June 7, 2015 – The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
Ex 24:3-8; Ps 116: 12-13, 15-18; Heb 9: 11-15; Mk 14: 12-16, 22-26
We celebrate today the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ — Corpus Christi. As Catholics we have celebrated this since the 13th Century. On Holy Thursday we celebrate the Last Supper, but the Church, feeling that the proximity of Easter might lessen that, instituted this Solemnity to occur right after the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, which we commemorated last Sunday.
We often speak of Holy Days of Obligation. This is one of the ten Holy Days of Obligation in the Latin Rite Church, but here in the United States it is celebrated on Sunday. Sunday, of course, is always a Holy Day of Obligation for us. As stewards of the Church it is vital that we understand our Catholic traditions and practices and are able to explain them.
The emphasis on this Feast Day is Holy Communion, the Eucharist. At Communion we receive the True Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. We are a gifted people, and this is an incredible gift to us. On this day especially we are called to focus on this gift. In Communion we receive gifts that affect us both physically and spiritually. From a spiritual perspective we are united with Christ. Communion should increase our love of God and of our neighbor. This is lived out in the action of stewardship.
