Sunday, June 5, 2021

 Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

(Exodus 24:3-8; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:22-26)

Spouses should know what a covenant is. They have entered into a covenant with one another in their marriage. A covenant goes beyond a contract that is limited to specifically stated terms. The covenant is a solemn promise by which one party promises to bless or serve another in a more or less general way. In marriage the spouses promise to love and respect each other for life. The first reading gives us another example of a covenant.

Out of mercy God wanted to enter into a covenant with humans. He has fulfilled this intention in stages. The reading of Exodus shows a primary stage -- the Mosaic covenant. It specifies that the people of Israel will be his people if they fulfill all the commandments of the Law. In return, God will protect them from their enemies and give them the fertile land of their ancestors. The Israelites don't shrink from making the commitment. They say with one voice, “All that the Lord has said, we will heed and do." Then Moses sprinkles the people with the blood of the burnt animal offerings to seal the covenant.

In the gospel Jesus makes a final covenant between God and humans. It is open not only to a small nation but to the whole world. It also includes a holocaust or sacrifice, not of animals but of Jesus himself. Those who share in this covenant instead of being sprinkled take his body and blood in the consecrated bread and wine. The Eucharist then is the means by which they participate in the new covenant. However, it is not simply consuming His Body and Blood that makes it someone a party of the covenant. He or she also has to promise to obey God's will as Jesus has taught.

The second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews helps us understand the effect of the covenant that Jesus made.  It says that Jesus’ shedding his own blood had greater efficacy than the animal sacrifices of the Mosaic covenant. Sprinkling with the blood of animals only cleanses sinners outwardly so that they might participate in worship. But Jesus sacrifice of himself achieved forgiveness of sins and cleansing of conscience. In this way Christians can offer sacrifices of prayer and works that deserve eternal life.

Before we take the body and blood of Christ, we must pledge our allegiance to Christ. It is a matter of accepting both his doctrine and his way of living. Like the Israelites we have to say, "Whatever the Lord says, we will heed and do." For this reason some bishops oppose giving Communion to Catholic politicians who facilitate abortion, which God condemns. Recently the debate has intensified because the president of the United States, Joe Biden, a Catholic, has amplified access to abortion. I will not say that a bishop should or should not deny a politician the sacred host in his diocese. But I think that the reason for such a significant step must be the concern for the politician's soul. If the motive is just to force changes in the law, it seems to me to be the Church's undue meddling in politics.

There used to be a general custom of processing with the Blessed Sacrament on the Feast of Corpus Christi.  The procession took place not only on the parish grounds but throughout city neighborhoods or the fields of the countryside. The motive was to bestow a free blessing to everyone whom the procession encountered. It showed how Christ wants to offer everyone the covenant with God. They could join with him in the pursuit of eternal life while he would help them clear their consciences. The Body and Blood of Christ is an invaluable treasure which we should never overlook. It is an invaluable treasure.


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