DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Exodus 24,3-8; Hebrews 9,11-15; Mark 14,12-16.22-26: Solemnity of Corpus Christi: June 3, 2018 Year B)
The Church invites us today to celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, that is to say, the mystery of the Eucharist in which our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man is truly, really and substantially present. The narrative of the institution of the Holy Eucharist according to the Evangelist Mark could give the impression that Jesus invented, there and then, the idea of instituting the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Rather, it was not an idea that came to his mind just at the last Supper. He did give thought to it as can be seen from his discourse on the bread of life in the gospel according to John (John 6, 50-66). The institution of the Blessed Eucharist was, therefore, a thought out gesture and rite from Jesus that has its foundation in the Old Testament. It was a part of the history of salvation of the world which God progressively realised through the instrumentality of the people of Israel, whose peak was the coming of Son of God into the world.
It is a well-known fact that the religion of the Old Testament is the religion of alliance between God and his people (Exodus 24,8). The text of the first reading is the conclusion of the rite of the establishment of the alliance between God and his people at the foot of Mount Sinai. God took the initiative and offered the people a pact of friendship (Exodus 19,5) in which Moses acted the role of God’s spokesperson, and intermediary/mediator between God and the people of Israel. The people of Israel accepted the proposal and the duty of observing all the commands which the Lord gave us.The pact was ratified with holocaust and communion sacrifice as well as with the aspersion of the people with the blood of the sacrificed animals. These rites were to purify them and to render them worthy of making a pact with God. This alliance between God and the people of Israel at Sinai continued to be in vigour until the coming of Christ when it ended. In fact, Jesus initiated another pact of friendship with God. This new alliance was concluded through an intermediary, Jesus Christ himself as Paul asserts in the second reading of today: He (Jesus) is the (mediator of the New Alliance (Hebrew 8,15). This New alliance was concluded, ratified and sealed with the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. It is clear that the New Alliance has an edge over the Old Alliance. The old one was a prefiguration of the new, a sort of shadow in respect to the new that is the reality. Besides, the Old Alliance was made between God and the people of Israel alone, while the New Alliance was a treaty of friendship between God and the entire humanity since it was the sins of all that Christ expiated/atoned for and it was for all that he shed his blood. He (Jesus) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, not for our sins only but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2,2). 
The New Alliance was ratified with Christ’s self-immolation at Calvary. The sacrifice of the Calvary accomplished by Christ once and for all is perpetuated sacramentally in the celebration of the Holy Mass. The new pact of friendship between God and humanity entered into in the blood of Christ is rendered present, actual and perennially represented in the Eucharistic mystery under the sacramental signs of bread and wine. This is exactly what the Vatican Council II teaches: At the Last Supper, on the night when He was betrayed, our Saviour instituted the eucharistic sacrifice of His Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the centuries until He should come again, and so to entrust to His beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of His death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is eaten, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us. (Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 47).
From, the above and the document Eucharisticum Mysterium, the Holy Mass is a sacrifice in which the Sacrifice of the Cross is perpetuated; a memorial of the death and resurrection of the Lord, who said do this in memory of me (Luke 22:19); a sacred banquet in which, through the communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord, the People of God share the benefits of the Paschal Sacrifice, renew the New Covenant which God has made with man once and for all through the Blood of Christ, and in faith and hope foreshadow and anticipate the eschatological banquet in the kingdom of the Father, proclaiming the Lord’s death till His coming. (Cfr. Eucharisticum Mysterium, no. 3). From the foregoing, the Eucharist is at the heart of the life of the Church. It is indeed the source and summit of all the cult of the Church and all the Christian life. Vatican Council II elaborates further: The other sacraments, as well as with every ministry of the Church and every work of the apostolate, are tied together with the Eucharist and directed toward it. The Most Blessed Eucharist contains the entire spiritual boon of the Church, that is, Christ himself, our Pascha and Living Bread, by the action of the Holy Spirit through his very flesh vital and vitalising, giving life to men who are thus invited and encouraged to offer themselves, their labours and all created things, together with him. In this light, the Eucharist shows itself as the source and the apex of the whole work of preaching the Gospel (Presbyterorum ordinis no. 5).
There is another aspect of the Eucharist that needs to be pointed out for all faithful to always bear in mind: That the whole church offers the sacrifice of the Mass and at the same time the entire church is offered also; also that the Mass is the action of Christ and at the same time the action of the church who as she offers the sacrifice offers herself as sacrifice. Cfr. Eucharisticum Mysterium, no. 14). The faithful are to learn that by participating in the Eucharistic sacrifice, they are exercising their common priesthood (Lumen gentium, no. 10) and should learn how to offer themselves together with the divine victim (Lumen gentium, no. 11). The Vatican Council II vividly elucidates on this point: For all their works, prayers and apostolic endeavours, their ordinary married and family life, their daily occupations, their physical and mental relaxation, if carried out in the Spirit, and even the hardships of life, if patiently borne—all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Together with the offering of the Lord's body, they are most fittingly offered in the celebration of the Eucharist. (Lumen gentium, no. 34).
In the light of the above marvellous reality of the wealth of the Holy Eucharist one understands why it is a pitiable error participating in SundayMass just to fulfil the obligation of the Church or doing so when one feels like or limiting oneself to receiving communion only once a year or even less. The attitude to the Eucharist of a mature and responsible Christian should include: - (a) to participate in the Holy Mass because it is the greatest reality and event that exist on earth and whenever I come in contact sacramentally with the sacrifice of Christ I receive the benefit of salvation.
- (b) to participate in the Holy Mass because I feel in me the need to meet with Jesus and with my brothers and sisters, to confront myself with the word of God and to revitalise my faith.
- (c) to participate in Mass because this is the most perfect way of taking part in the sacrifice of Christ and in meeting Christ at communion when he offers himself as a gift to me and desires to assimilate me unto himself just as I desire to be united to him. Let us therefore, pray in this Eucharistic celebration that the good Lord may offer us the graces to make the Eucharist to be really the centre of our Christian life and to express it concretely in the exigencies of our daily societal lives. Happy Celebration of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi! Happy Sunday Sunday! +John I. Okoye
(graphics by chukwubike)
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