Corpus Christi
Fr Dominic’s Homily
Today is the feast of the body and blood, soul and divinity of our Lord. The source and summit of the Christian life.
Jesus said to us “I will be with you – even to the end of time”
It is through this special gift of the Eucharist that he manages this. Through this sacrament Jesus is fully present with us as food for our journey throughout our lives.
So why don’t we get a Gospel from the last supper when he actually instituted all this? Instead we get the feeding of the five Thousand where we hear that the people were assembling in a lonely place.
In the original Greek the word means wilderness. It’s the same word used when the Israelites wondered in the desert for 40 years.
In other words it’s echoing the exodus when the 12 tribes of Israel were fed with Manner from heaven in order to sustain them on their journey to the Promised Land. So Jesus is the New Moses feeding the New Israel.
We hear that Jesus instructs the apostles to get the people to sit down in groups of 50. Considering that there were at least 5000 people that would have taken some time! This isn’t a random suggestion but a clear echoing of a Jewish tradition that the original 12 judges in Israel would have done.
The 12 disciples now represent the 12 Judges emphasising this concept of a New Israel and exactly who the person of Jesus really is. Everything Jesus says and does has deep meaning from the past or for the future.
Jesus takes the bread, he blesses it, breaks it and gives it to his disciples. This of course is exactly what is going to happen at the last supper. So this miracle of the feeding of the 5000 anticipates exactly what will happen at the last supper.
In ancient times people would sacrifice animals to God which were supposed to represent the pain of our internal sufferings due to sin. Obviously God didn’t need this. But it was us returning to God something of his to show our gratitude to him.
It’s a bit like a child who offers a gift to his parents. The parents don’t really need it – and quite often it’s not really useful in any way but they still treasure it. Because it’s an expression of the child’s love and gratitude. (Mullins)
In the same way God doesn’t need the sacrifices we offer him– but he delights in them because of our disposition of heart. We put ourselves in right relationship with him. Through these sacrifices we attain righteousness with God. But not all sacrifices were of animals.
We hear about Melchizedek who was a king of the city that became Jerusalem and Priest of God who existed about 2000 years before Christ. He would offer sacrifices of bread and wine to his fellow kings where necessary in order to restore peace. We hear him mentioned in Eucharistic prayer number 1.
Jesus restores this sacrifice of bread and wine like Melchizedek of old but also of his own body and blood. He makes himself the sacrifice. This is the sacrifice which sums up all of the sacrifices of the human race. Jesus makes righteous the whole human race. He restores right order between us and God.
Sadly most Catholics don’t really believe in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist (70%) and think it is a kind of symbolic representation of him. But nothing could be further from the truth. When we consume the body of Christ we consume the very essence of Jesus: body, blood, soul and divinity.
We will hear in the Mass that the body and blood of Christ that form the new and eternal covenant will be given for all those who accept it. It’s the ultimate sacrifice offered to the Father given at every Mass.
Our very salvation and our reconciliation with God is re-presented at every Mass through this sacrifice performed once and for all by Jesus, the sacrificial lamb. No more animal sacrifices are ever needed again.
Let us pray that we have hearts that can see the Mass in a new way and truly understand what Jesus has done for us - once and for all - in giving us the precious gift of his body and blood.