34 Sunday of the Year, Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe: 22 November, 2020)

May God bestow on us in today's Eucharistic celebration, the graces to eschew our individual selfishness and then realise that we need to show love to those who seems least important, as we hope to join the eternal king in his glory.

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Happy Solemnity of Christ the King! Happy Sunday!

 

                                                       DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Ezekiel 34, 11-12.15-17; 1 Cor. 15, 20-26.28; Matthew 25, 31-46: 34 Sunday of the Year, Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe: 22 November, 2020)

On this last Sunday of the liturgical year we celebrate the solemnity of Christ the King of the universe. In Christ the whole world will find its fullness, on the part of men, he deserves everybody’s obedience. Even though, he is owed obedience allegiance, he is a king who cares about the good of all. The first reading, taken from the prophet Ezekiel, presents God as a shepherd who goes in search of his sheep and takes care of them, but also shows him as a judge who will judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. The Gospel takes up and deepens these perspectives. In the second reading, taken from the First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul says: Christ must reign until he has placed all enemies under his feet.

The Gospel opens with a grandiose vision. Jesus is certain of his authority, and power, because he says: When the Son of man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on the throne of his glory. This is a solemn introduction. The Son of man, who was humbled in his earthly existence, but who in reality is the Son of God and has right over the highest glory, comes in his glory with all his angels, because his is a heavenly, divine glory. He sits on the throne of his glory. We can contemplate this scene. After suffering the Passion, Jesus was glorified and invited to sit at the right hand of the Father. The psalmist says: 

The Lord's oracle to my Lord:" Sit at my right hand (Psalm 110, 1; Matt 22, 42-45). Christ now sits at the right of the Father, as we recite in the Creed. This power of the glorious Christ manifests itself in his authority to bring about the Last Judgment, which puts an end to all human history. All the peoples are gathered before him, and here again we have a universal vision. Jesus exercises his authority by separating one from the other, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. But what follows shows that Jesus puts his power at the service of the humblest, the most suffering and the needy. And this is the revelation of the kingdom of Christ. Jesus identifies himself with all those who are in need, who suffer, and those in difficulties of life, to also encourage us to pay attention and be dedicated to all these people. The power of Christ therefore, should not be conceived as an oppressive power, but as a power of service. It is a truly extraordinary fact that the glorious king identifies himself with the most humble and needy people. The king said to those on his right: Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Again in this solemn phrase, all the authority of Jesus is manifested. Then comes the most surprising thing. Jesus says: I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you dressed me, sick and you visited me, imprisoned and you came to see me. The righteous were surprised, they do not remember haven been this generous to Jesus, having met him in such situations of need, and then they ask: Lord, when have we ever seen you hungry and given you to eat, thirsty and have given you to drink? Jesus' answer is simple: Every time you did these things to one of these least of my brothers, you did it to me. Thus he shows his great goodness, and attention to all people who are in difficulty.

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In the first reading God, through the prophet Ezekiel, promises to look for his sheep, and take care of them:  I, myself will lead my sheep to pasture and I will make them rest. In this way, all his goodness is manifested. This goodness, which was promised, has become a reality with the coming of Jesus and by identifying himself with the people who are in difficulty and in need. Again through Ezekiel God promises: I will go in search of the lost sheep and I will bring back the lost one to the fold; I will bandage that wound and heal the sick one, I will take care of the fat and the strong. Jesus fulfills God’s promise by being concerned for the smallest, weakest and most despised people. He says Whenever you did these things to one of these least of my brothers, you did it to me. 

Then we witness, in the Gospel, the other part of the Judgment wrought by the king: Go away from me, cursed ones, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Because I was hungry and you did not give me to eat. Also in this case the men are surprised and say: Lord, when have we ever seen you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and we did not assist you?." But the king will answer: Truly I say to you, Whenever you did not do these things to one of these little brothers of mine, you did not do it to me. At the end of the world, we will be judged on love, the love for Jesus manifested in his brothers and sisters, who are all human persons. The kingdom of Jesus is a kingdom of love, a kingdom that wants to spread love everywhere: effective love, not sentimental or superficial love; the love that truly puts itself at the service of people in need; the love which in every way transforms the world thanks to these initiatives of generous service.

