THE FEAST OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
Thursday after the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity
(John 6:51-59).
INTRODUCTION
The feast of Corpus Christi or the Most
Precious Body and Blood of Christ is celebrated on the Thursday after
the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity which is two months after the Holy
Thursday. Some dioceses postpone it to the Sunday after the Feast of the
Holy Trinity for full participation of the faithful. Though Holy
Thursday has been traditionally a commemoration of the institution of
the Holy Eucharist, its importance is mixed with the reenactment of the
washing of the feet, institution of the priesthood, and remembrance of
the agony of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. Our Lord had asked to
celebrate this feast through visions to St. Juliana in Belgium from 1208
for 20 years. Eventually, church approved this feast in Liège, Belgium
in 1246 and later in the universal church in 1264.
Bible Text
(John 6:51) I am the
living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will
live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of
the world.” (52) The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can
this man give us [his] flesh to eat?” (53) Jesus said to them, “Amen,
amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink
his blood, you do not have life within you. (54) Whoever eats my flesh
and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last
day. (55) For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. (56)
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.
(57) Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the
Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
(58) This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors
who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (59)
These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Interpretation
Background
The background of today’s gospel passage will
help us to understand better the segment that we reflect today. Jesus
fed a multitude of 5,000 men and probably an equivalent number of women
and children with miraculous multiplication of five loaves of barley
bread and two fish. Because of this, people believed that Jesus was a
prophet and wanted to make him king. However, he withdrew from there
(John 6:1-15). The same crowd searched and found Jesus on the next day.
Jesus told them: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not
because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do
not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for
eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” (John 6: 26-27).
Thus, Jesus introduced the topic comparing it with the material food
that was miraculously served for the 5,000 men and the manna that God
gave for 40 years when the Israelites were in the desert.
(51) I am the living bread that came down from heaven; Whoever eats this bread will live forever; The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
I am
“I am”
is the name of God that God revealed to Moses when he asked for God’s
name at Mount Sinai (Exodus 3:13-14). John the Evangelist presents
Jesus, the “I am” incarnate, using the same name seven times clarifying
who “I am” is.
1. “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to
me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
(John 6:35)
2. “I am the light of the world. Whoever
follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
(John 8:12)
3. “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me
will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture." (John 10:9)
4. “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd
lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)
5. “I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.” (John 11:25)
6. “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
7. “I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without
me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
All the above seven attributes give a glimpse
of who Jesus is for us. Here we are focusing on the first of the above,
“I am the living bread.”
The living bread
Bread is made from the plants or trees using
their leaves, stems, roots, seeds, or nuts. Besides, we also nourish
ourselves by eating the fruits, fish, and meat of animals and birds. A
partial or full sacrifice of life of plants or animals are involved in
the making of our food or bread. Likewise, the sacrifice and death of
Jesus was necessary for our spiritual food. By his self-sacrifice, Jesus
became our living and lifegiving bread for our souls.
In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus taught us to
pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” That bread is not just the
physical bread that we make or buy from market, but the supernatural
bread, the Holy Eucharist. God fed Israelites with manna daily in the
desert for forty years for their physical survival until they reached
the promised land. Jesus is nourishing the Christians with another
supernatural bread, his Body and Blood, until we reach heaven, the next
and perfect promised land.
Bread that came down from heaven
As per the instruction of God, Moses asked
Aaron to put full omer (measure) of manna in a jar and place it in front
of the covenant of the Lord in the Tabernacle (Exodus 16:33-34). Thus,
the Israelites used to keep manna in a jar close to the Ark of the
Covenant in the Holy of Holies. In the New Testament we place the new
manna, the Holy Eucharist, in a tabernacle close to the altar that
represents the throne of the Almighty Lord.
Whoever eats this bread will live forever
Eating the living bread, that is the body and
blood of Jesus, is required for eternal life. The physical food can keep
our life only until death. The bread that Jesus gives is for the
nourishment of our eternal soul. This is emphasized in the following
verses.
(52) The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?”
Unlike murmuring, there was a real fight from
the part of Jews who could not understand what Jesus meant by asking to
eat his body while he was alive. It was beyond human reasoning. The Jews
had different opinions on what Jesus said and that led them to quarrel
among themselves. For Jews, eating the flesh of a human and of any live
creature was unlawful. Some might have taken it in a literal sense and
others in metaphorical sense but could not come to an understanding of
what Jesus meant by his strange statement.
(53) Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
Amen, amen, I say to you
Unless you
eat the flesh of the Son of Man
While the Jews were disputing on what Jesus meant by eating his
flesh, he emphasized his statement using “amen, amen” and “unless you
eat.” This reminds us of the first Passover meal in Egypt. During that
Passover, the Israelites slaughtered a Passover victim, collected its
blood in a basin, and applied the blood to the lintel and two doorposts
using a bunch of hyssop (Exodus 12:22). In the New Testament Passover,
Jesus perfected this by offering himself as the Passover victim to save
the firstborn children of God who would join the covenant with the Lord.
