Katawan ni Kristo

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

14 June 2020

First reading                                                                        Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16
Moses said to the people: ‘Remember how the Lord your God led you for forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, to test you and know your inmost heart — whether you would keep his commandments or not. He humbled you, he made you feel hunger, he fed you with manna which neither you nor your fathers had known, to make you understand that man does not live on bread alone but that man lives on everything that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
‘Do not then forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery: who guided you through this vast and dreadful wilderness, a land of fiery serpents, scorpions, thirst; who in this waterless place brought you water from the hardest rock; who in this wilderness fed you with manna that your fathers had not known.’

Second reading                                                                1 Corinthians 10:16-17

Though we are many, we form a single body because we share this one loaf.
The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ. The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf.

Gospel                                                                     John 6:51-58

‘I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever;
and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’

Then the Jews started arguing with one another: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ they said. Jesus replied:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood,
you will not have life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh
and drink my blood has eternal life,
and I shall raise him up on the last day.
For my flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink.
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
lives in me and I live in him.
As I, who am sent by the living Father,
myself draw life from the Father,
so whoever eats me will draw life from me.
This is the bread come down from heaven;
not like the bread our ancestors ate:
they are dead,

but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.’

Reflection

By Carlo Alexis R. Malaluan

I attended one mass and the choir sang Ricky Manalo’s “Ang Katawan ni Kristo” during communion. The lyrics of the song goes this way: “Ang Katawan ni Kristo! Ang Katawan ni Kristo! Behold the Body of Christ! Rejoice, O People of God, we are the Body of Christ!”

In the Second Reading, Saint Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians poses a very good question: Is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? Is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. I must admit, that for me, the most beautiful image of the Catholic Faith is none other than the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. There, in different parts of the world and during the different times of the day, we are gathered together in Christ as one community of believers. In the Mass, we are no longer classified by our social status, academic attainment, political beliefs and titles. We are gathered together as one. We are the Katawan ni Kristo! We are the body of Christ! In communion, Christ calls us to none other than Himself. In the Gospel according to Saint John, Christ invites us to partake in His body so that we may remain in Him and He remain in us. Communion does not only nourish our soul but also strengthen our relationship with Christ. As if he is saying: I am all yours! I give you my entirety! 

But as a part of this Mystical Body of Christ, we are also called to be sensitive to the plight of other people – who are also, like us, members of this one body. We must  be considerate of those who suffer, for those who cry silently, for the victims of oppression, discrimination and violence. They who are wounded are the very wounds of Christ. We cannot let the cry of these people fall into deaf ears.  In simple acts of kindness and compassion, we can heal these wounds. We are not strangers to one another. We are one. As Christ continually gives Himself in the form of bread and wine, we are also called to offer up our small and insignificant selves for others maybe not in the highest altars of the cathedrals but in the altars of daily mundane life. There we will find our altars, our places of sacrifice and life. Through them, we can participate in the eternal offering of the Body and Blood of Christ. As the song reminds us: Rejoice! We are the Body of Christ.

Prayer

O EUCHARISTIC LORD! You have called us to your banquet. Make us one in Your body. Make us one Your love. Lead us to a life that gives, that loves, that offers just as You continually give, love and offer Yourself in the form of bread and wine. Amen.