Reflection on Corpus Christi Feast

Corpus Christi, The Body of Christ
Thoughts and reflections on the feast of Corpus Christi


“Is it not the cup of blessing we bless, a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread we break a sharing in the Body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.” (Corinthians 10:17)
“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
“Christ will take unto himself only the flesh of those who have received of His flesh”
(From a reflection of Saint Hilary)
“To insure that the memory of so great a gift would abide with us forever; He left His body as food (in the form of bread) and His blood as drink (in the form of wine) for the faithful to consume. ….Could anything be of more intrinsic value? (From Saint Thomas Aquinas’s In Festo Corporis Christi)
The above readings from scripture and from a doctor of the church and a saint, make one thing clear. In the Eucharist (from the Greek eukharistia “giving of thanks,” from eukharistos “grateful,”) we receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ into us and it is assimilated into our bodies for which we are grateful. The bread and wine, have been transubstantiated (changed from mere bread and wine) into the Body and Blood of Christ just as he stated at the Last Supper.
Therefore, just as the food we eat gives us nourishment to our body, and the vitamins we take become a part of our body and they all give us strength and nourishment and assist us in fighting of disease, so too does our partaking of the Eucharist. The Eucharist helps us to fight off the temptations of the evil one as well as assists us in deepening our faith and love of God and fulfilling His teachings by living as He instructed us.
Therefore the Corpus Christi, The Body of Christ, is more than a reference to the human form of Christ, it is also the bread and wine of the Eucharist.
At Baptism we became a part of the Mystical body of Christ, by partaking of the Eucharist we have Christ within us, and we are one in the Spirit and the body of Christ as long as we remain faithful to His teachings.
Since we partake of the one bread of life, the Eucharist we are then a part of the one body of Christ, and the one body of Christ is the Church. Just as the body has many parts (cells, hands, feet, eyes, fingers, etc) so too does the church founded by Christ have many parts. Each of the Apostles founded a church in the areas they ministered to. Each of those churches were faithful to the teachings handed down by Christ to the apostles and their rightful successors but each also had an individuality that was reflective of the customs of the area the church was in.
They communicated with each other as witnessed by the Epistles. They conferred together about matters that concerned the faith and teachings of Christ and a two thirds majority had to agree on any changes.
This, unfortunately ended and the body of the church began to fight with itself. This is sort of like the arm trying to take control of the eye while the toe wants to control the mouth. A rather impossible thing and yet today we live with and we see this fighting for control continuing.
The Body of Christ, the universal Christian Church that accepts and believes Jesus to be the Son of God and the Redeemer, is not buildings, not any one denomination, but it is the Baptized faithful who believe and profess Jesus as the promised of the ages.
I strongly believe that if we continue to attempt to divide the different parts of the One Body of Christ we will never bring about the promise of Christ. If we continue to ignore the one great commandment Christ gave us, Love the Lord, your God, with your whole mind, spirit, body and soul and Love your neighbor as you Love yourself. Love each other as I have loved you.
If we continue to limit the opportunities of God’s children to participate in the Mystical Body of Christ, The Church, and to claim their rightful place within that Body of Christ because of there sexual orientation, marital status, race or any other man made rule that has nothing to do with Christ’s teachings, we cannot claim that we are serving Christ, in fact it would seem that we have been taken advantage of by the evil one to serve his desire to separate God’s children from God.
On this feast celebrating the Body of Christ, Corpus Christi, let us open up our minds and hearts and seek ways to bring together all the parts of the body into a unified cause. Let us stop the heart from trying to take over the duties of the teeth and the big toe from trying to be the nose.
Let us seek ways to find our common truths, the teachings of Jesus Christ, and work together for the reunification and rebuilding of the One Holy Catholic(Universal) Apostolic (derived from the Apostles) Church which Christ established when He gave us the new covenant and gave us His body and Blood in the Eucharist to strengthen us by becoming a part of us and therefore our becoming the actual church and a part of the Body of Christ.
AMEN
We are a Catholic mission of the Franciscans of the Annunciation under the Old Catholic Diocese of New England. We believe that all God's children deserve respect and the same rights and privileges as every other person regardless of their sexual orientation or marital status.
We confer all Sacraments and Holy Unions.
God's love is everlasting and infinite and His mercy and compassion is unlimited.
Rev. Robert Francis Johnnene OFA
Mission St’s. Sergius and Bacchus
Holliston, Massachusetts
E-mail: Mission_St_Sergius@msn.com
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