However, there was a second part of this Passover; that was eating the
roasted meat of the Passover lamb with unleavened bread and bitter
herbs (Exodus 12:8). When we participate in the Holy Mass, we are
partaking in the sacrifice of Jesus and it is completed only when we
consume his body by receiving the Holy Eucharist. This Holy Eucharist is
our bread of spiritual life and required nourishment for our journey to
heaven.
The flesh of
the Son of Man
Drink his blood
It was scandalous for Israelites to hear
Jesus asking them to drink his blood that was prohibited in the Torah.
But for Jesus, who purposefully offered his blood to drink, had a
special meaning to it. Through his precious blood, Jesus was offering
his life to us. So, when we drink the blood of Jesus in the Holy
Eucharist, he makes his dwelling within us as the temple of God.
Blood is also used to make covenant. At Mount
Sinai, when God made covenant with Israelites, “Moses then took the
blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, ‘This is the blood of the
covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these
words.’" (Exodus 24:8). At the last supper, Jesus took the cup and said,
"Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is
poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mathew 26:27-28). So,
when we partake in the cup of Jesus during the Holy Mass, we are
renewing our covenant with Jesus.
… You do not have life within you.
Showbread of the Old Testament and Holy Eucharist in the Church tabernacle
The bread of presence or Showbread was a
foreshadow of the Holy Eucharist in the tabernacles in our churches.
This consisted of 12 loaves of unleavened bread representing the 12
tribes of Israel, made of fine flour arranged in two piles on a table
made of acacia wood and covered with pure gold. It was known as “the
bread of presence” because it was placed in the Holy place at the
presence of the Lord in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple of
Jerusalem. This bread was kept always on the table and replaced on every
sabbath day. When removed for replacement, the bread was eaten only by
Aaron and his sons in a holy place (Lev. 24:5-9). It is believed that
Jesus pointed to this bread of the presence and declared, “I am the
bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever
believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35).
Origin of the Feast of Corpus Christi
The feast of the Most Precious Body and Blood
of Jesus, also know in Latin as “Corpus Christi” (The Body of Christ),
was not a separate feast from the Holy Thursday until the 13th
century. This feast that celebrates the real presence of Jesus Christ
with his body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Holy Eucharist is
associated with a Eucharistic miracle and a visionary nun, St. Juliana.
Visions to St. Juliana
Juliana (1193-1258 April 5) and her twin
sister Agnes became orphans at the age of five. She was educated by
Augustinian nuns of Mont Cornillon in Belgium. She joined the convent at
the age of 13 and later became superior of the convent. She had great
devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and desired for a special feast of the
Holy Eucharist. When she was 16, she had a vision of the church under
the appearance of a full moon with a dark spot on it. Jesus revealed to
her that the full moon represented ecclesiastical calendar and the dark
spot was the absence of the feast of the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus asked
her to communicate to church authorities to establish a feast of the
Holy Eucharist. The visions continued for 20 years from 1208. She shared
her experience to ecclesiastical authorities. Local Bishop Robert called
a synod in 1246 and ordered a feast in his diocese in the following
year. However, he died on the same year and the feast was celebrated the
next year as directed.
Eucharistic Miracle
Fr. Peter of Prague, a German priest, while
making his pilgrimage to Rome in 1263, celebrated Holy Mass at the
Church of St. Christina in Bolsena, Italy. Influenced by the doubt and
debate among theologians during that period on the real presence of the
Body and Blood of Christ in the consecrated bread and wine, Fr. Peter
also had the same doubt. As if a confirmation for his doubt, while he
recited the consecration prayers during the Holy Mass, blood flowed from
the host onto the altar and corporal. Fr. Peter reported this to the
then Pope Urban IV who had moved from Rome to Orvieto at that time. The
pope assigned delegates to investigate the miracle and ordered to move
the host and blood-stained corporal to Orvieto. The relics were then
placed in the Cathedral of Orvieto.
Based on the visions of St. Juliana and the
confirmation of its truth through the Eucharistic miracle at Bolsena,
Pope Urban IV established the feast of Corpus Christ by his bull
“Transiturus” on September 8, 1264. At the request of the pope, St.
Thomas Aquinas composed beautiful hymns for the feast.
1. Let us acknowledge and thank the Lord who
provides us with material and spiritual bread that we need daily.
Without God’s support, the efforts of humans to produce food would be in
vain.
2. Let us respectfully behave in the church
where we have the altar representing the throne of the Almighty God and
the tabernacle, where we have the real presence of Jesus in the form of
consecrated bread.
3. Since we participate in the Holy Mass and
receive the Holy Eucharist on very Sunday or even daily, they become a
routine for us. We need to make sure that we participate in it with much
preparation and keeping the sanctity of the sacrament.
4. Jesus did not give vision of the full moon
with a dark spot on it and reveal its interpretation to the pope, bishop, theologians like St.
Thomas Aquinas, or Catholic King but only to Juliana, a humble nun. Many
other apparitions and visions of Jesus and Mary were also offered to
simple and humble people or children. Let us find value in humility and
simplicity and believe in the Holy mysteries of God.