In the second reading Paul says: He must reign until he has placed all enemies under his feet. The main enemy is human selfishness, which is opposed to Christ's reign of love. And Christ acts continuously, in human history, to free us from selfishness and fill us with love. He truly reigns in hearts only when they are freed from selfishness and live in effective love, a love that drives us to serve the most needy. The reign of Christ will also manifest itself with his definitive victory over death. Paul affirms: The last enemy to be annihilated will be death. The victory over death has already been achieved with his personal resurrection. But the resurrection of Christ is, as Paul says (cf. 1 Cor. 15,20), the first fruits, the first step, which opens the way to the universal resurrection. This will reveal Christ's full victory over death. And when everything has been subjected to him, he too, the Son, will be subjected to the One who subjected everything to him. Christ does not want the kingdom for himself, but for the glory of the Father. He is not greedy for power, but eager to give his life and spread love for the glory of God the Father. Thus, by means of this propagation of love, God will be all in all. God's plan will be completed; thanks to the action of the glorious Christ. May we therefore, on this solemnity of Christ the King declare our allegiance to him, first of all, by fighting our individual selfishness and showing authentic love and hearty service to many of our needy neighbours. +John I. Okoye

(graphics  by Chukwubike OC)

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 )

34th Sunday, Solemnity of Christ the King, Year C, 2019

May the graces of today’s Eucharistic celebration enable us conduct our lives as worthy subjects of Christ’s kingdom that we may be welcomed by him into paradise at the end of time. Happy Sunday

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(2 Samuel 5,1-3; Colossians 1,12-20; Luke 23,35-43: 34th Sunday, Solemnity of Christ the King, Year C, 2019)

 The account recorded in the first reading, 2 Samuel 5,1-3, for this Sunday depicts the anointing of David as king of the northern tribes of Israel (cf. 2 Sam 2:1-4). It takes place in Hebron, a city with a long history as a sacred shrine. It is only appropriate that the new king should be anointed in this hallowed shrine. The people acknowledge the intimate bond they share with this new king. They are his bone and his flesh, his very kin. For their part they recognise him as a worthy leader. Although, it was the people who anointed David as their king, they believed it was really God who had chosen him. In fact, the passage states that God informed David of his fate, describing it in terms of two metaphors frequently associated with kings in the ancient Near Eastern world. Because they were responsible for the well-being of the people, kings were often characterised as shepherds. The second image is that of a commander or captain (nagid), one who leads by going before people. Both images represent the king as a leader for the people, not one who is far from them, expecting only to be served by them. The elders who anointed David king were the ones with whom, in the name of the people they represented, he entered into covenant. This anointing was not only a significant tribal act, but carried personal repercussions as well, for by this act the leaders were relinquishing some of their own authorities and powers and bestowing them on one individual.

The second reading, Colossians 1,12-20, is made up of a hymn of thanksgiving and an exaltation of Christ’s greatness. In the opening hymn, the Colossians are invited to thank God for three blessings: a share in the inheritance of the saints, deliverance from darkness, and transference into the kingdom of God's Son. Paul then focuses on the excellence of Christ, whose kingdom it is and through whom believers can gain access to it. The Christology expounded by Paul here extols the divine character and activity of Christ rather than his human nature and the physical life he lived on earth. In it, Paul uses several striking terms to characterise Christ: image of God, firstborn, the beginning, head of the Church. Each one adds a significant dimension to our understanding of Christ. As image or manifestation of the invisible God, the fullness of God dwells within Christ. In this capacity Christ is the agent of reconciliation. This reconciliation has a universal scope. It includes all created things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible things. The means of this reconciliation that Christ brings is the blood of the cross. Thus the sacrificial death of the human Jesus becomes the means through which the cosmic Christ reconciles all of creation with God.

