The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
One Bread, One Body - This Is I For You
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Greeting (see the gospel)
Jesus tells us here:
“I am the living bread from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I shall give
is my flesh for the life of the world.”
May the Lord Jesus give us this bread always
and always stay with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
- One Bread, One Body
Where in our Christian living, besides in prayer, do we encounter the Lord Jesus more often and on the deepest level? Is it not in the Sunday Eucharist, where he makes himself our food and drink? Is this not the centre of our whole Christian life? Our faith tells us: here is the Lord; here he gives himself to us. Here he teaches us to give ourselves to one another. Let us thank Jesus, who is always with us here.
- This Is I For You
When a person is about to die and gives a farewell message to their relatives and friends, we know these words come from the heart, and we will never forget them. On the eve of his death, at the Last Supper, Jesus said: “This is my body for you; this is my blood shed for you. Do this in memory of me.” There, as on the cross, he gave his whole self, that we might live, and he asked us to do the same, that others might live. Let us celebrate this in the Eucharist now.
Penitential Act
In the Eucharist, Jesus makes us share in his life,
But our sins make us less like Jesus.
We now ask the Lord to forgive us.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you multiplied bread
to give the hungry crowd to eat:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you gave yourself totally
at the Last Supper and on the cross:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you were thirsty
and asked the woman by the well for a drink
yet you give yourself as our drink of life:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
give us the bread of your forgiveness
and the drink of joy of your merciful kindness.
Lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray to the Lord Jesus
to be our food of life always
(pause)
Lord Jesus Christ,
You ask of us to be your body
for the life of the world.
Nourish us here with your word of life,
Give us your body to eat
and your wine of joy to drink,
that we may become more like you
and learn from you to live
no longer for ourselves only
but for God and for the people around us.
Make us of one mind and heart,
that the world may recognise
that you are alive in us.
Be our Lord, now and forever. R/ Amen.
First Reading
A Food for A People in Need: To his people in need in the desert, God gave manna to eat and water from the rock to drink, and so they could march to the promised land. Today he gives us the Eucharist on our journey to him.
Remember how the Lord, your God, brought you through the desert for forty years. He humbled you to test you and know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
He made you experience want, he made you experience hunger, but he gave you manna to eat which neither you nor your fathers had known, to show you that one does not live on bread alone, but also by everything that comes from the mouth of God.
then do not let your heart become proud and do not forget the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of slavery.
He has led you across this great, terrible desert full of fiery serpents, scorpions, and arid land without water. But for you, he made water gush forth from the hardest rock.
And he fed you in the desert with manna which your fathers did not know. He made you experience want and put you to the test so that it would be for your good later on,
Responsorial Psalm
R. (12) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord;
whoever eats this bread will live forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Real Food and Real Drink of Life: In the Eucharist, Jesus is the bread that sustains us and helps us to grow in the life of Christ; he is our wine of joy and resurrection.
I am the living bread from heaven; whoever eats of this bread will live forever. The bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
The Flesh and Blood of Jesus, Food and Drink of Salvation
The Jews were arguing among themselves:
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them:
“Truly, I say to you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood remain in me and I in them.
Just as the Father, who is life, sent me and I have life from the Father, so whoever feeds on me will have life from me.
This is the bread from heaven; not like that of your ancestors who ate and later died.
Those who eat this bread will live forever.”
Prayers of the Faithful
Let us pray that the Lord Jesus may sustain all who hunger for him on the road of life. Let us say: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– That all over the world our Lord may be the strength of those who receive his body and blood and be their companion in life, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– That Jesus our Lord may be the strength of those who share their bread with their brothers and sisters, and that they may inspire those who do not yet know how to share, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– That Jesus our Lord may be the strength of those who earn their bread with difficulty and of those who have lost their jobs, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– That Jesus our Lord may be the strength of the sick who receive him and of those who can’t, that somehow he may also be close to those who cannot go to communion, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– That our Lord Jesus may be the strength of us gathered here for the Eucharist; that he may be our joy and the source of our unity and our commitment to one another, let us pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
Stay with us, Lord, be our life and happiness, now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord Jesus Christ,
As a meal brings a family together
and expresses the unity of its members,
We are gathered here around your table.
