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Body & Blood of Christ

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Cycle C

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Q271: Why do we need a special Annual celebration for the “Body and Blood of Christ”? Isn't every Mass the same celebration?

Yes, each Mass celebrates the “Real Presence” of the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ in sacramental form in the consecrated bread (Holy Eucharist). However, the inauguration of a special “feast day” or “solemnity” had a specific purpose.

Back as early as the ninth century, there were the beginnings of controversies started by doubters over whether or not Jesus was “really present” or just “symbolically” present in the consecrated host. In the eleventh century these arguments reached a fever pitch, until finally one archbishop began the custom of carrying the consecrated bread in a procession. The intention was then, and still is now during modern processions, to express publicly the faith of the people in the Real Presence, and to use this method to express the actual presence of the Lord among his people — specifically in the consecrated host carried tenderly in procession. In the thirteenth century the new feast day was extended to the universal church.

Today's story in Luke (Lk 9:11-17) would remind the people of Jesus' time that once again -- as in stories from Hebrew scriptures -- God was showing his love for his people by taking care of their needs (hunger) with an outpouring of great abundance. The difference between that miracle of feeding 5,000 (Luke) and today's miracle of the Mass is explained in the second reading (1 Cor 11:23-26). At the Last Supper, Jesus said “This IS my body… this IS my blood… DO THIS in memory of me…” Catholic clergy with valid ordinations have been feeding the multitudes with the Real Presence ever since, in response to this command of Jesus.

Know Your Catechism! Catholics express their faith in the “Real Presence” in many more ways than a simple procession with the consecrated host. For example, we genuflect before the Tabernacle where the sacred host is reserved; or we bow reverently before the altar of sacrifice. We also worship and adore the Real Presence, by kneeling before the Tabernacle in awe and with grateful prayer for such an incredible gift from God (CCC #1378)! Be honest: what reverence do you give from your heart to the altar, the tabernacle, and the very space of the assembly?

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They Had Enough

St. John Bosco (1815-1888), better known as "Don Bosco", was not only a skilled administrator, missionary and eucator of boys. God also chose on occasion to work miracles through him. One feast day, all the boys in his "Oratory" school at Turin, Italy were scheduled to receive Holy Communion from him at Mass. When Communion time came, however, he opened the ciborium containing the sacred hosts and found it almost empty. And 650 students were lined up to receive! (The sacristan of the Chapel almost fainted when he saw the surprised look of the Saint as he took the cover off the ciborium. Father Sacristan had completely forgotten to put out another ciborium filled with altar breads to be consecrated during that Mass!)

Don Bosco paused only a moment. Then he lifted his eyes to heaven, breathed a little prayer, grasped the ciborium and started to administer Communion to the kneeling boys. Marvel upon marvels, each time he removed a host, another appeared to replace it. Thus, there were enough to take care of 650 students, and probably some left besides.

Naturally, this miraculous multiplication could not be kept quiet at the Oratory. His associates asked St. John about it, and he agreed that something remarkable had occurred.

"God is good" he said, "and He saw to it that the boys were taken care of." Today we celebrate Corpus Christi - the Church's special feast in honor of the Eucharistic Body and Blood of Christ. Appropriately, the gospel chosen relates Jesus' feeding the 5000 by multiplying the loaves and fishes. It was a miracle clearly foreshadowing the institution of the Eucharist. Our Lord has not often been called upon to multiply already consecrated hosts, as He did for Don Bosco. It is almost a miracle in itself that at every Mass in the world since Holy Thursday Christ has multiplied Himself as Eucharistic food. Thus the faithful, as today's gospel says, "have all eaten until they had enough."

-Father Robert F. McNamara

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Q427: Clearly the Second Reading [1 Cor 11:23-26] and Gospel today [Luke 9:11-17] point to Jesus as the Bread of Life, the fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures [Gen 14:18-20]. Why is the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist such a “stumbling block” for so many people in this world - even within the so-called “Christian” communities?

This is such an awesome Sacrament, that one is at a loss for words to describe it! Can you grasp what has happened, and what is continuing to happen? First, our divine Jesus “gives up” that appearance of divinity to assume our human nature. We call that great mystery the “Incarnation.” But he doesn't stop there! Now he continues to come into our Presence under the form of bread and wine, in this great and very special Sacrament that we call Holy Eucharist! Can you imagine the Love our God must have to go that far for us?

We have such great witnesses in all four Evangelists who preserve the true story of the multiplication of loaves. We have St. Paul's witness of what he received, and what he dutifully passes on to his generation, and all future generations. We have the unified testimony of the Early Church Fathers, who pass on to us the truth about this wonderful miracle of Holy Eucharist. Why is it, then, that some people cannot accept this witnessed truth, and recognize Jesus in the “breaking of the bread”? Why do some folk still think it is only “symbolic” and not “real”? Why do they discount the entire Eucharistic literature of the last twenty centuries, beginning with the apostolic fathers?

We are in the area of mystery here; we fail to comprehend why others don't have the Faith that we do in the Sacraments of the Catholic Church. We cannot judge them. All we can do is pray for them to share our gift of Faith in the Real Presence, so that they, too, can partake of the Bread of Life Himself!

KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! May we humble ourselves, and thank God for the gift of Faith, as well as the Gift of the Magisterium who preserves the Truth for us until the end of time. As the ecumenical Councils in union with the Holy Father teach us, this participation in the authority of Christ is received in the charism of infallibility, which includes the deposit of divine Revelation and moral doctrine (CCC 2035).

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Q583: Isn’t the miracle of the multiplication of loaves is just another miracle by Jesus. What makes it so special?

It is much more than “just another” miracle. Students of scripture would immediately recognize the story of the multiplication of loaves and fishes in today’s gospel (Luke 9:11b-17) as especially important because of the presence of a literary device called inclusio. This is a method employed by Luke that uses bracketing or bookends to encase a special story. The fact that St. Luke chose to use such a literary device sends a powerful message that prompts us to ask “why?”

Why? Because our gospel story presents one of the major self-revelations of the divinity of Jesus. Just before the miracle of the loaves and fishes, King Herod and others are trying to figure out the real identity of Jesus. Just after the miracle, Jesus asks his disciples who folks think he is. Only Peter gives the correct answer: he is the Messiah of God. Nevertheless, despite many self-revelations of the divinity of Jesus by his words and actions during his public ministry, especially the multiplication of loaves, the disciples still found it difficult to comprehend. The fullness of that initial recognition by Peter would develop over time, and come to completion after the resurrection.

Ever since the times of the apostles we Catholics continue to believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in bread and wine that has been consecrated by a validly ordained priest. This is not just a symbolic presence, it is the Real Presence of Jesus, and it has been revealed to us by Jesus himself. At his Last Passover Supper he took bread, blessed it, and said “Take and eat…this IS my Body…Do this in memory of me.” Despite this self-revelation by Jesus, our protestant brothers and sisters in general do not believe in this Real Presence, but limit the power of Jesus to fit their human opinions, rather than resting in the mystery—a mystery of faith revealed by Jesus himself. Faith is such a precious gift! Lord, increase everyone’s faith!

KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! Ecumenical Councils summarize the Catholic faith by declaring: “Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change in the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood.” This change is called transubstantiation. (CCC #1376).

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