CORPUS CHRISTI
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Hallelujah!
Glory be given to God through Jesus Christ in the strength and grace of the
Holy Spirit. Whenever we have a strong and important theme, we have to fight a
real battle against hell in order to be a channel of God's grace. But that
doesn't take away the great joy in the heart for being able to share this
wonderful formation: Corpus Christ. From the Latin we have the translation
"BODY OF CHRIST".
We want to
reflect and go deep on the matter, which has much more to do with the Catholic
world than with other Christian religions; even less with other religions. But
we will see that it is not a symbolism or a cheap custom but a reality that
often goes unnoticed in our society: What is the body of Christ? Where does it
come from? What is the meaning of its existence? Why do Catholics love it? Is
it idolatry? Why to celebrate this feast of Corpus Christi?
Let us start
with the word of God to have today's direction motivated by the biblical truth
in which Jesus himself teaches us after having performed the miracle of the
multiplication of bread (John 6:1-15) and the miracle in which he walked on the
waters of Lake Tiberias (John 6:16-21):
Let us analyse
the context in which Jesus was situated when he said these things. In the
previous chapters of the Gospel of St. John we have a summary of what Jesus had
already accomplished: meeting with the first disciples, the miracle at the
wedding at Cana, talking with Nicodemus, meeting with the Samaritan at the well
of Jacob, healing of the daughter of an officer, healing of the paralytic of
the Bethesda tank. Then we have the multiplication of the loaves and Jesus
walking on the waters of Lake Tiberias, according to the verses we described
above.
Jesus was
already manifesting his glory and showing his healing and liberating power when
the speech of the bread of life began. And we have already started here
by describing the sense of Jesus having performed these two miracles before he
started talking about the bread of life: HE WANTED TO DEMONSTRATE THAT HE MASTERS
THE ESSENCE OF THE BREAD AND THAT HE ALSO MASTERS THE ESSENCE OF HIS OWN BODY.
We will understand throughout this text the meaning of our Lord Jesus Christ
having done this; which was not without purpose, it was intentional.
This entire
post will revolve around this sixth chapter of the Gospel of St. John; but we
need the concrete attitude of Jesus on the bread of life, because until then He
only talked about it, but He had not demonstrated and translated in action what
he meant. It was in the famous "Last Supper" that He exemplified and
carried out the first work on the face of the earth in which he gave bread and
wine to the disciples, that was not bread and wine, but his body and blood.
“When the
time came, he took his place at table, and the apostles with him. And he said
to them, 'I have ardently longed to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
because, I tell you, I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of
God.' Then, taking a cup, he gave thanks and said, 'Take this and share it
among you, because from now on, I tell you, I shall never again drink wine
until the kingdom of God comes.' Then he took bread, and when he had given
thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for
you; do this in remembrance of me.' He did the same with the cup after supper,
and said, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood poured out for you.” (Luke
22:14-20)
How mad this
scene of the Last Supper could seem to us. Jesus handed the "bread"
to the disciples after giving thanks and said "THIS IS MY BODY". But
what nonsense did Jesus do? Was he drunk? Had he smoked before the Supper? Was
he really crazy? Or was He speaking in figurative terms?
My dear brothers and sisters, if it
weren't for Jesus himself, we could say that this is a joke, a terrible joke with something
very serious. But it was Jesus who said that! He did not say: this looks like
my body; this can be my body; this is a memory; this represents my body; this
is bread but it will remind my body. Jesus said with all letters: "This
is my body".
When he took
the cup in his hands, Jesus did the same thing saying "THIS CUP IS THE NEW
ALLIANCE IN MY BLOOD". To clarify and leave us with no doubts, let's go to
the same context in the Gospel of Saint Matthew:
“Now as
they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had said the blessing, he broke
it and gave it to the disciples. 'Take it and eat,' he said, 'this is my body.'
Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he handed it to them saying,
'Drink from this, all of you, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant,
poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mathew 26:26-28)
We would not
be consistent if we did not also do the same thing with the Gospel of Saint
Mark, in the same context:
“And as
they were eating, he took bread, and when he had said the blessing, he broke it
and gave it to them. 'Take it,' he said, 'this is my body.' Then he took a cup,
and when he had given thanks, he handed it to them, and all drank from it, and
he said to them, 'This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, poured out for
many.” (Mark 14:22-24)
We are not
bringing the text on the Last Supper from the Gospel of St. John here; and you
must know why. Is it because John brings up the truth about the Last Supper
where Jesus tells us that this merely represent his body and blood? No! It
is because he does not describe this very moment on his Gospel. John was worried
about writing about what Jesus said at the Last Supper, since the other three
evangelists had already spoken about what he did. So, according to the narrative
of the other three Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) Jesus said: THIS IS MY
BLOOD. He did not say: This reminds you of my blood; this looks like my blood;
this represents my blood. He said THIS IS.
Unfortunately,
many people have changed the words of the Bible that came from the mouth of God
and do not accept these words. They say that the “THIS IS” is symbolic, that
Jesus did not mean that and they find a thousand and one excuses to say that
this is not the message of the Gospel, just as Jesus' followers did by not
accepting what Jesus said when he spoke about the bread of life. We have
something very serious to say here: EITHER WE BELIEVE IN THE BIBLE AND ACCEPT
WHAT IS WRITTEN AS THE WORD OF GOD OR WE WILL GO ON FOREVER TRY TO ADAPT IT TO
OUR CONVENIENCE AND TO SATISFY OUR HUMAN DESIRES.
The people who
were with Jesus at that time must have been very confused, saddened, enraged,
nervous and disbelieving of Jesus. A man who performed miracles, signs and
wonders saying such things... It seemed that God was with Him; he spoke with authority;
and suddenly playing a trick on everyone...
Jesus was
not playing tricks nor talking figuratively, as we will see in the continuation
of chapter 6 of Saint John’s Gospel below:
“In all
truth I tell you, everyone who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of
life. Your fathers ate manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the
bread which comes down from heaven, so that a person may eat it and not die. I
am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread
will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life
of the world.' Then the Jews started arguing among themselves, 'How can this
man give us his flesh to eat?' Jesus replied to them: In all truth I tell you,
if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no
life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life,
and I shall raise that person up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and
my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me
and I live in that person. As the living Father sent me and I draw life from
the Father, so whoever eats me will also draw life from me. This is the bread
which has come down from heaven; it is not like the bread our ancestors ate:
they are dead, but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever. This is what
he taught at Capernaum in the synagogue.” (John 6:47-59)
Did you notice
how many times Jesus insisted on saying that He is the bread of life? That his
flesh and blood are truly food and drink? Then we have the reaction of the
people:
“After
hearing it, many of his followers said, 'This is intolerable language. How
could anyone accept it?' Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining
about it and said, 'Does this disturb you? What if you should see the Son of
man ascend to where he was before? 'It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh
has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are
life. 'But there are some of you who do not believe.' For Jesus knew from the
outset who did not believe and who was to betray him. He went on, 'This is why
I told you that no one could come to me except by the gift of the Father.' After
this, many of his disciples went away and accompanied him no more. Then
Jesus said to the Twelve, 'What about you, do you want to go away too?' Simon
Peter answered, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal
life, and we believe; we have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.'”
(John 6:60-69)
Does that ring
a bell to you dear children of God? Jesus spoke and insisted that he would give
his flesh and blood as food and drink for our salvation (and so he did, by instituting
the holy rites at the Last Supper showing how this was accomplished, by
blessing the bread and the wine) and the disciples said that this was VERY HARD
to accept. What did Jesus do when they complained and said that this was
difficult to accept? He said, "No, guys! You didn't get it right; I was
referring to you in a symbolic way. I'm not going to give my flesh and blood
but it won't be like food and drink, but on the cross giving myself for you.
Don't be silly and understand correctly what I'm saying!"? In no way,
Jesus spoke even greater authority and did not back down. He said instead, 'Does
this disturb you?'
Why did MANY
of Christ's disciples stop following Him and walking with Him after hearing these
words? BECAUSE THEY DID NOT ACCEPT THE TRUTH THAT CAME OUT OF JESUS’ OWN MOUTH.
I am afraid to say, with all due respect to the Protestant and Evangelical
brothers: the ONLY CHURCH that does believe in these words of Jesus and
continues to venerate and love this mystery of the Lord's Body and Blood in the
species of bread and wine is the Holy Catholic Roman Apostolic Church.
It is true that some protestants celebrate the
Last Supper, as Jesus asked: "Do this in remembrance of me"; but they
don't really believe in the total truth; they eat bread and drink wine.
In the
Catholic Church we assumed Jesus' words, we truly took on this and we celebrate
in the Holy Mass what Jesus did at the Last Supper. After the moment of
consecration that happens in every Holy Mass, we have the flesh of Jesus Christ
and his precious blood. After consecration we do not deal anymore with bread
and wine, but with BODY AND BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY!
This is the
meaning of CORPUS CHRIST: the true presence of the body of Christ in the specie
of bread that is consecrated on the altar. This is the body of Jesus that we
celebrate, love, adore, worship, give glory and the whole life of the Church is
focused on this central mystery: We do not see with our human eyes, but we
believe that Jesus is not present in consecrated bread, but HE TRANSFORMS THE
BREAD IN HIS OWN FLESH; and then it becomes Himself. That is why this is not
idolatry!
We don't worship
the ostensory; which is the object (often made of gold, because we believe that
the body of Jesus deserves the best) in which the body of Christ is placed on
to be worshiped, but the very flesh of Christ: the living bread came down from
heaven. This is the meaning when we fall on our knees before the tabernacle;
which is the place where the body of Jesus is kept, waiting to be worshiped;
this is the meaning of kneeling at mass; this is the meaning of kneeling before
the ostensory, in where the holy and venerable Flesh of Christ is inserted to
be worshiped.
If you are a
Catholic and did not know that, start to learn and to live this truth that your
Church teaches you with all love and care. If you are a Protestant /
Evangelical / Christian, we invite you to dive into your Bible and draw your
own conclusions about this topic. Be truthful!
If you are
from another religion, we invite you to allow the presence of a God in your life,
a God who loves you so much that he was able to shed his blood on the cross for
you, who did and does everything he can for your sake and still gives his flesh
and blood for you to be fed. If you are an atheist listen to this: there is a
God who wants to invite you to a banquet here on earth, so that you can already
start to live in Heaven; or look up to above: Heaven on Earth is the body of
Christ, who came down from heaven and feeds us.
What is the
point of celebrating, loving, worshiping and eating the consecrated bread (the
living flesh of Jesus Christ) in the Church, at every Mass or moment of prayer?
The strength of Jesus that we receive is his word, his Holy Spirit, his
presence of love in the brethren, and above all, his Flesh that we eat and his Blood
that we drink.
WE CELEBRATE
THE BODY OF CHRIST BECAUSE HE ENCOURAGES US TO CONTINUE, TO TAKE STEPS IN
FAITH, TO LIVE HEAVEN ON EARTH. HE GIVES US COURAGE TO STAY FIRM WITH HIM, EVEN
AMONG TRIBULATIONS; AFTER ALL, AS JESUS SAID, WE REALLY LIVE IN HIM AND HE LIVES
IN US, SINCE WE RECEIVE HIM IN A REAL WAY.
“Therefore, anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup
of the Lord unworthily is answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone
is to examine himself and only then eat of the bread or drink from the cup; because
a person who eats and drinks without recognising the body is eating and
drinking his own condemnation. That is why many of you are weak and ill and a
good number have died.” (1 Corinthians 11:28-30)
We end this text with the words of the great apostle of
Christ, Saint Paul. So that there are not so many sick, weak and dead among
us - we need to watch over, love and live intensely this mystery of the Body
and Blood of Jesus Christ in the species of bread and wine. This means living
the Mass in a serious way, receiving the Flesh of Jesus Christ and worshiping Him with
all the intensity of our soul, adore and love Him who gives Himself in such a
simple and small way, but who is so tremendous and gigantic. Let us love and
adore the body of Christ!
God bless us and help us accept, love and put into
practice what we learned reading this formation.
*Adapted from Brazilian Portuguese from my other blog www.vounessadirecao.blogspot.com
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