One Bread, One Body - a real presence

Sunday, June 18, 2017

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

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."

 L-Ewwel Lezzjoni

Qari mill-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 iċeknek 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

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RESPONSORIAL PSALM                       

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

R/ (12) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem

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/

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/

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/

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/ 

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READING 2                         

1 COR 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.

 It-Tieni Lezzjoni

Qari mill-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

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SEQUENCE - LAUDA SION       

Laud, O Zion, your salvation,
Laud with hymns of exultation,
Christ, your king and shepherd true:

Bring him all the praise you know,
He is more than you bestow.
Never can you reach his due.

Special theme for glad thanksgiving
Is the quick’ning and the living
Bread today before you set:

From his hands of old partaken,
As we know, by faith unshaken,
Where the Twelve at supper met.

Full and clear ring out your chanting,
Joy nor sweetest grace be wanting,
From your heart let praises burst:

For today the feast is holden,
When the institution olden
Of that supper was rehearsed.

Here the new law’s new oblation,
By the new king’s revelation,
Ends the form of ancient rite:

Now the new the old effaces,
Truth away the shadow chases,
Light dispels the gloom of night.

What he did at supper seated,
Christ ordained to be repeated,
His memorial ne’er to cease:

And his rule for guidance taking,
Bread and wine we hallow, making
Thus our sacrifice of peace.

This the truth each Christian learns,
Bread into his flesh he turns,
To his precious blood the wine:

Sight has fail’d, nor thought conceives,
But a dauntless faith believes,
Resting on a pow’r divine.

Here beneath these signs are hidden
Priceless things to sense forbidden;
Signs, not things are all we see:

Blood is poured and flesh is broken,
Yet in either wondrous token
Christ entire we know to be.

Whoso of this food partakes,
Does not rend the Lord nor breaks;
Christ is whole to all that taste:

Thousands are, as one, receivers,
One, as thousands of believers,
Eats of him who cannot waste.

Bad and good the feast are sharing,
Of what divers dooms preparing,
Endless death, or endless life.

Life to these, to those damnation,
See how like participation
Is with unlike issues rife.

When the sacrament is broken,
Doubt not, but believe ‘tis spoken,
That each sever’d outward token
doth the very whole contain.

Nought the precious gift divides,
Breaking but the sign betides
Jesus still the same abides,
still unbroken does remain.

Sekwenza  - Lauda Sion

Faħħar, Sijon, lill-Feddej,

ir-ragħaj tiegħek u l-mexxej,

bl-innijiet u bl-għana.

Ibqa faħhru daqs kemm tista'

għax Hu 'l fuq minn kull tifħir,

qatt ma tfaħħru kemm jistħoqqlu.

Għat-tifħir ħaġa tal-għaġeb,

il-ħobż ħaj li jagħti l-ħajja,

hawn quddiemna f'dan il-jum.

Dak il-ħobż li fuq il-mejda,

lill-appostli fl-ikla mqaddsa,

kien ingħata biex jikluh.

Ikun sħiħ it-tifħir tiegħek,

b'qalb ferrieħa, b'leħen għoli,

ikun jixraq ferħ ir-ruħ.

Għax dal-jum ta' festa' kbira,

ta' dik likla hu t-tifkira,

meta saret l-ewwel darba.

F'dina l-ikla s-Sultan tagħna,

l-Għid il-ġdid tal-liġi l-ġdida,

temm għal kollox l-Għid qadim.

Il-qadim twarrab mill-ġdid,

dak li hu ġie flok ix-xbieha,

id-dawl biegħed dlam il-lejl.

Dak li twettaq fl-aħħar ċena,

Kristu ried jibqa' jiġġedded,

biex ikun tifkira tiegħu.

Imgħallmin b'tagħlim imqaddes,

nibdlu l-ħobż u l-inbid tagħna

b'sagrifiċċju għas-saħħa tagħna.

Twemmin ġdid lilna l-insara,

li dal-ħobż jinbidel f'Ġisem,

u l-inbid jinbidel f'Demm.

Dak li ma tarax jew tifhem,

it-twemmin isaħħu u jwettqu,

fuq kull ordni tan-natura.

