The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ: celebrating the Covenant of the Eucharistic presence of Christ and the Mystical Body of Christ.

This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, was formerly known as "Corpus Christi". It is a solemnity (the highest rank) and is celebrated on the first Thursday or Sunday after the feast of the Holy Trinity. This feast originated in France in the mid-thirteenth century and was extended to the whole Church by Pope Urban IV in 1264. (Source: Roman Catholic Answer)

This feast calls us to focus on two manifestations of the Body of Christ: the Holy Eucharist and the Church. Both are conduits of God’s promise of the Covenant. The primary purpose of this feast is to focus our attention on the Eucharist. The opening prayer at Mass calls our attention to Jesus' suffering and death and our worship of Him, especially in the Eucharist.

At every Mass our attention is called to the Eucharist, the Real Presence of Christ. The secondary focus of this feast is on the Body of Christ as it is present in the Church. The Church is called the (Mystical) Body of Christ because of the intimate communion which Jesus shares with his disciples. He expresses this in the gospels by using the metaphor of a body in which He is the head. This image helps keep in focus both the unity and the diversity of the Church. This intimate relationship which Jesus wishes to have with each disciple has been highlighted in
recent gospels by speaking of God’s love for us expressed in the three Divine Persons in our One, True God. Last weekend’s celebration of Holy Trinity Sunday was just such a manifestation of that Divine Love, beginning in the Father; Creator God, the Redeemer God—Christ, and the teaching and healing love of the Advocate God—the Holy Spirit.

This weekend as we celebrate the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharistic meal and in the Mystical Body of Christ, we again see the Covenantal Love and Promise of our God made present to us in the two main epiphanies of Christ’s Holy Body—the Sacrament of the Eucharist given by Christ on Holy Thursday (the Last Supper) for our strength and salvation as we journey in faith, and in the Covenant of the Catholic faith community—the Church—made up of believers and doers, people of active faith expressed in Word and deed.

In Mark’s Gospel, God’s Promise is actually present in Scripture, in bread and wine, and in us—making us a part of the Eternal Covenant which we hear proclaimed in the Eucharistic prayers. As we listen to—and hopefully re-read and reflect upon this gospel passage, let us see a teaching moment from God—one that teaches us of God’s love for His people and leads us to see that when nourished spiritually by Sacred Scripture and Sacramental grace, we can
become people of courage and wisdom, shining Christ’s light and love among us.