Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), Year A

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Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16; Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, John 6:51-58.

“THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST: THE FOOD FOR THE JOURNEY

By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide.

·       Today, the church celebrates the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. The source and summit of our Christian life. We celebrate Christ’s gift of his body and blood to us as real food and real drink (John 6:55).

·       This gift of God to us through his son is not just symbolic but real. On the night before he suffered, he took the bread and chalice and gave thanks to God, blessed, and gave it to his disciples and by extension to us as his body and blood, which is a specific instruction to do this always in memory of him.

·       It is the love of God that inspires this gift. This love does not end in the sacrifice of his son for the redemption of mankind but in the daily gift of himself to us.

·       Our faith teaches us that Jesus is truly present in the Holy Eucharist, and the church sets aside a day like this to celebrate this reality. This celebration offers us the opportunity to evaluate our devotion and appreciation of this Eucharistic gift.

·       Today’s liturgy upholds the fact that in our catholic faith, at Mass, our offering of bread and wine through the prayer of consecration, the substance of bread and wine is changed into the real body and blood of Christ.

·       Despite the change, the bread and wine retain their physical properties, although changed substantially into the body and blood of Christ. Jesus is truly present, whole and entire, even in the smallest of particles.

·       The very fact of that gift to the apostles and by extension to us shows us that this world is not our permanent home, the body, and blood that Christ gives us through the power of a validly ordained priest to be our source of strength, life and the food for our journey to eternity.

·       The first reading (Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16) traces the prefiguration of the body and blood of Christ in the Old Testament. How God fed the people of Israel in the wilderness with manna from heaven. The manna became for them their source of strength for the journey.

·       We, too, the Christians of this era situated on earth, are seen to be in the wilderness making our journey to our promised land, which is heaven. The journey may be tedious, difficult, challenging, and tempting, but the body and blood of Christ become a source of support for us to continue this journey until the end.

·       The second reading (1 Corinthians 10:16-17), on the other hand, shows us that the body and blood of Christ are food for unity and togetherness, and that is why it is called communion. This is clearly highlighted in the fact that we all from the one bread and the chalice consecrated by the priest. This should, in essence, further our unity, peace, and communion.

·       In the gospel reading (John 6:51-58), Jesus categorically tells us that he is the living bread that came down from heaven, and anyone who desires to live in this world and in the next ought to eat and drink of him.

·       Dearly beloved in Christ, the body and blood of Christ help us to survive the obstacles this present life brings to us and guide and prepare us for the journey to eternal life. It is the fellowship and communion which we have with the body and blood of Christ that will raise us on the last day.

·       Having said this, we must re-evaluate our devotion and commitment to the most sacred body and blood of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. We must ask ourselves the following questions:

-        What is my disposition and devotion to the Holy Eucharist?

-        Do I long to receive the Eucharist daily at Mass, thereby fleeing from sin?

-        Do I receive the Holy Eucharist in the state of grace?

-        Do I believe in what I receive?

-        Do I live a life expected of one in whom Jesus dwells?

·       Dear friends in Christ, on a day like this, we as Catholics must cherish this unique gift that God has given us; we must believe it, profess it, and live it out. Until we can do this, like the Psalmist, we can say “O praise the Lord, Jerusalem” (Ps. 147:12).

·       May God give us the grace of a deeper understanding of what his body and blood represent for us, not just as physical food but as food for the journey and food for eternity through Christ our Lord, Amen!

·       Happy Sunday!!!


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