Bind us together
as the people of your covenant,
in unity, peace and friendship,
in a common love and concern for each other.
Let your self-giving become flesh and blood in us,
that you may be our Lord forever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With all our hearts, we give thanks and praise to the Father for letting Jesus stay with us in the Eucharist as the bread that nourishes us on the way to God and one another.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
God is our Father
who gives food to his people.
Let us ask him in the words of Jesus
for the true bread
that gives life to the world. R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and grant peace and unity to your Church.
Keep us free from sin
through the food of the Eucharist
and let it be our strength
to overcome our anxieties and fears.
Let it prepare us for the final coming
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
At the Breaking of Bread
(It is good once in a while to call attention to the important rite of the breaking of bread, which usually passes unnoticed.)
On the cross, Jesus was broken and crushed because of our sins. On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus broke the bread and gave it to his disciples. He breaks the bread of himself for us here, that we too may learn to share ourselves with one another.
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus our Lord,
the bread from heaven
that makes us live for ever.
Happy are we to be invited
to eat this bread
and to live in union with the Lord. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Note: This “Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ” is a most fitting day for giving communion under both kinds, on condition it is pastorally feasible.
Prayer after Communion
Lord Jesus Christ,
we thank you for having given us
your body and blood, your whole self,
and for unifying us as your community.
Stay with us, we pray you,
to strengthen us to do your work
of love, integrity and peace
and to set the table of ourselves for others.
And may the holy meal
which we celebrate in your memory
be to us the sign and foretaste
of the everlasting feast-meal
which we hope to enjoy with you
for ever and ever. R/ Amen.
Blessing
In this Eucharistic celebration
Jesus Christ has given us himself
to unite us with himself and with each other.
He has shared himself with us,
people on the way,
as our bread of strength and life.
May his attitude become ours
and may we too be the strength
of those around us,
especially to those who need us most.
And may almighty God bless you for this task:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go and take our Lord
to the people around us. R/ Thanks be to God.
REFLECTIONS
For Commentary by Fr Armellini:
John 6: 51-58
The Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus
Today’s passage is the concluding part of the so-called discourse on the Bread of Life by Jesus in the synagogue of Capernaum after the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.
The miracle aroused widespread wonder, and people wanted to take him by force to make him king (Jn 6:14-15). They are interested in Jesus just because they think he can satisfy their material needs through miracles.
Instead, in Capernaum, the crowd does not understand the meaning of the miracles and searches for the “food that perishes.” Therefore, Jesus presents himself as the bread of life, which comes from heaven (Jn 6:33-35). He declares that whoever listens to him assimilates his message, his Gospel, and feeds himself of the words of life.
Jesus makes an even more surprising statement. The bread to eat is not only his teachings but his own flesh. “The bread I shall give is my flesh, and I will give it for the life of the world.” These are the opening words of today’s passage (v. 51). “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (v. 52). We should be careful not to be misled by wrong interpretations.
Many interpretations are derived from devotional and intimate catechesis but not supported by biblical foundations. Some of the eucharistic spiritualities teach us about Jesus, a “divine prisoner” –locked up in the Tabernacle who feels lonely and sad! This spirituality exhorted people to go to church to “keep company, to console Jesus!”
Being in communion with the Father and Jesus is important, but it does not mean that Jesus is lonely or that we must console Jesus! Receiving Holy Communion is not some kind of pill that works automatically and heals the sick. To “eat his flesh and drink his blood,” it is necessary to listen to and meditate on the Word of God first.
One example of the relationship between the Eucharist and the Word of God is that of a person signing a contract and entering into an alliance. Before signing the contract, one must know and carefully evaluate all the clauses. Whoever agrees to become one with Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist must be aware of the proposal – or the terms and conditions - made to him through the Gospel and take a firm decision to accept it.
The change, the metamorphosis, will take place very slowly. In the end, the miracle will be accomplished through humble listening to the Word and communion with the Body of Christ. One day, the disciple will relish the transformation performed in him by the Spirit at work in the sacrament, and he will exclaim, like Paul: Now, “it is no longer me; Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20).