Taħt xbihat fejn aħna nilmħu,

mhux il-ħajja, imma sinjali,

jinħbew ħwejjeġ hekk għeżież.

Ikel Ġismu, xorb hu Demmu;

iżda Kristu sħiħ hemm moħbi

taħt kull waħda mix-xbihat.

Sħiħ jittiekel Kristu kollu,

bla jitkisser, bla jitfarrak,

bla jinqasam minn min jieħdu.

Jieklu elf u jiekol wieħed,

kemm  ħa dan, hekk jieħdu huma,

bla jintemm meta jittiekel.

Jieklu t-tajba, jieklu l-ħżiena,

imma 'l dawk iġib il-ħajja,

lil dawn jixħet fit-telfien.

Mewt għall-ħżiena, ħajja għat-tajba,

ara kif jinbidel fihom,

għalkemm jieħdu l-istess ikel.

Meta l-Ostja tkun maqsuma,

la tibżax, imm'int ftakar,

taħt ix-xbieha ta' kull farka

hemm jinsab daqs fl-Ostja sħiħa.

Ebda ksur ma jsir fi Kristu;

biss ix-xbieha tkun miksura;

u b'dal ksur xejn ma jitnaqqas

Dak li hu taħt din ix-xbieha.

Dan ħobż l-anġli, magħmul ikel

għall-bnedmin fit-triq tal-ħajja,

ikel bnin għall-ulied kollha,

li m'għandux fix-xejn jintrema.

Bi xbihat kien ilu mħabbar,

f'dik l-offerta ta' Iżakk,

fil-ħaruf li nqatel fl-Għid,

u fil-manna tad-deżert.

Int ragħaj tajjeb, ħobż tassew,

Ġesu' tagħna, ħenn għalina;

Int itmagħna u ħarisna;

inti lilna l-ġid urina

fl-art imbierka tal-ħajjin.

Int li taf u tista' kollox,

li titmagħna hawn f'dil-ħajja,

hemm agħilna lkoll imsieħba,

f'għaqda waħda lkoll werrieta

mal-qtajjiet tal-qaddisin.

Amen Hallelujah.

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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."

L-Evanġelju

Qari mill-Evanġelju 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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“Sacrament of piety, sign of unity, bond of charity"

Commentary by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB                          

Our three Scripture readings for Sunday’s solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ describe three wonderful ways to talk about the gift of the Eucharist. Allow me to offer some reflections on each of readings and conclude with how we live out the Eucharistic mystery in our daily lives.

The Old Testament reading from Deuteronomy 8:2-3; 14b-16a presents Moses addressing the people of Israel as they neared the Promised Land after their forty years of wandering. Moses, Israel’s great architect, appeals to their memory, urging them to remember how God cared for them during their long pilgrimage. "Remember," "Remember your God." Moses does not invite them to a nostalgic or theoretical remembering. Rather he calls them to recall God’s concrete actions on their behalf. He reminds them exactly what God did for them and to what degree God sustained them in their desert sojourn by giving them manna.

The reference to manna connects us to this day’s gospel when Jesus’ hearers are initially repulsed by his reference to eating his flesh. In the Gospel text, Jesus mentions eating his flesh four times (Jn 6:51-58). Jesus is none other than God’s entrance into our lives as a human being – flesh and blood like us. Jesus’ listeners are not only having a difficult time thinking about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, but they are having trouble accepting that in Jesus, God has definitively entered the world.

One bread, one body

Sunday’s second reading is from St. Paul’s first letter to the fractured community in Corinth, (10:16-17). Though the Christians in Corinth may have had beautiful liturgies, they weren’t living as the body of Christ. The rich were not sharing with the poor, nor were the vulnerable being assisted. The deepest meaning of the Eucharist is denied when it is celebrated without taking into account the need for charity and communion. Paul is quite severe with the Corinthians because "when you meet together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat (11:20) because of the divisions, injustices and selfishness. Paul challenges them to become the food they eat: the body of Christ.

In his commentary on John’s Gospel, St. Augustine’s expression: "Sacrament of piety, sign of unity, bond of charity!" (In Johannis Evangelium 26:13) summarizes well the words that Paul addressed to the Corinthians: "Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread" (I Cor 10:17).