In the scene of the crucifixion in Luke 23,35-43, Jesus is ridiculed for being who he really is. It is only at the end of the narrative, when speaking to the one person in the scene who does not jeer him but who professes faith in his innocence, which Jesus speaks with the royal authority that is his. Jesus is reviled by the rulers of the Jewish people, the Roman soldiers, and one of the criminals being executed at his side. These people who jeer him take the claims of Jesus in order to turn those claims against him, He has claimed to be the chosen one, the Christ of God, the King of the Jews-all messianic titles. The inscription above the cross could also be construed as ridicule on Pilate’s part. It plays a cryptic role. It was a Roman custom to display the crime of the condemned person so the passersby could both jeer the criminal and be sobered by the punishment inflicted. The inscription on the cross of Jesus reads King of the Jews. While this is, certainly, the reason he was crucified, it is also a statement of fact. He was indeed King of the Jews, even though his manner of ruling did not conform to the standard of the day. True to the paradox of the gospel, what was intended as derision, actually, became a proclamation of faith. There is already evidence of this faith in one of the criminals. He first recognised the innocence of Jesus and then his kingly character. It may not have been difficult to believe that Jesus was no threat to Roman rule. Many people, probably, believed in his innocence in this matter. However, this dying man professed a degree of eschatological hope. He seems to have believed that, somehow, Jesus would reign as king even after his death. What he asked was to be remembered by Jesus when he came into his own power. The only claim he has to make this request is the fact that he did not ridicule Jesus and he accepted his own imminent death as a just payment for his crimes. On Jesus’ part, this appears to be enough, for he promises the man immediate entrance into paradise. Jesus here assures the dying criminal that he will be granted entrance into His kingdom. Even from the cross Jesus rules with authority. Actually, it is, precisely, from the cross that Jesus rules with authority, because it is through the cross that he too entered into his kingdom.

Reflecting on the readings for this last Sunday would reveal that they were chosen to demonstrate the meaning of the feast we are celebrating today, the feast of Christ the King. This feast celebrates Christ’s power and authority by creating a collage of images that capture one or more characteristics of Christ's kingship. Each image, in some way, significantly reinterprets the concept of king, investing it with new meaning. Gathered together they create a kind of litany that extols Christ’s kingship. Shepherd and commander call to mind the care and protection Christ lavishes on those who place themselves under his care, who recognise his voice and follow him wherever he goes. According to this metaphor, the kingly rule of Christ is characterised by tenderness, not by the exercise of power. King of Israel is, in the reading from 2 Samuel, a sign of universal rule. David was of the tribe of Judah and had been called to rule over the southern tribes. Now he is asked to extend his rule over people who were not his own. So it is with the reign of Christ. It extends to all, even to those who are not his original people. Image of the invisible God acclaims the divine origin of Christ and, by extension, of the rule he exercises over all. The dominion of Christ include everything over which God reigns. Firstborn of all creation places Christ over the entire created world. The image of the caring shepherd reinterprets what could here be misunderstood as unfeeling dominion. Just as Christ tenderly cares for his sheep, in like manner he attentively tends the garden of the world over which he rules. Source of all created things acknowledges both the sovereignty of Christ and his importance as the model after which all things were fashioned. In other words, creation mirrors the image of Christ the King. This is also another reason to cherish it. Head of the body, the Church, underscores the intimacy and interrelationship that exist between Christ and all those who are joined to him through faith and baptism. This image challenges any idea of a distant and disinterested ruler. Just as a body needs a head, so a head needs a body. Firstborn of the dead not only acclaims Christ's resurrection, it also guarantees the resurrection of those who will follow him into death. Christ is the kind of kings who shares all of his privileges with others. Crucified King is clearly the image that reinterprets all other images. It strips from the notion of king all honour and glory that flow merely from pride of office rather than from the exercise of dedicated leadership. For the sake of sheep Jesus, willingly, endured humiliation and death. Nailed to the cross, outstretched arms embraced women and men from every corner of the world. In his own body the created world was beaten down, only to rise again in glory. As head of the Church he became a victim so that those who constitute his body could be spared many of the horrors he willingly endured. Finally, having conquered death by dying himself, he entrusts to all people the power over death he has won for them. He first exercised this authority as he hung dying on the cross, which forevermore will be seen as his glorious throne. In the last words of the gospel, words with which the entire Liturgical Year is brought to completion, he opens the gates of his kingdom to a repentant sinner: Today you will be with me in Paradise. These are the words we all long to hear, words that are empty when coming from one who has no authority but charged with power when spoken by the one who is King over us all. May we obtain graces in today’s Eucharistic celebration that will enable us conduct our lives as worthy members/subjects of the kingdom of Christ so as to be welcomed by him, on the last day, into Paradise. + John I. Okoye

