{"id":1110,"date":"2013-06-02T09:38:45","date_gmt":"2013-06-02T13:38:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=1110"},"modified":"2013-06-02T09:38:45","modified_gmt":"2013-06-02T13:38:45","slug":"corpus-christi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/corpus-christi\/","title":{"rendered":"Corpus Christi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Corpus Christi, Year C<\/a>
\nGenesis 14:18-20
\n1 Corinthians 11:23-26
\nJohn 9:11b-17
\nJune 2, 2013<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Melchizedek offered bread and wine in recognition of Abraham\u2019s victory over the \u201cenemy\u201d.\u00a0 No explanation is offered for why bread and wine is used and Melchizedek is never heard from again.<\/p>\n

Moving forward over 2,000 years, Jesus ministers to the people\u2019s hunger with five loaves of bread and two fish.\u00a0 With so little, Jesus feeds 5,000 people with ordinary bread.<\/p>\n

The disciples had seen the need of the people and thought it impossible for them to feed so many people with so little so they tell Jesus to \u2018dismiss the crowd\u2019 so they can find food for themselves.<\/p>\n

What they apparently have forgotten is how God has been feeding people for ages with bread.<\/p>\n

Remember the Manna?<\/p>\n

At the Israelites left Egypt in the Exodus, they had no food to eat.\u00a0 They feared that God had abandoned them in the desert and that they would die of starvation.\u00a0 They were wrong.\u00a0 God heard their cry and sent down Manna as bread from Heaven which never ran short all the years they were in the desert.<\/p>\n

Bread is a basic staple of life.<\/p>\n

God provided bread for the Israelites in the desert.\u00a0 God provided bread for Elijah and the widow in the drought.\u00a0 Jesus provided bread for the crowd of 5,000.<\/p>\n

Jesus continues to provide bread for us today but it is no longer ordinary earthly bread.\u00a0 Well, actually it is but it is more than just ordinary bread.<\/p>\n

The bread we receive from the altar is little in earthly terms.\u00a0 A cracker is bigger than the portion of the bread we receive but the bread we receive is so much more than we see.<\/p>\n

We are physical beings.\u00a0 We need physical food but we are also spiritual beings who need spiritual food.\u00a0 We need spiritual nourishment lest our souls perish as the Israelites had feared their bodies would perish.<\/p>\n

Where do we find spiritual nourishment?\u00a0 We can find it through prayer and scripture but the place where we best receive the spiritual nourishment we need is in the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of the Eucharist.<\/p>\n

For us, it is the Body and Blood of Jesus.\u00a0 Some Christian denominations don\u2019t believe in the Real Presence.\u00a0 Why do we?<\/p>\n

It is not some crazy idea that humans thought up.\u00a0 Paul shares with the Corinthians where he received the idea to celebrate the Eucharist.\u00a0 It was not from other humans.\u00a0 He makes it clear when he says \u201cI received from the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

The words \u201cthis is my Body\u201d and \u201cthis is my Blood\u201d come from Jesus himself.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t say \u2018this is a symbol of my body and blood.\u2019<\/p>\n

Why do we repeat it?\u00a0 First of all, we should not think of it as simply repeating it.\u00a0 Rather than repeating what was done before, God makes present today what was done 2,000 years ago.\u00a0 Still, why do we continue to carry out this action?<\/p>\n

Because Jesus says \u201cDo this in remembrance of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do we know how God makes the Crucifixion of Jesus at Calvary present today?\u00a0 No, it\u2019s a mystery.<\/p>\n

Do we know how God makes the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus?\u00a0 No, it\u2019s a mystery.<\/p>\n

Last week, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity and I talked about the Trinity being a central mystery of our faith.<\/p>\n

The Real Presence in the Eucharist is another mystery of our faith.\u00a0 We don\u2019t know how it happens but we believe because we trust in Jesus\u2019 words.<\/p>\n

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.<\/p>\n

Today we give thanks for the gift of the Eucharist.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Corpus Christi, Year C Genesis 14:18-20 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 John 9:11b-17 June 2, 2013   Melchizedek offered bread and wine in recognition of Abraham\u2019s victory over the \u201cenemy\u201d.\u00a0 No explanation is offered for why bread and wine is used and Melchizedek is never heard from again. Moving forward over 2,000 years, Jesus ministers to the …<\/p>\n

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