us welcome this extraordinary gift from the Lord. It was an unimaginable thing that everyone could communicate in the Body and Blood of Christ, but Jesus realised this miracle, a miracle of infinite love.

The first reading speaks to us of manna, that is, of the food given by God to his people while they were crossing the desert and not finding the nourishment necessary to survive there. [God] fed you with manna (says Moses to the people) that you did not know about before and which even your fathers had never known. Manna is an extraordinary element that arouses people's surprise. The very name manna means an unknown thing, because in Hebrew it is a question: What is this?=man hu. This is the food prepared by God for his people, who needed it so much to cross the desert. Deuteronomy shows us that manna had a symbolic meaning. It was not only a gift from God, but it was also a revelation: he wanted to make people understand that man does not live only on bread, he lives on what comes from the mouth of the Lord. The manna came from God; in a sense, it came from the mouth of the Lord. But what comes, most authentically, from the mouth of the Lord is his word, law and commands, all of which are an expression of his love and which put man on the path of love. Jesus took up this phrase from Deuteronomy to answer the tempter in the desert, who suggested that he turn the stones into bread: Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matt 4, 4). That is to say, the most important thing for living well is docility to the word of God, welcoming the Word, which illuminates us, shows us the way forward and also gives us the strength to follow it. So, in the time of the Exodus, God worried about giving his people food, and at the same time gave them a very important teaching. The Eucharist is the real manna. In the discourse after the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus says to the crowd: It was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it was my Father who gave you the true bread from heaven; for the bread of God is that which descends from heaven and gives the life of the world (John 6, 32-33). After giving material food to people who were unprovided for in a deserted place, Jesus explains the profound meaning of this miracle: he had to announce a greater miracle, a greater divine gift, that is, the gift of the Eucharist, which is more essential for life. Jesus declares: I am the living bread which came down from heaven. The Jews neither understand nor accept this revelation, and say: How can he give us his flesh to eat? They do not understand that Jesus announces here a mysterious gift: he does not speak of his concrete flesh to eat, but wants to announce a sacrament, which is truly his Body and his Blood and which communicates life to us. Jesus does not, immediately explain that he intends to speak of a sacrament, but insists on the need to eat his flesh and drink his blood: In truth, in truth I tell you: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and do not drink His blood, you will not have life in you. It is about a vital necessity. Jesus underlines it, repeating it several times. You will not have life in you. Jesus does not speak of physical life (and it is possible to live even without receiving the Eucharist) but of the true life, of the life of the soul and spiritual life, which unites man to God forever. Jesus, immediately, specifies it: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. Here, it is not a question of physical life, which necessarily has an end, but of the eternal life, which begins on earth and continues, after death, in heaven. It is the life of union with God in love. The condition for having this life is eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus in the Eucharist; having this mysterious contact with the incarnate Word of God. Jesus knows that we are not pure spirits, but human persons, people who live and express themselves through the body, and, therefore, he wanted to give us intimate contact with himself through communion with his Body and his Blood. Then he reiterates: My flesh is real food, my blood is real drink. This is not on a physical level, but on a spiritual level, that is, on a very important and profound level. Jesus explains that this sacrament perfectly unites with him. This can be described as mutual interiority: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I in him. This is an amazing formula. We are led to think that whoever eats the Eucharist receives Jesus in himself; instead Jesus says first: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me. We dwell in Jesus and Jesus in us. These are the two dimensions of the Eucharist. Through this means we are introduced into the Body of Christ, we dwell in him, we become cells of his Body. And, on the other hand, he lives in us, as Paul says: It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2,20). This is the wonder of the Eucharist, which brings about a perfect union in love: we receive Jesus in ourselves and, at the same time, we are inserted in him. Somehow what happens in our relationship with the atmosphere happens: we are in the atmosphere and, at the same time, we breathe it, that is, we inspire the air inside us. As the Father, who has life, sent me and I live for the Father, so also the one who eats me will live for me. The relationship we have with Jesus is a participation in his relationship with the Father. Jesus lives for the Father, that is, he receives his life from the Father and directs his whole life to the glory of the Father. The expression: I live for the Father has a twofold meaning: through the Father and for the glory of the Father. Similarly, the Eucharist makes us live for Jesus in both directions: he comes to us to communicate his life of union with the Father and, on the other hand, teaches us to direct our life for the glory of the Father, that is, for the manifestation of his love. The Eucharist is a wonderful treasure. We must meditate and contemplate this extraordinary gift: a gift from the whole being of Jesus, who puts himself at our service not only by washing the feet of the apostles, but also by giving himself to us as food and drink. It was not possible for him to become our servant in a more complete way than this. The Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life, because it is the greatest manifestation of Jesus' love for us. And this manifestation reaches each and every one of us. It is not a generic gesture, valid for all men, but an action in which Jesus manages to have a very personal contact with each of us. All these put us in joy, thanksgiving and give impetus to all our lives. Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, have mercy on us! Happy Solemnity of Corpus Christi! +John I. Okoye
(graphics  by charles )