By our partaking of this food and drink, we are joined more closely to one another as the body of Christ. Paul’s challenge to the Christians of ancient Corinth is still valid for us today. We must continually heed Paul’s words. Is our faith community an obvious sign that we are the body and blood of Christ? What signs would convince other people that we are?

Enduring presence

The most important doctrines of our Catholic Christian faith remain the same through the ages and need to be approached again and again in order to rediscover their richness and experience their enduring significance for our daily lives. These doctrines are the deepest sense of what the Scriptures proclaim and that this deepest sense is discovered precisely when the Scriptures are proclaimed in the liturgical assembly and when the Scriptures become sacrament in the Eucharistic rite. From this source we draw our energy, our vision and our hope to foster a true civilization of love.

At every mass, the liturgy of the Word precedes the Eucharistic liturgy. There are two "communions," one with the Word and one with the Bread. One cannot be understood without the other. The Eucharist does not only provide inner strength, but also a certain way of life. It is a way of living that is passed from Jesus to the Christian. The celebration of the Eucharist has no meaning if it is not lived with love. Through the Eucharist we are challenged at the level of our history to realize as much as possible what we celebrate sacramentally: bread for all, salvation and liberation for all.

The Eucharistic Christ is truly present as bread for the poor, and not for the privileged. In order to keep the Eucharistic reality credible, we have to devote ourselves to a better, more just world. When we receive the Eucharist, we partake of the one who becomes food and drink for others. We, too, must become food and drink for the hungry. Faith in Jesus' resurrection can itself be an unproductive or dangerous ideology if it does not stimulate us actually to share bread with our brothers and sisters who are hungry.

Real Presence

In giving us the bread of life, Jesus does not offer temporary nourishment, he gives us the eternal bread of his word. It will not pass away. It will nourish and give life forever. Jesus is this bread, and in offering to share it with us he calls us to faith in him. Jesus invites us to “come to him,” “believe in him,” “look upon him,” “be drawn to him,” “hear him,” and to “learn of him.” All of these verbs invite the active response of our faith (cf. Jn 6:36, 37, 40, 44, 45). His word is nourishment for our faith.

Today’s feast of the Body and Blood of Christ is not a static occasion, a time to gaze in wonder on the eucharistic species for private devotion and communication with the Lord. The feast we celebrate together is not an invitation to just gaze and look, but to receive the body and blood of Christ and then, nourished by the divine life we receive, to become the body and blood of Christ to the world.

When we come to receive Communion and the Eucharistic ministers hold the sacred food and drink before us, they will say, “the Body of Christ; the Blood of Christ.” They are not only naming what they are offering us to eat and drink, they are also naming each one of us, for we are, “the body of Christ and the blood of Christ.” In other words, the real presence is not only to be found in church, but in each baptized Christian nourished by the Eucharist and becoming the real presence of Christ to the world.

Eucharistic obligations

To celebrate the Eucharist is to commit oneself to a discipleship that “remembers” Jesus, not only in the ritual breaking of the bread and sharing the cup, but also in the “imitation” of Jesus, in the ongoing breaking of one’s own body and spilling of one’s own blood “in remembrance” of Jesus.” For this reason, Paul adds: “You proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (I Cor 11:26). When we commemorate or “do this as a memorial,” the object of the memory is not an image or a replica of the Last Supper, but the Last Supper itself. Having received the body and blood of Christ today we must ask ourselves some questions. To worship in spirit and truth requires that our liturgy and ritual prayer be linked with our daily living. How do we bring our daily living into the Eucharistic celebration? What effect does the Eucharist have on our daily living? How does our devotion to the Eucharist and devotion to family and work enable us to be true disciples, in adoration before the Eucharistic presence of Jesus?

How are we to be like Christ and feed the hungry and heal the sick? How are we to be like Christ and lay down our lives for others? What is the relationship between Eucharist and Reconciliation? Who is excluded from our love at his moment? Who is crying out for our presence? What do we say to those who are unable to partake of the Lord’s supper?

In the words and imagery of St. Augustine, can we say that our reception of the Eucharist, on a daily or weekly basis, nourishes our piety, urges us to work for unity, and strengthens the bonds of charity that exist among us?

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