June 6, 2010: Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

"For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes."

I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

Today we celebrate a solemnity. In the word solemnity is the word solemn; this special day calls for great celebration. Today we honor the Body and Blood of Jesus. Each time we receive the consecrated Bread and Wine during Mass we are truly receiving Jesus. Why? Because Jesus told us that we are! This is a mystery. We cannot explain it. In the reading from St. Paul’s letter to the believers at Corinth, Paul tells them and us what Jesus shared with him. What we do during Mass are acts of faith. We believe and so we act as we have been instructed by Jesus through Paul and others who first believed.

Action:

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin loved Jesus. Receiving the Body of Christ at Mass was the most important action in her life. When she arrived in Indiana and saw how shabby the chapel was where Mass was celebrated and the Blessed Sacrament was kept, she was shocked. She had a great reverence for Jesus in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. Give some thought to how you receive Holy Communion. Do your actions show that you are doing something very important and sacred? If not, how could you show greater reverence for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament?