Sequence (for meditation) and Reflection on the Gospel for June 3: The Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Lauda Sion

​Lo! the angel’s food is given
To the pilgrim who has striven;
see the children’s bread from heaven,
which on dogs may not be spent.

Truth the ancient types fulfilling,
Isaac bound, a victim willing,
Paschal lamb, its lifeblood spilling,
manna to the fathers sent.

Very bread, good shepherd, tend us,
Jesu, of your love befriend us,
You refresh us, you defend us,
Your eternal goodness send us
In the land of life to see.

You who all things can and know,
Who on earth such food bestow,
Grant us with your saints, though lowest,
Where the heav’nly feast you show,
Fellow heirs and guests to be. Amen. Alleluia.

---

Mark 14:12-16, 22-26
12 On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

13 So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, 14 and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

16 So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

22 While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. 24 He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

26 When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

The Sacrament of sacraments. The Lord’s Supper. The Memorial of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection. The Sacred Mysteries. The Breaking of Bread. Holy Communion. Eucharist.

These names all attempt to describe the essence of the sacrament that all Catholics will celebrate, in a special way, this Sunday on the feast of Corpus Christi. Each descriptor is true, but no one seems to suffice because this sacrament is inexhaustibly rich. The Church uses many names, and each is like a facet on a diamond –a window, where light gathers, through which we see new aspects of the mystery. In preparation for Sunday, let’s reflect on the name, and reality, that this solemnity highlights: The Body of Christ.

First, it is a wonder that Christ – God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity – has a body. At the appointed time in history, the “kairos” moment, the Word became flesh in the womb of Mary and the Creator became ONE with His creation. Jesus, fully God and fully human, is Emmanuel – God with us.

By the mystery of the Incarnation, God made Himself accessible to humanity in a new and most intimate way. He allowed us to see, touch, smell, and hear Him. Scripture reveals that Christ’s ministry was incredibly tactile. He spit on a blind man’s eyes and laid hands on him to make him see. He held a little girl’s hand and spoke the words, "Talitha koum,", and she came alive again. He received a small gift of loaves and fish and multiplied them to satisfy famished crowds. How could God possibly draw any closer to his children?

By inviting us to taste Him. By becoming bread for us. That is the answer He chose. He gives Himself to us – to be consumed.

How can the God of the universe be truly present – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity – yet veiled in the appearance of a tiny, fragile host?  It requires radical faith to accept the Church’s invitation to believe that bread and wine became, and still become (within the Holy Mass), the Body and Blood of Christ. It’s only by the grace of the Holy Spirit that we can accept, and perceive, this as reality rather than merely symbolic.

Lately, I find my heart asking, “why”. Why do you come to us in this way? When I sit before Him, in silence, and “fold of the wings of my intellect and open the door of my heart” (Catherine Doherty) sometimes I perceive a simple and beautiful answer.

That we may be ONE.

This is the heart-cry of God. Throughout salvation history, with every covenant, God makes it clear that He is a communion of Persons who desires to be ONE with His people. He has “made us for Himself” (St. Augustine), and by this sacrament He unites us with Himself and lets us become bread for the hungry as well.

May we all be made ONE with Him, and invite all peoples to taste and see that the Lord is Good.

Kendra Chisholm

If you have access to the FORMED website, you can view a new video series called, "Eucharist". It is a wonderful resource if you'd like to delve deeper into the Church teachings, and it is visually stunning and beautifully made.

Please share with us in the comments section below, what your experience has been of the Body and Blood of Christ.