June 23, 2019

Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ C
Genesis 14: 18-20; 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26; Luke 9: 11-17
How precious is the Eucharist to me? How important is my reception of the Eucharist? How often do I
spend time in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament? Is this quiet time with the Lord important to me?
Do I believe that God is always present in my life? What do I do to refresh this presence? What do I do
to share this presence to others? Is my faith active?
Fr. Jack Robinson, OFM shares and interesting attention-getter in Today’s Sunday Homily Helps: “Many
years ago, the people of a Native American village in the US southwest were once unable to celebrate
the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, for there was no priest available, and the Blessed Sacrament
was not reserved in their church. Some leaders of that faith community chose to put a circular piece of
white paper in their monstrance in order to hold their annual Corpus Christi procession. We can all
agree that their knowledge of the doctrines of the Church was faulty, but the fervor of their faith in our
need for the Real Presence of Christ among us and their longing to celebrate that presence are things
that we can all admire.”
What can I glean from today’s readings to increase and strengthen the gift of God’s presence in my life?
Today’s first reading from Genesis comes after Abram is introduced and his father, Terah, took Abram,
his grandson Lot, the son Haran and his daughter in law Sarai out of Ur of the Chaldeans to the land of
Canaan. God promised to make of Abram a great nation. Today’s reading comes after Abram had joined
other kings to defeat a five-king alliance including the King of Sodom where Lot had settled. When
Abram heard of Lot’s capture he assembled a force of just over 300 men and defeated the enemy kings
and rescued Lot and everyone else. In a gesture of gratitude the King of Salem blesses Abram and offers
gratitude to God in a ritual which included bread and wine some of which was offered up to God and
some of it consumed by those participating in the ritual. Then Abram offers him a tithe, therefore
accepting the blessing of Melchizedek who has the dual role of being king and priest of God Most High.
Abraham announces, “I have sworn to the Lord, God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth,” (14:22) which
is the first time the Lord is being called, ‘the God Most High.’ God gives His total protection to Abram
and his faith continues to grow even stronger. Abram’s riches come from God, not an earthly king. We
continue to see that Abram’s loyalty belongs to God alone. His life is a lesson for all…He trusts God,
even in the eventual attempt to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
Paul is writing to the Corinthians sharing what is the earliest written account of the institution of the
Lord’s Supper in the New Testament. Jesus here declares that the bread and wine is His Body and
Blood. This food is real food for each person’s journey of faith until the Lord returns at the end of time.
Paul shares that the only proper way to celebrate the Eucharist is one that corresponds to Jesus’s
intention to repeat this action in His memory which Paul emphasizes in Jesus’ double command to do
this in His memory. The footnote in the Catholic Study Bible states, “If the Corinthians eat and drink
unworthily, i.e., without having grasped and internalized the meaning of Jesus death for them, they will
have to answer for the body and blood, i.e., will be guilty of a sin against the Lord Himself.” The
Eucharist or the ‘Breaking of the Bread’ was celebrated in homes. By the end of the first century, these
‘house churches’ had grown so large that the Lord’s Supper was no longer celebrated in the context of a
meal and the new ritual began to be formed.
The account of the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000 + people with five loaves and two fish is the only
miracle reported in all four Gospels. This brings to memory the feeding of the Israelites as they
wandered in the desert (Exodus 14). It also brings to mind Elisha’s feeding of 100 people with 20
loaves (2Kings 4: 42-44). A unique part of the dialogue before the miracle is when the twelve wanted
Jesus to dismiss the crowd since they were hungry and also in a deserted area. Jesus said, “Give them
some food yourselves.” I’m sure this startled the disciples and they got very defensive, “Five loaves and two
fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.” How often do I become
defensive and think, ‘I just can’t do that…I don’t have the time…I don’t have the resources.’ Am I
being challenged? Am I hanging on to things too much? Am I hesitant to share from my abundance?
Am I even reluctant when I don’t have the resources but I do have the time and I’m unwilling to share
my time? What is the ‘side’ lesson OR maybe even the ‘direct’ lesson that Jesus is teaching and I’m
avoiding? Could it be that, like the apostles, what matters is in placing our resources in the hands of
God to help, there will always be enough. I’m reminded of Peter’s encounter in Acts 3 of a crippled
beggar who pleads for hand-outs. “Peter said, ‘I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in
the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.” We feel that this is a wonderful miracle as did the
people who witnessed it in the praise of God. Peter added, “You Israelites, why are you amazed at this, and
why do you look so intently at us as if we have made him walk by our own power or piety?…You denied this Holy
and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. The author of life you put to death, but God
raised Him from the dead; of this we are witnesses.” Am I reluctant to accept that God is with me helping me
in all ways to be witnesses to His love, care, forgiveness and mercy? Eucharist in Greek means ‘to
humbly give thanks to God.’ Don’t I do this best by sharing my gifts with others and let God supply
what is needed? Is it my trusting God that is lacking? My saying, ‘AMEN’ when I receive is a
affirmation that I believe that what I eat and drink is the Body and Blood of Christ. I receive the
presence of Christ. I am to take what I have received and share God’s presence to nourish and refresh
others with the Lords’ presence, and to satisfy hungry hearts. I am loving when I love…This is the only
way I share my Lord. Amen, so be it!
So I reflect on:
• What do I have to offer as nourishment that makes Christ present to others?
• How do I thank God for all that I have and all that I am?
• Have I ever experienced physical hunger? What was it like? Fearful, confusing? Have I ever
experienced Spiritual hunger? What was this like? What did I need?
• If I was never able to attend Mass (or celebrate Mass) again, how would my life be different?
• What do I resist sharing with others?
Sacred Space 2019 states:
“Mother Teresa said about Jesus, ‘He uses us to be His love and compassion in the world in spite of our
weaknesses and frailties.’ In this miracle, Jesus does not produce food out of nowhere. He takes the little that the
apostles have, and He multiplies it a thousandfold. No matter how little I think I have to give, once I freely place my
gifts in Jesus’ service, they become limitless.
In the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, I am reminded that Jesus can also provide spiritual
sustenance beyond my imagining. There is a mysterious disproportion between what I give and what the Lord
makes of it.”