“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6:51)
The major theme for this Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, also known as the feast of “Corpus Christi” or “Corpus Domni” focuses on the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Today’s liturgy is a doctrinal feast also emphasizes the institution of the Eucharist established by the Lord on Holy Thursday and teaches us to appreciate and make use of this great gift, both as a “sacrament” and as a “sacrifice.”
As a “sacrament”: (a) It is a “visible sign,” that gives us God’s grace and life, and (b) as a “meal,” it nourishes our body and soul. And as a “sacrifice”: (a) It is an un-bloody re-presentation or re-enactment of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary, completed in His Resurrection. (b) We offer Christ’s sacrifice to God the Father for the remission of our sins.
We believe in the “Real Presence” of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist because: (1) the Lord promised it after miraculously feeding the 5000. (2) He instituted the Holy Eucharist during his Last Supper. (3) He commanded his disciples to repeat it in his memory. And (4) “Nothing is impossible for God.”
Moreover, the Church explains the “real presence” of Christ in the Holy Eucharist by the doctrine of “transubstantiation,” which means that the substance of the consecrated bread and wine is changed to the substance of the risen Christ’s glorified Body and Blood by the action of the Holy Spirit, but its accidents (like color, shape, taste etc.), remain the same. Our belief in this Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist derives from the literal interpretation of the promise of Christ to give us his Body and Blood for our material and spiritual food and drink, as found in St. John's Gospel, Chapter 6, and also in the four independent accounts (Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and 1 Corinthians 11) of the fulfillment of his promise at the Last Supper.
How can we appreciate the abiding “Real Presence” of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist, receiving Him with due preparation and reverence, expressing our deepest gratitude, and conveying Christ to others?