Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk
Homily for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi: Year A – June 11, 2023.
Readings: Deut 8:2-3.14b-16a; Responsorial Psalm Ps 147:12-13.14-15.19-20 (R.12a); 2 Cor 10:16-17 & Gospel John 6:51-58.
Theme: Becoming what we celebrate!
Sunday Synopsis
The first reading recalls how the Lord fed the Israelites with manna in the desert. In the second reading, St. Paul maintains that the cup and bread that we bless are a participation in the blood and body of Christ. In the gospel, Jesus reveals himself as the living bread which has come down from heaven. We are charged to become what we celebrate, a Eucharistic people, even as we embrace holy communion as food for our journey.
Introduction
Friends in Christ, today the Church celebrates Corpus Christi Sunday – the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The feast of the Body of Christ, Corpus Christi was introduced into the Church’s calendar in 1264. The celebration was influenced by the vision of a glistening full moon which an Augustinian nun, Juliana of Liège saw. The moon she saw was perfect except for some hollow dark spots which she was told represented the absence of a feast of the Holy Eucharist. This led to the official pronouncement of the solemnity.
The story is told of a bread hawker in rural Africa who trekked all day without making sales. By evening, he boarded a bus back home. In the bus, there were women and lots of children. He came up with an idea. The guy took a loaf and gave a big bite saying, “what a delightful taste.” A that, the child of the woman next to him started crying, “mummy, I want bread.” She bought the bread for him, and other children started crying demanding for the bread. Eventually, the poor hawker sold all his stuff. This was principally because he ate and gave a strong testimony (advertisement) about his product. This brings us to the theme of our reflection, “Becoming what we celebrate.”
Background and Summary of the Readings
The first reading (Deut 8:2-3.14b-16a) recalls how the Lord fed the Israelites with manna in the desert. In the reading Moses reminded them that man must not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. He charged the people to remember God’s benevolence in their lives.
In the second reading (2 Cor. 10:16-17), St. Paul maintains that the cup and bread that we bless are a participation in the blood and body of Christ. He further notes that although we are many, we are one in the body of Christ. The reading suggests that this oneness is contingent on the one bread and the one chalice that we share. It further points to the fact that the oneness reflects the Church’s Catholicism and Universality.
In the gospel (John 6:51-58), Jesus reveals himself as the living bread which has come down from heaven. He assures that anyone who eats this bread will live forever. Although many of the Jews murmured amongst themselves and queried how this man would give them his flesh to eat, Jesus insisted: “…Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” He surmised that the bread he gives is different from the one their fathers ate and died.
Pastoral Lessons
1. Believe in the Real Presence: Corpus Christi Sunday calls us to reaffirm our belief in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Eucharist and the fact that he is present with us in body, soul and divinity when we receive Holy Communion to assist us in our daily struggles.
2. Be in Full Communion: It challenges those who are not yet communicants to approach pastors of souls so as to be in full communion with the Church through the Eucharist, the spiritual meal for our journey.
3. Patronize the Eucharist: Those who have excommunicated themselves from receiving Holy Communion for many years are urged to do the needful by going for sacramental confession so as to be in full communion with Christ and with the Christian assembly (Cf. CCC, no.1415).
4. Be United in Christ: As a Eucharistic people, the celebration of the Holy Mass is geared towards the unity of all God’s and daughters which obliges us to work towards eradiating divisions in our society for although we are many, we are one in Christ (2 Cor. 10:16-17).
5. Embrace Eucharist as Source and Summit of Your Life: Today’s celebration urges all Catholics to remind the world that the Eucharist is the source and the summit of our lives and existence (Cf. SC, no 10;& LG, no. 11; CCC no. 1324) through which world-peace can be achieved.
Summary Lines
1. The feast of the Body of Christ, Corpus Christi was introduced into Church calendar in 1264.
2. The first reading recalls how the Lord fed the Israelites with manna in the desert.
3. In the second reading, St. Paul maintains the cub and bread that we bless are a participation in the blood and body of Christ.
4. He [St. Paul] further notes that although we are many, we are one in the body of Christ.
5. In the gospel, Jesus reveals himself as the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Conclusion
We are called to desist from anything that desecrates the Holy Eucharist. Priests are charged to preserve the faith and pass it on while urging the faithful to pay homage to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament – Our reverence for Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist must be deep and profound. We are warned about the dangers of receiving the Eucharist in a state of sin. We pray that Christ who comes to us as food for our journey would inspire us to become what we celebrate – a truly Eucharistic people. Happy Corpus Christi Sunday!
