Feast of Corpus Christi reflection

The Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ holds a very special place in the devotion and practice of our Catholic faith. It is the sacrament we receive most frequently in the course of our lives, and it contains the pledge of future glory, a place with Christ at his eternal banquet in the kingdom of heaven. Human words or concepts are insufficient to grasp the full mystery of this most precious of sacraments. What is essential is to keep in mind that the sacred food of the Eucharist is both meal and sacrifice. We feed on the Lord’s body and blood which he offered for us on the cross. The scripture readings chosen for the feast are intended to highlight the sacrificial nature of the holy Eucharist.
The sacrifice of animals in the Old Testament accompanied by the sprinkling of their blood for purification foreshadow in God’s plan the single unique sacrifice of Christ when he shed his blood to take away the sins of the world. What is interesting in our first reading from the book of Exodus is the response of the people and their willingness to live by God’s law and covenant. Each time we receive the Eucharist we are renewing our covenant with Christ and committing ourselves to him and to his way. Holy Communion and our presence at Mass must necessarily
be a twoway process. Christ comes to us, and we in turn come to him.
The Letter to the Hebrews, from which our second reading is taken, underlines the uniqueness of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. All past sacrifices and offerings pale into insignificance in comparison to the selfoffering of the Son of God made once and for all on the cross, and now
marvellously enshrined for all time in the sacrament of his body and blood. A sombre note runs through Mark’s account of the Last Supper, and a careful reading of the gospel text conveys both the authority of Jesus, and at the same time the cost to him personally when he declared the bread to be his body given in sacrifice and the wine the blood of the new covenant between God and mankind. We are to remember above all on this feast of Corpus Christi the infinite love of Christ which finds expression in the sacrament of the Eucharist, and Christ’s desire for our
love and service in return.

+Michael Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)