WHAT I RECEIVED FROM THE LORD

THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST - Luke 9:11-17

In the countries where last Thursday is not a holiday, the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is celebrated today. In the gospel, we are presented with Jesus feeding a huge crowd. Christ behaves like the host who sets the table for his guests (the people of God). His actions are similar to those he will perform during the Last Supper; he took the bread, blessed it (gave thanks for it), broke it and gave it to his disciples “to distribute among the crowd”. The food was so abundant that “they all ate as much as they wanted, and when the scraps remaining were collected, they filled twelve baskets.” The feeding of the five thousand is an announcement of the great banquet in God’s kingdom, hinting as well to the Eucharist in which we are given the bread of heaven, that is the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The celebration of the Eucharist is an anticipation of the banquet God will prepare, as he promised in Isaiah 25:6. We always celebrate the Eucharist looking forward to the eschatological times.

In the second reading (1 Corinthians 11:23-26), Paul gives us the narrative of the Last Supper with Jesus’ clear command: “do this as a memorial of me”. Paul is utterly certain that the eucharistic celebration comes from the Lord: “what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you”. The tradition of the Eucharist was not established in the early Church, but rather is a fruit of obedience to the Lord’s command.

Since the apostolic time, the Church has always understood Jesus’ words in a literal way. When we approach the altar during Mass, we receive Jesus Himself, His body and His blood, as the bread from heaven. The kernel of the eucharistic celebration comes from Jesus. With Him, we break the bread and give thanks, repeating the same words He pronounced in the Last Supper. The Eucharist is always linked to Jesus’ passion and death, being also the celebration of His resurrection. Paul has no doubts about it: “Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.” And Jesus Himself interprets his death as the sacrifice of the New Covenant, a sacrifice offered for the remission of sins. In the Mass, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross becomes present to us so that we may be reconciled with God.

The first reading, taken from Genesis 14:18-20, speaks of Melchizedek, who was priest and king, and is a figure of the Messiah. Jesus is a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, who offered a sacrifice of bread and wine transformed for us into His body and His blood.

Let us approach the table of the Lord with faith and a thankful heart.