Today is the second solemnity following Pentecost. Last week was the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity. Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as the Feast of Corpus Christi. On Friday we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Church gives us these feasts to understand the mystery that is the nature of God. Think on the last four solemnities: the Holy Spirit comes in dwell at Pentecost, the Trinity comprises the one God; the Body and Blood of Jesus brings us into communion; and the sacred heart that reveals His infinite compassion.
For Year A, the lectionary takes us to the heart of the Bread of Life Discourse. Allow me to quote St. Thomas Aquinas who is the Doctor most associated with the understanding of the Eucharist.
One eats Christ’s flesh and drinks his blood in a spiritual way if he
is united to him through faith and love, so that one is transformed into him
and becomes his member: for this food is not changed into the one who eats it but
it turns the one who takes it into itself.
And so this is a food capable of making a human being divine. [Quoted from Magnificat, June 2026, p.91]
Today’s Gospel:
Jesus said to the Jewish crowds:
"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."
The Jews quarreled among themselves,
saying,
"How can this man give us his
flesh to eat?"
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.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my
blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last
day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my
blood
remains in me and I in him.
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.
This is the bread that came down
from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and
still died,
whoever eats this bread will live
forever."
~Jn::51-58
Who better to preach on the Body and Blood of Christ than a Dominican
friar, Fr. Greg Heille from the Chapel of Aquinas Institute of Theology in St.
Louis, MO.
Fr. Greg:
The feast goes back
to the year 1264. Pope Urban IV lived in
Orvieto, not far outside of Rome. And he
called upon the Dominican friar, Thomas Aquinas, to write the hymns and the
prayers for this feast day, for the mass and for the liturgy of the hours. We still treasure some of these hymns, for
example, Panje Lingua, which includes Tantum Ergo, which is sung at
Benediction. We love to hear Panis
Angelicus. And so many celebrations of the church. The Dominican Order was only founded less
than 50 years before. And Thomas Aquinas
wrote these beautiful prayers. The
opening prayer, the collect for mass today, is written by Thomas Aquinas, and
it is a prayer that we pray as Dominicans at the beginning of our divine office
for morning prayer, and for evening prayer, the prior or the leader of the
community prays this prayer, which we will pray at mass this weekend. "God, who has left us in a wonderful
sacrament a memorial of your passion. Grant,
we ask that we may venerate the sacred mystery of your body and blood. So that we may always feel in ourselves the
fruit of your redemption. Who lives and
reigns with God the Father, in unity with the Holy Spirit, God, world without
end, amen.
In some of our
parishes we will hear a long sequence before the gospel. This long sequence was also written by
Aquinas. And here is the end of that sequence as he wrote it. “Jesus Good shepherd. True bread. Jesus. Have
mercy on us. You feed us. You watch over
us. You make us see good things in the land of the living. You who know all things and prevail, who
nourish us mortals here, make us, there, your table companions, joint heirs,
and members of the community of saints. Amen.”
The Eucharist is joyfully celebrated this weekend because we return to it again and again week by week and day by day to be nourished with the bread of life. This is a central sacrament of our Christian life, to return to the altar of the Lord, to receive the bread of life, and to be united in our faith, in this true presence of the body, and the blood of Christ.
I think Fr. Greg’s point that we celebrate the Body of Christ joyfully
is insightful. Can anything possibly give
us more joy than to be united with Jesus Christ?
For the pastoral homily I return to Archbishop of Detroit Edward J. Weisenburger.
Archbishop Weisenburger:
I must acknowledge
I'm indebted to my good friend and trusted biblical scholar, Bishop Daniel
Mueggenborg of Reno, Nevada. I was moved by some of his reflections. In one
commentary on this passage. He notes how strongly the passage stresses the
realism of Jesus' presence in the Eucharist. In many other passages, the
biblical term "soma" is used in Greek to refer to "body," and
that's an accurate translation. But in John's gospel, John records Jesus not as
using the word or the identity "soma," but rather the evangelist uses
the term "sarx." "Sarx" in Greek has only one very specific
meaning, which is "flesh." It hearkens back to the opening words of
John's gospel when we read "In the beginning was the word, and the word
was with God, and eventually the word became flesh (sarx)." Now, please
note that a term like soma, for "body," could have a symbolic meaning,
not sarx. That term "flesh" has no meaning other than the corporeal
human reality of a very physical being. Jesus wants to be crystal clear, and
he's adamant. He Himself is really and truly present; flesh, blood, soul,
divinity in the food and drink he gives us in the Eucharist.
A second Greek word
to take note of is "trogein," which very specifically means the
physical act of "munching," as in munching on a piece of food. Some
might even find such a word mildly offensive in relation to consuming the
Eucharist. A different Greek word, "phragein," would be much more
respectable, but it could have a more figuratively meaning, such as digesting
something intellectually. But here again Jesus in John's Gospel is going out of
His way to make very firm His point. He's giving us a real gift of His body and
blood. And to receive this gift, we must physically consume it.
A third point to note
is that throughout the sixth chapter of John's Gospel, the Evangelist is
drawing a beautiful parallel between "the people of Israel receiving manna
in the desert" and "Jesus' gift of Himself in the bread of
life." Just as manna gave the people nourishment to continue their journey
to the way to the Promised Land, so too the gift of the Eucharist is meant to
nourish you and me in our journey towards salvation. The Israelites would encounter
many hardships and had to be sustained for such a journey. The same is true for
us. The Eucharist truly is our manna in
the desert. It is food for eternal life, and it is a sharing in the very body,
blood, soul, divinity of Jesus. What our
Lord is stressing in this teaching is that a disciple is not merely someone who
follows Jesus and obeys his teachings. No, a true disciple is one who is
transformed by the very Christ they receive.
A true disciple is one who grows into the likeness of the God they
encounter in the form of bread and wine.
Upon hearing the Teacher, we read that many "grumbled" at Jesus. That phrase, "grumble," is the same word in Greek used to describe the Hebrews in their response to Moses' leadership in the desert. A grumbling, a murmuring. It implies a hostility, a discontent, ultimately a rejection. And sadly, we read that many of Jesus' own disciples, upon hearing this teaching, found it to be too hard, too much. And the gospel says many of them left Him because of it. But note that in response to this rejection, Jesus does not change His teaching in any way. Instead, He challenges those who hear Him to remain, and to believe and to accept what He reveals. He will not bend the truth to their desires or their sensitivities. But He does conclude, "Blessed are those disciples who are able to accept His teaching." And their faith is voiced beautifully by St. Peter, who will say, "Master, where else can we go? You alone have the words of eternal life."
I think most of us in the Catholic faith accept eating of Christ’s body and blood without grumbling. But that’s a pretty low bar. Combine the two homilies today to accept Christ with joy.
Sunday Meditation: “For
my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.”
“I Received the Living God” is such a beautiful hymn, and so Catholic!
I received the living
God,
and my heart is full
of joy.
I received the living
God,
and my heart is full
of joy.
Jesus said: I am the
Bread
kneaded long to give
you life;
you who will partake
of me
need not ever fear to
die.
I received the living
God,
and my heart is full
of joy.
I received the living
God,
and my heart is full
of joy.
Jesus is joy!
