Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ Cycle C
05/28/2013
June 2, 2013
I can remember, as a child, the procession on Corpus Christi, today known as The Body and Blood of Christ. It was time of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and that included a procession through the community with the Blessed Sacrament and a canopy over-the-top of the priest and the monstrance with the Eucharist, the body of Christ.
However, today, the readings speak to me about even something more.
In the gospel we hear that Jesus is concerned about those 5000 that have been following him all day and probably well into the evening. He has great concern for them, since they have had nothing to eat all day.
So he turns to his disciple and says, You feed them."
And of course they have no idea how they could possibly feed such a great crowd.
When we look at the events in our lives each day, especially in those events which are difficult. I know the Lord is saying to us, " You feed them."
That means we are called to feed them with our patience, our mercy, our compassion, our willingness to give a listening ear, etc. We may even think, like the disciples in the Gospel, but our efforts cannot possible change anything. Our efforts are like a few fish and a few loaves of bread.
It is so easy to say that I can't possibly do anything for them.
I don't have the talent or the ability or the funds.
That was the same problem the disciples were having as Jesus told them, " You feed them."
In addition, every day the Lord wants to care for us, to provide food for us on our journey to eternal life.
Sometimes, the Lord feeds us through the kindness of other people. Or perhaps the Lord feeds us in situations that are very uncomfortable and that we don't particularly want to enter into. Those types of situations can show us where we are spiritually. Do we love the enemy? That too can be real food.
In the second reading, St. Paul addresses this community of Christians and explains to them the celebration of the Eucharist and what it is about and how the Lord feeds them and for what purpose.
Saint Paul tells them that Jesus said that this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood.
What is the new covenant?
The covenant is the fact that through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our sins can be forgiven.
And the Lord continues to want to feed us in the celebration of the Eucharist, the Mass. His body and blood are sacrificed so that our sins can be forgiven and we are once again fed for our journey to eternal life.
The Lord is so concerned about us on our journey that every day he offers us an opportunity to be fed.
It is so easy to forget that the purpose of Sunday's celebration is for each of us, by our presence and our participation, to help feed others, and it is also a time that we can be fed.
How are we fed?
It can be through the presence of Christ in others, it can be in the presence of Christ in the sign of peace from the person next to you, it can be in the proclamation of the readings, it can be in the homily given by the priest or deacon, and certainly, it is in the bread and wine that have become the body and blood of Christ that we can be fed.
Are you willing to let the Lord feed you?
Or do we focus so much on our failures, our sins, that we begin to listen to the voice of evil that says, why don't you give up?
There's no hope for you?
You will never change.
But all that is a lie.
The Lord, in his mercy, is always there to forgive and to feed us.
Watch for Him.
He will never force Himself on you!
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