June 2, 2013 –– The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Gn 14: 18-20; Ps 110:1-4; 1 Cor 11: 23-26; Lk 9: 11B-17
Why do we have a special holy day to emphasize the Eucharist when we accentuate it each and every day and at each and every Mass? The Church (Pope Urban IV) instituted the holy day (popularly called Corpus Christi) to provide added emphasis. Of course, Holy Thursday celebrates the Feast of the Last Supper as inaugurated by Christ that night. Since that day and Holy Week are a more subdued time, this feast was added to heighten the joy associated with the Eucharist.
The late stewardship pioneer Msgr. Thomas McGread from the Diocese of Wichita called the Eucharist “a stewardship meal.” In fact, Monsignor maintained, the entire liturgy was a stewardship experience. We are given the Word; we receive the Word. We present our gifts, and most important we present ourselves. Through the Eucharist we receive the incredible gift of Christ Himself. It is not as if we just receive Christ at that moment though; we literally become one with Christ. Stewardship is how we respond and share that gift.
Our stewardship is what we do with that gift — how we respond to this unity through discipleship and mission. Msgr. McGread went on to say that through the Eucharist stewardship is not something we do once or twice a year. “It is an every day, every Sunday, every Mass stewardship affair.”
