Do This in Memory of Me

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
Lectionary: 167

It-Tifkira  Solenni tal-Ġisem u d-Demm ta' Ġesu'

Messalin A pp 243

 

Reading 1      DeuTeronomy 8:2-3, 14B-16A

Moses said to the people:  "Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments.  He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD. "Do not forget the LORD, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery; who guided you through the vast and terrible desert with its saraph serpents and scorpions, its parched and waterless ground; who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock and fed you in the desert with manna, a food unknown to your fathers."  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Ewwel Lezzjoni      -  -Ktieb tad-Dewteronomju. 8, 2-3, 14b-16a

F'dak iż-żmien, Mose' kellem lill-poplu u qal: "Ftakar fil-mixja kollha li mexxiek il-Mulej, Alla tiegħek, matul  dawn l-erbgħin sena fid-deżert, biex iċekknek u  iġarrbek, ħalli jkun jaf x'għandek f'qalbek, jekk tridx toqgħod għall-kmandamenti tiegħu jew le.  Huwa ċekknek, ried li tbati l-ġuħ, imbagħad temgħek  il-manna, li la int u lanqas missirijietek ma kontu qatt tafu biha, biex jurik li mhux bil-ħobż biss jgħix il-bniedem, imma b'dak kollu li joħroġ minn fomm il-Mulej,  b'dan jgħix il-bniedem.  Qis li ma titkabbarx qalbek u tinsa l-Mulej, Alla tiegħek, li ħarġek mill-art ta' l-Eġittu, mill-art tal-jasar.  Hu li mexxiek fid-deżert kbir u tal-waħħax, mimli

sriep velenużi u skorpjuni, art niexfa bla ilma  xejn,  li ħariġlek l-ilma mill-blata taż-żied, li temgħek il-manna fid-deżert, li missirijietek ma kienu jafu  biha xejn.  Il-Kelma  tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm      PSALM 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20

Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
                R/ Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
                R/ Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
                R/ Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Salm Responsorjali       -  Salm 146(147)

                R/  Sebbaħ, Ġerusalemm, lill-Mulej.

Sebbaħ, Ġerusalemm, lill-Mulej;

faħhar lil Alla tiegħek, Sijon

Hu jseħħaħ l-istaneg tal-bibien tiegħek,

u jbierek ġewwa fik lil uliedek.                                 R/

Hu jqiegħed fis-sliem it-trufijiet ta' artek,

u lilek bl-aħjar qamħ ixebbgħek.

Hu jibgħat fuq l-art il-kmand tiegħu;

bil-ħeffa tiġri l-kelma tiegħu.                                    R/

Hu jxandar kelmtu lil Ġakobb,

il-liġijiet u d-digrieti tiegħu lil Iżrael.

Ma għamel hemm ma' ebda poplu;

lil ħadd ma għarraf id-digrieti tiegħu.                    R/

Reading 2       1 CORinthiaNS 10:16-17

Brothers and sisters: The cup of blessing that we bless,  is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?  The bread that we break,  is it not a participation in the body of Christ?  Because the loaf of bread is one,  we, though many, are one body,  for we all partake of the one loaf.  This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni    -   L-Ewwel Ittra lill-Korintin 10, 16-17

Ħuti, il-kalċi mbierek li fuqu ngħidu l-barka m'huwiex għaqda mad-demm ta' Kristu?  U l-ħobż li naqsmu m'huwiex għaqda mal- ġisem ta' Kristu?   Għax la l-ħobża hi waħda, aħna, li aħna ħafna, aħna  ġisem wieħed; ilkoll  kemm aħna nieħdu seħem minn   ħobża waħda.   Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel         JohN 6:51-58

Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give  is my flesh for the life of the world."  The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,  "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,  unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,  you do not have life within you.   Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood  has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.  For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood  remains in me and I in him. 
Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.  This is the bread that came down from heaven. 
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,  whoever eats this bread will live forever." This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Evanġelju    -   Qari  skond San Ġwann 6, 51-58

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' qal lin-nies  "Jiena hu l-ħobż il-ħaj, li niżel mis-sema.  Jekk xi ħadd jiekol minn dan il-ħobż jgħix għal dejjem.  U l-ħobż li jiena nagħti huwa ġismi għall-ħajja ta' dinja.

