Eucharist for the Hungry

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

23 June 2019

First reading                                                                        Genesis 14:18-20
Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High. He pronounced this blessing: ‘Blessed be Abraham by God Most High, creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High for handing over your enemies to you.’ And Abraham gave him a tithe of everything.

Second reading                                                                1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord.

This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.” In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.”

Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.

Gospel                                                                     Luke 9:11-17

Jesus made the crowds welcome and talked to them about the kingdom of God; and he cured those who were in need of healing. It was late afternoon when the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the people away, and they can go to the villages and farms round about to find lodging and food; for we are in a lonely place here.”

He replied, “Give them something to eat yourselves.” But they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we are to go ourselves and buy food for all these people.” For there were about five thousand men. But he said to his disciples, “Get them to sit down in parties of about fifty.”

They did so and made them all sit down. Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven, and said the blessing over them; then he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute among the crowd. They all ate as much as they wanted, and when the scraps remaining were collected they filled twelve baskets.

Reflection

By Ma. Rosalina S. Flores

Aware that people greatly patronize imported goods, a priest once said that the Eucharist is also an imported food. Why? Because, it is not produced here on earth, but it was given by our Lord Jesus as a food from heaven, with love and sacrifice as the main ingredients. Makes sense, isn’t it?

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ or Corpus Christi. In this feast, we are invited to discover the deeper meaning of the Eucharist and develop a better appreciation of it in our daily life. But the sad reality is not all Catholics believe in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. They cannot fully accept that the bread and wine being offered, consecrated, and partaken in the Mass are really the body and blood of Christ. The appearance is the same, but the inner substance is changed. They called it as “transubstantiation”, - the transformation of the substance through the power of God’s Spirit and word.

In today’s Gospel, we heard that Jesus fed the multitude - the miracle of multiplying the five loaves and two fishes to satisfy the hunger of the crowd who followed Him. This is what Jesus would also like to do now, to feed the hungry with His body and blood in the form of bread and wine in the Mass. The problem is His apostles' followers -  our bishops and priests - have limited reach. They could only explain the mystery of the Eucharist to those who are already believers, those attending the church regularly. How about those non-believers staying inside their homes? Who will reach them? That’s where discipleship enters. We, who were already fed and were satisfied are called to share our experience of the Eucharist to the world, to invite more believers, and to have a multiple number of witnesses. The faithful must not be contented with merely watching the celebration, they must take part and get a share of the spiritual food that Jesus leaves us with. Full bloom Catholics do not only rely on the word, but also on the food. God’s word nourishes our mind, while the Eucharist nourishes our body and soul.

As we continue to reflect on today's celebration of Corpus Christi, let us be reminded of our own touching experience of receiving the Eucharist. Look back on the day that you were so hungry, unwelcomed, and unloved. To whom do you run to? It was to the Lord who continuously gives us spiritual food, welcomes us in His arms, and loves us infinitely despite of our painful past. Having been fed, we can now volunteer and help in God's feeding program of the Eucharist.

Prayer

Lord, we thank You for the gift of the Eucharist. Help us to ponder the depth of this mystery so that we may be moved to our deepest worship of Your presence into it. Amen.