(graphics  by charles)

Solemnity of Corpus Christi; 2019)

As you participate in this Eucharistic Celebration, may you be united intimately and forever with Christ whom  you encounter in the reception of the holy communion, and allow him to transform your life and make you generous in providing for the needs of others. Happy Solemnity of Corpus Christi +John I. Okoye.

DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Genesis 14,18-20; 1 Corinthians 11,23-26; Luke 9,11b-17: Solemnity of Corpus Christi; 2019)

The few verses that constitute the first reading is a description of a cultic event that includes a priest, possibly a sacrifice, a blessing, and a religious practice. It is a story about Abram, the premier ancestor of the Israelites. But he is not, as one would expect, the principal actor in the drama that unfolds. All the significant actions are performed by someone named Melchizedek. The only important action Abram initiates is the tithing, and that appears to be a response to what has transpired. The deity in whose name (God Most High) Melchizedek blesses Abram is closely associated with the cult that was practiced in Jerusalem (cf. Pss 46,4; 87,5). This was not a saviour God, as was the God of Israel; this God was the Creator of heaven and earth, and Melchizedek, who was not an Israelite, was His priest and conducted worship in the name of his God. The rite celebrated here is a kind of thanksgiving offering, probably for Abram's victory over his foes. The text does not tell us why it is this mysterious king-priest who presides and not Abram, or why Abram is blessed in the name of a god not his own. The words pronounced by Melchizedek are both a blessing for Abram and an exclamation of praise of God Most High. A blessing by the Creator would include a share in the goods of creation, the benefits of fertility of the land, crops, animals, and particularly of one's own procreative potential. It is at the conclusion of this blessing that Abram offers a tenth of his goods to the king-priest.

The second reading (1 Corinthians 11, 23-26) is an account of the institution of the Lord's Supper that draws on the Jesus tradition. The language used is technical and formulaic; what Paul received he now hands down (cf. 1 Cor 15,3). This does not mean that he received this tradition in direct revelation from the Lord but that he received it by word of mouth, the usual way a religious heritage is transmitted. This manner of expression establishes the ecclesial authority of the teaching. It also demonstrates Paul's own conviction that the risen Christ transmits the tradition through the agency of the members of the body of Christ, the Church. That the account comes specifically from the Jesus tradition and not from the more general early Christian tradition is evident in the recital of the words of Jesus. They actually give instruction for the continual celebration of the liturgical reenactment. The fact that they are the words of Jesus gives divine legitimation to the anamnesis (ritual of remembering that makes events of the past effective and effectual in the present) that is enjoined upon the community of believers. The words themselves are found within a succinct account of Jesus' Last Supper, wherein he draws lines of continuity between the old and the new covenants and also makes clear their differences. Jesus' sharing of the blessed bread and cup was a prophetic symbolic action that anticipated his death. The ritual reenactment of this supper would be a participation in his death and a sharing in the benefits that would accrue from it. In it the risen exalted Lord continually gives what the dying Jesus gave once for all. In the memorial celebration the past, the present, and the future are brought together: the past is the commemoration of his death; the present is the ritual of remembrance itself; the future is his parousia, his coming again. The reason for repeating Jesus' actions and words is that they reenact and signify his salvific death. Believers live an essentially eschatological existence, anticipating the future as they reenact the past. 