Fuq hekk il-Lhud tlewmu bejniethom, u bdew jgħidu:  "Kif jista' dan jagħtina ġismu biex nikluh?   Ġesu' mela qalilhom:  "Tassew, tassew, ngħidilkom,  jekk ma tiklux il-ġisem ta' Bin il-bniedem u ma tixorbux  demmu, ma jkollkomx il-ħajja fikom.  Min jiekol  ġismi u jixrob demmi għandu l-ħajja ta' dejjem, u jiena  nqajmu mill-imwiet fl-aħħar jum.  Għax ġismu huwa  tassew ikel, u demmi hu tassew xorb.  Min jiekol ġismi u jixrob demmi jibqa' fija u jiena fih. Bħalma bagħatni l-Missier li  hu ħaj, u jiena ngħix  b'Missieri, hekk ukoll min jiekol lili, hu wkoll jgħix bija. Dan huwa l-ħobż li niżel mis-sema, m'huwiex bħal dak  li kielu missirijietkom u mietu;  min jiekol dan il-ħobż jgħix għal dejjem.  .   Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Commentary:

Do This in Memory of Me

Here is a translation of a commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, on the readings from this Sunday's liturgy.

In the second reading of this feast, St. Paul presents us with the most ancient account we have of the institution of the Eucharist, written no more than about 20 years after the fact. Let us try to find something new in the Eucharistic mystery, using the concept of memorial: "Do this in memory of me."

Memory is one of the most mysterious and greatest powers of the human spirit. Everything seen, heard and done from early childhood is conserved in this immense womb, ready to reawaken and to dance into the light either by an external stimulus or by our own will.

Without memory we will cease to be ourselves, we will lose our identity. Those who are struck by total amnesia, wander lost on the streets, without knowing their own name or where they live.

A memory, once it has come to mind, has the power to catalyze our whole interior world and route everything toward its object, especially if this is not a thing or a fact, but a living person.

When a mother remembers her child, who was born a few days ago and is left at home, everything inside her flies toward her baby, a movement of tenderness rises from her maternal depths and perhaps brings tears to her eyes.

Not just the individual has memory; human groups -- family, tribe, nation -- also have a collective memory. The wealth of a people is not so much measured by the reserves of gold it holds in its vaults, but rather by how many memories it holds in its collective consciousness. It is the sharing of many memories that cements the unity of a group. To keep such memories alive, they are linked to a place, to a holiday.

Americans have Memorial Day, the day in which they remember those who fell in all the wars; the Indians have the Gandhi Memorial, a green park in New Delhi that is supposed to remind the nation who he was and what he did. We Italians also have our memorials: The civil holidays recall the most important events in our recent history, and streets, piazzas and airports are dedicated to our most eminent people.

This very rich human background in regard to memory should help us better understand what the Eucharist is for the Christian people. It is a memorial because it recalls the event to which all of humanity now owes its existence as redeemed humanity: the death of the Lord.

But the Eucharist has something that distinguishes it from every other memorial. It is memorial and presence together, even if hidden under the signs of bread and wine. Memorial Day cannot bring those who have fallen back to life; the Gandhi Memorial cannot make Gandhi alive again. In a sense, the Eucharistic memorial, however, according to the faith of Christians, does do this in regard to Christ.

But together with all the beautiful things that we have said about memory, we must mention a danger that is inherent to it. Memory can be easily transformed into sterile and paralyzing nostalgia. This happens when a person becomes the prisoner of his own memories and ends up living in the past.

Indeed, the Eucharistic memorial does not pertain to this type of memory. On the contrary, it projects us forward; after the consecration the people say: "We proclaim your death, O Lord, and confess your resurrection, until you come."

An antiphon attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas ("O sacrum convivium") defines the Eucharist as the sacred feast in which "Christ is received, the memory of his passion is celebrated, the soul is filled with grace, and we are given the pledge of future glory."  

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