The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
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June 4, 2021June 6, 2021
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Ex 24:3-8
Heb 9:11-15
Mk 14:12-16, 22-26
GROW: It takes only a few moments of holding one’s breath to realize how desperately we need oxygen to survive. If only we were always as cognizant and mindful of the importance of the Eucharist for the same reason! I, for one, confess to approaching the altar with fervent belief in the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ, but also at times doing so while distracted or not fully appreciative of the gift being given to me. But today’s solemnity is a powerful reminder not to take the Eucharist for granted. It is the Church’s formal and official homage to Jesus Christ who, “with his own blood” obtained for us eternal redemption. St. Thomas Aquinas offers this description of how wonderful, precious, and important the Eucharist is with the following words: “The only-begotten Son of God, wishing to enable us to share in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that by becoming man he might make us gods.” (Opusc. 57, 1-4) Like the disciples on the night of the Last Supper, we, too, receive the body and blood of Jesus under the appearance of bread and wine. He dwells within us, intercedes for us, and through grace he transforms us.
GO: Spending time with our Lord at Eucharistic adoration is a profound opportunity to open our hearts to him. Just as we know that we cannot love others well if we don’t love ourselves, likewise we cannot share the love of Christ with others well if we don’t take time to allow Christ to enter our hearts and our lives. By taking the time to talk to Jesus and listen, we can, in turn, witness to his love to others. We can use this time to pray for a specific person, seek help with a personal dilemma, or ask the Lord to show us where we need repentance and conversion in our own lives so as to be more like him. The more we are conformed to Christ, the better we can bring Christ to the world.
STUDY: Draw closer to the Lord through meditation on the meaning of the Eucharist by reading these “basic questions and answers” about the Real Presence: www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/order-of-mass/liturgy-of-the-eucharist/the-real-presence-faqs.