The gospel account (Luke 9,11b-17) opens with a summary statement about the ministry of Jesus: He preached about the reign of God and he healed the people of their illnesses. If his preaching had not attracted crowds, his healing certainly would have. At any rate, people from all walks of life thronged around him so that, as we see in this narrative, they had to be dismissed. It is the end of the day, the time when the major meal is customarily eaten. The scene is an out-of-the-way place, deserted but close enough to populated areas that the Twelve could suggest that food and lodging might be procured there. They could not have imagined what Jesus had in mind. Five loaves and two fish would not have been much of a meal for Jesus and the Twelve, much less for the crowd said to have gathered on this occasion. Yet that was the fare the disciples were told to distribute. Jesus' actions over the food are brief but significant. He blessed it, he broke it, and he gave it as food. The eucharistic overtones are obvious. The prayer said over the food was probably more a thanksgiving than a blessing. The role played by the apostles cannot be overlooked. They are actually the ones through whom the crowds experience the munificence of Jesus. They distributed the food and, most likely, collected what was left over into twelve baskets. The author of the gospel shows by this that Jesus provides for his people through the agency of the Church. Over the years there have been attempts to explain what really happened in this event. Was food really multiplied? Or did people bring out their own pro­visions and share them with others? Any attempt to explain away the miracle completely misses the point of the narrative. Its many-levelled meaning rests on the miraculous abundance God provides through Jesus. 

This day’s feast combines two previously separate feasts (Corpus Christi and the Precious Blood) and celebrates the living presence of Christ, which we know in the gift of his body and blood in the Eucharist. The readings themselves offer us portals through which we can enter this mystery. There is the portal of Melchizedek, the portal of sacrifice, the portal of banquet, the portal of the death of Jesus. No one theme exhausts the possibilities of entrance into the mystery. The letter to the Hebrews holds that Jesus offered himself once and for all times. The body and blood of Christ are offered as a sacrifice for us, and every time we reenact this sacrifice (at Holy Masses), we renew his sacrifice for us. The bread that is broken is the bread of a thanksgiving sacrifice, and the blood that is consumed is the blood that ratifies the covenant between us and God. However, the broken bread is really his broken body, offered for us, and the ratifying wine is really his blood, poured out in atonement for our sins. The body and blood of Jesus is the interim meal for the Christian community. They are to feed on it until the Lord returns. Take note of the already-but-not-yet character of Christian eschatology, for the Lord has already returned. This means that the Eucharistic meal is a re-enactment of Christ's death, an anticipatory celebration of his coming, and a thanksgiving banquet with him present. The symbolism here is rich and many-layered. The sacrifice Melchizedek offered was neither more or less than a thanksgiving offering to the Most High God. Read on this feast day, the passage opens the door for us to step into the realm of thanksgiving. Although what we commemorate today is intimately linked with the death of Jesus, the sentiments this reading opens us to are sentiments of thanksgiving and awe before the high God of heaven. The psalmist moves away from the content of the sacrifice and concentrates on the priest who offers it. He is not only a priest but a king as well. This feast would have us stop in our tracks and contemplate the royal as well as the priestly character of Jesus, who offers his body and blood as sacred food and drink. The multiplication of the loaves and fish is another portal that opens into the richness of this feast. It prefigures the eschatological banquet of fulfilment, Its miraculous bounty assures us of the abundance of that future banquet. Its miracle of multiplication prefigures the miracle of Jesus as he changed the bread and wine into his own body and blood. Jesus handed himself over as food and drink on the very night he was handed over by others to become a victim of sacrifice. The banquet he prepared was a celebration of the new covenant; it was a banquet of thanksgiving; it was eschatological. This feast invites us to enter through any portal, for each one will lead us to the mystery we celebrate: the mystery of the sacrifice of Christ; the mystery of the sacred bread and wine of the future; the mystery of the eschatological banquet of the present. It also challenges us to sacrifice ourselves for our neighbour as Christ did, to allow ourselves be transformed into Christ we receive as communion, to be generous in providing for the needs of others just as the bread and fish multiplied in the gospel were provided by some people, to build up the body of the church by contributing our time, talents, money as Abraham did by offering a tenth of his war-spoils and to join Christ and the members of his mystical body the, Church, in rendering God the greatest form of thanksgiving through our active participating in the Holy Masses especially those of Sunday, the day of the Lord. May we be united intimately and for ever with Christ whom we encounter in today’s Eucharistic celebration! Happy Solemnity of Corpus Christi!+John I. Okoye

GRAPHICS  BY CHUKWUBIKE